NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS PREMIERE: PUNISHED — “THE ABSENT”

Jul 182016

On July 29, the multi-national band Punished will release their debut EP, The Absent, and today we bring you the premiere of the EP’s title track.

Though the name Punished may be a new one to you, the band’s line-up includes former Ulcerate vocalist Ben Read as well as Serocs guitarist Antonio Freyre, plus guitarist/bassist Aldo Mora and drummer Ignacio Rizo. In addition, the EP includes guest vocals by Josh Smith (Serocs), Antti Boman (Demilich), Phil Tougas (Chthe’ilist/First Fragment), and our very own NCS comrade Austin Weber (whose vocal turn appears near the end of the song you’re about to hear). Continue reading »

COLDWORLD: “AUTUMN”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Jul 182016

(Wil Cifer brings us this review of the new album by Germany’s ColdWorld.)

Finally after 8 years, Germany’s ColdWorld has released a new album, Autumn. This world might be more of a slight chill than a cold one, as the sound has certainly changed. With this album, everything is bigger, so the compromise is even up to some of the starkness created by the more lo-fi ambiance of this project’s earlier work. I love depressive black metal; if you have read my other reviews then you know I like it as dark as a band can give it to me. So after hearing the changes, which have made this more of an atmospheric black metal album than a depressive black metal album, I had to pry my stubborn old mind open even further.

The mood has changed; something hopeful lies within the chords propelling the scowling vocals. Things become even more refined when clean vocals appear in the first song, creating a more Porcupine Tree sound. Female vocals are even layered within “Void”. Synths set the stage for “Woods of Emptiness”. There is an emotive pulse to the guitar, but to my ears it’s not what I call dark; instead it paints the song in a hazy, dream-like gray. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WOMBBATH — “EMBRACE DEATH”

Premieres 1 Response »

Jul 182016

For us, one of the bright spots of 2015 was the revival of Sweden’s Wombbath and the release of Downfall Rising, the band’s first album since 1993’s classic Internal Caustic Torments (and the source of this killer track that appeared on our 2015 Most Infectious Song list). Wombbath also started 2016 in fine form by participating in a split release with Revel in Flesh called Dragged Into the Obscure (which we wrote about here) and delivering a live performance in Baltimore that was one of the highlights of this year’s Maryland Deathfest (reviewed here). But there’s still more to come, as you’re about to discover with your very own ears.

Wombbath are participating in another split, this time with the Dutch band Departed Souls, and today we’re helping premiere Wombbath’s track from the split — “Embrace Death“. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: WITCHHELM (SEAN DETH)

Interviews 1 Response »

Jul 182016

(Comrade Aleks presents this interview of Sean Deth from Ohio’s Witchhelm, whose new album Dead Nights of the Moon Fear will be released on January 1, 2017 — or possibly sooner.)

Witchhelm is the gloomy and pagan doom outfit started by Sean Deth, a multi-instrumentalist who previously played in a few extreme metal bands. Sean wrote the first tunes for the project in 2012, but officially it was shown to the world in 2015. He had been in a lot of different metal bands before that, so all of his influences took form in this twisted sinister doom metal.

Two albums, one solid EP Jötunn, and a pair of singles in just two years – not bad, right? But Sean and his companions have already finished their third full-length record! Let’s go through Witchhelm’s story with Sean and find out about the rites of Conjuring and Invocations through Dead Nights of the Moon Fear!! Continue reading »

FREE SHIT FROM ARGUNAUTA RECORDS: “DEVOURING THE MOUNTAINS (VOL. III)”

Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC No Responses »

Jul 172016

As explained yesterday, I intended to take a break from blogging this weekend. I have paused a few times in my eating, drinking, and merry-making long enough to scan what’s happening on Facebook, and I happened to see a status which revealed that Italy’s Argonauta Records just released a free compilation of songs from 16 bands on the Argonauta label, which tends to focus on sludge, doom, post-metal, stoner, and drone. The name of the comp is Devouring the Mountains (Vol. III), and the songs come from Argonauta releases over the last 12 months.

We’ve written previously about half of the bands included in this comp (Hollow Leg, Beneath the Storm, Among Gods, Surya, Wows, Filth In My Garage, Return From the Grave, Eyes Front North), praising them all, and that gives me high hopes for the songs from the other eight bands. Continue reading »

THE REARVIEW MIRROR (HAZAEL)

THE REARVIEW MIRROR 1 Response »

Jul 172016

(While your lazy editor is away partying, our old friend and guest contributor SurgicalBrute steps up to make sure our Rearview Mirror series continues for another week.)

As I’m sure you all have heard by now, Islander has decided to skip out on doing actual important things this weekend, like entertaining us with new music, so he can spend time hanging out and partying. That means that you readers get the distinct honor of having me host this week’s installment of The Rearview Mirror.

Now, this is a good-news/bad-news sort of situation for you guys. The good news, for those who don’t know me, is that digging up bands is kind of my thing. I’m always on the lookout for stuff that’s been overlooked or forgotten. The bad news is, I’m not much of a writer, even on my best days, and since I’m basically speed-writing this late Saturday evening, we can safely say it isn’t going to be one of my best days… So just bear with me as we look back on Hazael. Continue reading »

BLOG BREAK (AND NEW MUSIC FROM BÄDR VOGU)

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 4 Responses »

Jul 162016

Happy Saturday, motherfuckers (and I say that in the fondest possible way). I hope it will not make your Saturday less happy by telling you that what you’re reading now will probably be our only post this weekend.

I’ll be spending the rest of today and all day tomorrow at an annual two-day outdoor party with the people I work with at my fucking day job. They are great people and they know how to party, and I’m looking forward to it. However, it will be difficult for me to prepare anything for our putrid site until Monday, and since I’m usually the only NCS slave who ever posts anything on the weekends, that means we’ll likely be going dark for two days.

That means we probably won’t have a Rearview Mirror post or a Shades of Black post for this Sunday. I say “probably”, because my blog compulsion is so great that I might figure out some way to post something — but probably not. I do want to leave you with one new music stream before I check out, because I hate posting anything at NCS that doesn’t include some metal. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ABOMINANT — “BURNING HEMISPHERES”

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Jul 152016

This year the Kentucky death metal band Abominant celebrate their 23rd year of devotion to the dark arts by releasing their eleventh full-length record, Napalm Reign. The band’s long-time ally Deathgasm Records will release the album on July 29, and today we bring you the premiere of one of the new songs — “Burning Hemispheres“.

After more than two decades of regularly releasing albums and performing their infernal creations in live settings, there is no doubting Abominant’s dedication to ancient metal of death, and there is also no mistaking their veteran skill. One listen to “Burning Hemispheres” makes that abundantly evident. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WIRED ANXIETY — “FOCUS 22”

Uncategorized 2 Responses »

Jul 152016

On August 1, Transcending Obscurity India will release the second EP by Wired Anxiety, entitled The Delirium of Negation. Two tracks from the EP have surfaced so far, and today we bring you a third, a dynamic piece of full-bore death metal bludgeoning that tranforms into something eerie and unsettling called “Focus 22“.

At the outset, “Focus 22” shows the band in full attack mode, propelled by murderously weaponized drumming, pile-driving riffs, and a writhing, grinding lead-guitar, with vocals that spawn images of a barking pit bull the size of a water buffalo. But this initial onslaught is just designed to begin tenderizing your flesh for the beat-down to come. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: THE COMANCHEROS — “FOUR HORSEMEN”

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Off Topic, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Jul 152016

(Andy Synn reviews the debut EP by The Comancheros, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri.)

As my third and final entry this week on the theme of bands beginning with “The” I’m venturing a little bit outside of our usual wheelhouse with the smooth and smoky brand of musical misery served up by The Comancheros.

But Andy, how are these guys in any way relevant to the NCS audience, I hear you ask?

Well, for one thing, one of their members just so happens to be a certain R. Michael Cook of the inimitable A Hill To Die Upon (who, I have it on good authority, are back in the saddle and working on new music themselves), and for another The Comancheros list their main influences as “Lynyrd Skynyrd, Willie Nelson, Judas Priest, and Dwight Yoakam”, which suggests to me that one or two of you might just find something to like on their new EP, Four Horsemen. Continue reading »

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