NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS PREMIERE: INVOKER — “AEON”

Aug 252015

When I first laid eyes on the wonderful cover by Misanthropic Art for Invoker’s second album — Aeon — I immediately became eager to hear something from the album. That was five days ago, and all that was then available was just a brief excerpt of a song. It sounded both massive and mesmerizing — but it was painfully short. I wished (in print) that I could hear a complete song.

Well, sometimes wishes are granted, because now I’ve heard Aeon’s title track, and you’re about to hear it, too. It’s black as night and heavy as an avalanche, shifting between ominous booming hammer blows and racing, ravaging riff assaults laced with a grim but immediately memorable melody. Continue reading »

FIGHT AMP: “CONSTANTLY OFF” — A FULL MUSIC STREAM AND A TRACK-BY-TRACK COMMENTARY

Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews 2 Responses »

Aug 252015

The new EP by Philadelphia’s Fight Amp(utation) is a whirlwind roller-coaster ride — or it would be if a roller-coaster were capable of leaping off the rails with a mind of its own in addition to veering up, down, and sideways. It’s only six songs with a total run-time of about 18 1/2 minutes, but Fight Amp pack a lot of head-spinning diversity into that span of time. It’s the kind of music that keeps you pinned in place, gleefully wondering what the hell is coming next.

Precisely for that reason, it’s also the kind of release that justifies a track-by-track commentary from the band — and that’s exactly what we have for you here. But you need to listen to the songs either before or while you’re reading — or ideally, do both. A stream of Constantly Off is at the bottom of this post, along with a Bandcamp link where you can pick it up if you like what it does to you. And to get an LP edition of the album, Brutal Panda has got that HERE. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: TSJUDER — “DJEVELENS MESTERVERK”

Premieres 10 Responses »

Aug 252015

Antiliv is the name of the fifth album by Norway’s Tsjuder, which will be upon us in mid-September. Last month I wrote (here) about the first advance track from Antiliv, a song named “Demonic Supremacy” that I thought was an instant classic. And now we have the chance to bring you a second new song from the album, a track named “Djevelens Mesterverk”.

Tsjuder have a well-deserved reputation for unleashing hellfire with tremendous intensity, and “Djevelens Mesterverk” is a striking example of the band’s unmitigated ferocity. It’s in the red zone from start to finish, a non-stop adrenaline injection driven by AntiChristian’s jaw-dropping drum performance and Draughluin’s blazing riffs. And Nag’s shrieked vocals are utterly poisonous and savage. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: EREB ALTOR

Interviews 6 Responses »

Aug 242015

(Comrade Aleks presents his interview of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mats from the Swedish band Ereb Altor.)

Ereb Altor is a band that doesn’t need a special introduction. It was founded in 2003 by two members of Swedish traditional doom outfit Isole (Mats and Ragnar) to channel their inspiration by Bathory (of the “viking period”) in a new direction.

Cyclone Empire released the fifth Ereb Altor record Nattramn in April 2015, and this new work continues the line of the two preceding albums as the band holds onto the combination of epic Viking metal with both doom and black elements. I was lucky enough to draw the attention of Mats, and he patiently answered my questions. Continue reading »

MY DYING BRIDE: “FEEL THE MISERY”

Album Reviews 8 Responses »

Aug 242015

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by My Dying Bride.)

Type-O Negative might have gotten bigger with their more Goth-infused brand of doom in the ’90s, but My Dying Bride brought the dismal darkness in a heavier and more mournful fashion. They started off with more death metal in the mix and evolved from there. This album is another step.

Aaron Stainthorpe’s voice is the only trademark of the band in the opener until it slows down at the two-and-half-minute mark. The violin feels a tad toned-down in the mix. Each song becomes a little more identifiable as the death metal vocals return on the second song. They are layered atop an up-beat metal gallop that slows into the dirges they are known for. Continue reading »

THE REARVIEW MIRROR (PAVOR)

THE REARVIEW MIRROR 4 Responses »

Aug 242015

(This is a second Rearview Mirror post for Sunday that is being posted on Monday because your humble editor was distracted and screwed up. The author is Austin Weber.)

In technical death metal circles, Pavor are a highly regarded name that sadly few still know. Which might have something to do with the band’s irregular output, shall we say. In the course of their existence, which started back in 1987, the band have released only two records and an EP, both of which have only gotten their long-overdue recognition with the rise of the internet spreading the word about their 1994 album, A Pale Debilitating Autumn, as well as 2003’s Furioso.

Since Furioso is their more accomplished work, I’ll post two tracks off it to give you an idea of what the record’s all about. Although I’m of the opinion that it’s flawless from start to finish, we’ll move on to the two songs at hand instead of ranting further. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: OBSIDIAN SEA

Interviews 1 Response »

Aug 232015

(Comrade Aleks brings us this interview with Anton Avramov, guitarist/vocalist of the Bulgarian doom band Obsidian Sea, whose new album Dreams, Illusions, Obsessions was released earlier this year.)

The geography of the doom metal scene is very wide; you can find interesting outfits all around the globe — in Iceland, in Tasmania, in Russian Siberia, and even on the Azores Islands in the middle of Atlantic Ocean. Some countries, such as the UK, are overwhelmed by doom bands while other countries are dark corners.

Obsidian Sea is a power trio from Bulgaria. Their first record Between Two Deserts was filled with good traditional doom and was released three years ago by Solitude Productions. When time came to do a sequel release, the men decided to do it by their own hands.

Here’s a record of our interview with Anton Avramov (guitars, vocals), so you have a chance to hear a story of Dreams, Illusions, Obsessions’ origin and Obsidian Sea’s perspectives. Continue reading »

THE REARVIEW MIRROR

THE REARVIEW MIRROR 4 Responses »

Aug 232015

(DGR presents this Sunday’s edition of The Rearview Mirror.)

When the prospect of a new feature entitled The Rearview Mirror was broached on the site, the idea seemed interesting. I’ve always liked the opportunity to just delve deeper into a song, as I’m sure my reveiws have shown, since I try to focus on at least two or three in depth. But outside of having a news bit or an album to review, the ability to open a forum for full discussion is rare indeed.

Rather than just try to post “hey, check this shit out”, I know we’ve always tried to provide at least a little context — that, and the intended similarities to the Morning Wood feature from ye olden ashes of the defunct website I hail from, where we essentially posted a song every morning in this fashion, mean that I may be one of the best-equipped to actually contribute every once in a while. And honestly, who would I be if I didn’t take the opportunity to ruin your weekends every once in a while with my garbage music taste? Continue reading »

MECHINA: “THE WORLD WE LOST”

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

Aug 222015

(In this post DGR reviews the new release by Chicago’s Mechina.)

Mechina are a band whom I’ve learned to stop trying to figure out. They’ve somehow evolved into superhuman musicians who can seemingy do no wrong when it comes to putting out quality music. They’ve consistently kept to a yearly release schedule, and recently have even added a single release mid-way through the year — and those have become huge efforts in their own right. I keep waiting for them to slip, but it seems that somehow the people behind Mechina are absolutely tireless as well as immensely talented.

The Mechina singles are some of the longest songs the band have written and are the musican’s equivelent of a short story — which is odd to say when it comes to music, but given that the band have created their own universe and continually add to it, it isn’t hard to see the band’s brand of symphonic/industrial/groove/death metal starting to become like sitting down with a storyteller and letting them entrance you with another tale. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ARCHAEA — “CRYOSPHERE”

Premieres 1 Response »

Aug 222015

Archaea are a six-piece melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, whose debut album Catalyst is set for release on August 28. Earlier this year they recorded a set performed at the Swedish Emergenza festival, and today we’ve got pro-shot video of the band playing a song from the new album named “Cryosphere”.

Now, I bet I know what the cynics among you are thinking. You’re probably thinking about the plethora of melodic death metal bands spawned in Gothenburg over the last 25 years and wondering why the world needs another one. You may also be assuming that you know what this one is going to sound like.

Not being a cynic myself, all I will tell you is that I had a hell of lot of fun listening to this song and watching the video — which of course is why you’re now about to see it here on our putrid site. Continue reading »

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