NO CLEAN SINGING

THE KING IS BLIND: “OUR FATHER”

Mar 022016

(Andy Synn reviews the debut album by The King Is Blind, released in January by Cacophonous Records.)

Going into this review I was, for some reason, under the strong impression that I’d covered UK Death Metal types The King Is Blind before here at NCS. However, a quick search revealed only a cursory mention of the band here and there and, as it turns out, the last time I wrote about them at any sort of length was for Terrorizer over a year and a half ago… oh, the humanity!

Thankfully, the release of the band’s debut album Our Father affords me an opportunity to correct this egregious oversight, as the Essex quintet have come out all guns blazing with this one! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DECREPIT SOUL — “STORM OF STEEL”

Premieres 5 Responses »

Mar 012016

Australia’s Decrepit Soul could hardly have chosen a better title for their new album than The Coming of War!!. As the successor to last year’s debut full-length Uncreated and Eternal, it is even more barbarous and warlike — and you will discover that for yourselves through our premiere of a new song with the equally well-chosen title of “Storm of Steel“.

On this new record, scheduled for release by Iron Bonehead on March 18, vocalist/guitarist Kakorot is joined for the first time by drummer Marcus Hellcunt (Vomitor, ex-Bestial Warlust and Gospel of the Horns), and together they make a powerful two-man death-dealing machine. Continue reading »

MOONSORROW: “JUMALTEN AIKA”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Mar 012016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Finland’s Moonsorrow.)

It’s been five years since the Finnish overlords of pagan metal left us with Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa. The new album, Jumalten Aika (“The Age of Gods”), opens with folk instruments, creating a ritualistic aura. After a minute and a half of this they storm into the larger-than-life metal you have come to expect from them.

The black metal side of what they do is toned down on this album, as this one dives into folk metal on an epic scale. Holding true to their mission statement, the album does have a commanding Viking feel, without inspiring you to go into a jig with your drinking horn. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: PITTS MINNEMANN PROJECT — “THE PSYCHIC PLANETARIUM”

Premieres 7 Responses »

Mar 012016

(Austin Weber presents our full streaming premiere of the new album by Pitts Minnemann Project.)

For those unfamiliar, the Pitts Minnemann Project has been kicking around with various line-ups for a while now. It’s safe to assume that even for people new to the group, they know the key players involved. It all starts with keyboardist/pianist extraordinaire Jimmy Pitts (Spastic Ink and countless others) joining forces with world-renowned drummer Marco Minnemann (formerly live for Necrophagist, The Aristocrats, and many others) to create experimental prog fusion music. Over time they’ve added more players with each subsequent release, leading to their latest full-length, The Psychic Planetarium. Continue reading »

POGAVRANJEN: “JEDVA ČEKAM DA NIKAD NE UMREM”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Mar 012016

(Allen Griffin reviews the new album by Pogavranjen, which only yesterday KevinP praised at our site as one of February’s top 5 releases.)

Croatian Black Metal madmen Pogavranjen have just released their latest full-length, Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem, courtesy of Poland’s Arachnophobia Records. Those familiar with the band’s avant-garde tendencies will not be surprised to find that the group have delved deeper into indescribable and unknowable depths on their latest opus. Whereas past releases have found the group twisting Black Metal in a myriad of unexpected directions, Jedva Cekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem shows them transcending normal genre categories to settle into a sound entirely their own. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: SYNODIK — “A MATTER OF PERCEPTION”

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 2 Responses »

Mar 012016

(Andy Synn reviews the latest release by the Italian band Synodik.)

It was way back in 2012 when itinerant Italian Tech-Death types Synodik released their debut album, which largely flew under the radar for most people (including yours truly). In fact I almost missed out on their latest EP as well, seeing as how it was actually released over 12 months ago now, and I honestly only stumbled across its existence by pure chance.

You’ll be thankful I did though as, despite the fact that it’s only a mere three tracks long (one introduction, and two full songs), there’s a lot here to satisfy even the most discerning of Progressive/Technical Death Metal aficionados… and hopefully grab the band a few new fans in the process. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: EQUIPOISE — “A SUIT OF MY FLESH”

Premieres 8 Responses »

Mar 012016

(Austin Weber introduces our premiere of a new song by Equipoise.)

One of our favorite things to do here at NCS is to show you new groups you might not find out about otherwise. In keeping with that ethos, we’ve got an exclusive premiere to show you today for a new technical death metal band called Equipoise.

While the band’s architect and composer, Pittsburgh-based guitarist Nick Padovani, is a new name in tech-death circles, he made sure to assemble a jaw-dropping lineup to help him achieve his vision, making for a mix of session players on the record consisting of several of today’s best musicians within the technical death metal scene — along with a ton of equally impressive guest spots on various songs by other well-respected people! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GLORIA MORTI — “THE FOUL STENCH OF VOMITING BLOOD”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Feb 292016

No, “The Foul Stench of Vomiting Blood” is not a tender ballad. But whatever you may guess about the music from the title, you’re probably still not going to be prepared for what hits you. But we’ll come back to that momentarily.

The song is one of nine on Kuebiko, the new album by the Finnish horde Gloria Morti, which will be released on the 18th of March by the band’s new label, Willowtip Records. This is the band’s fourth album in a career that began in 1999, and it is INTENSE.

The album’s title, as explained by the band, is a word that represents “a state of exhaustion inspired by acts of senseless violence, which force you to revise your image of what can happen in this world — mending the fences of your expectations, weeding out all unwelcome and invasive truths, cultivating the perennial good that’s buried under the surface, and propping yourself up like an old scarecrow, who’s bursting at the seams but powerless to do anything but stand there and watch”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GADGET — “CHOICE OF A LOST GENERATION”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Feb 292016

Ten years have passed since the Swedish grind veterans in Gadget released their last album, The Funeral March, but a new one will soon be upon us. We are fortunate that the passage of time hasn’t dulled the band’s taste for using music as a weapon, or their talent for drawing upon elements from extreme genres beyond grind to enhance the sonic power of their rage.

The new album, to be released next month by Relapse Records, is entitled The Great Destroyer — which would seem to have a double meaning, one of which is a description of the album itself. A few songs from the album have already appeared, and more will follow every day this week. You’re about to hear the first of these new premieres: “Choice Of A Lost Generation“. Continue reading »

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH — FEBRUARY 2016

LISTMANIA 2016 8 Responses »

Feb 292016

(Here’s the second of KevinP’s monthly selection of releases for 2016, naming his Top 5 favorite albums released during February.)

So much for the notion that the beginning and end of the year are slow times for new releases. We have another month stacked with quality through and through. As pleasing as it is to spread the love of great releases to people far and wide, I wouldn’t mind a slight respite during a busy time of the year (I do have other obligations and hobbies). But yeah, #FirstWorldProblem. Continue reading »

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