AN NCS PREMIERE: VALDUR — “BLESSINGS OF THE GOAT”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Jun 262015
 

 

The mammoth Valdur from Mammoth Lakes, California, have a new album on the way entitled Pathetic Scum. Ten days ago we heard (and wrote about) a brief sample from one of the new songs, a track named “Blessings of the Goat”. Even those precious few minutes were a demonstration of Valdur’s skill in delivering massive, grisly, gruesome death metal with a thoroughly morbid and diseased atmosphere. And now we’re in the fortunate position of bringing you a stream of the entire song.

Pathetic Scum follows the band’s 2013 full-length, At War With, and features the addition of new guitarist Vuke. The band have relayed this message from their catacombs:

“Guitarist/vocalist Samuel is still with us so to speak, but he is so busy with personal/family matters at the moment. Vuke, new guitarist, is not a replacement, but a full time member of VALDUR. And for live dates this spring, Roskva will be on vocals again. And we have William on bass and Matthew on drums. We all appreciate anyone who takes the time in this world to have a listen to our music. It is built and molded by our own hands to the form and shape that we like. With these new songs, we give you something different yet again along the obscure VALDUR timeline…” Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BARABBAS (SAINT RODOLPHE)

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Jun 262015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns to our site with an engaging interview of the frontman for Barabbas.)

French Barabbas appeared on the European doom-scene in 2011 with a self-titled album, and its killer song “Barabbas” was also included in a Doom Metal Front compilation, so you may already know them. Three years have passed, and Barabbas return with great new tunes! Messe pour un chien shows the band’s evident progress as they go further from traditional doom and stoner tunes to something more massive and mobile.

The new songs are really catchy, they demonstrate all the best of Barrabas’ musical experience, and they have mordant and ironical lyrics — that’s something new for the somber doom scene, but it’s ok for the congregation of Four Saints of Barabbas. The band’s frontman Saint Rodolphe is here to spread a Word, yet not to preach. Continue reading »

ANDY SYNN PRESENTS: REVIEWS IN HAIKUS (KRAKOW, INNER SANCTUM, CODE)

 Album Reviews, Reviews In Haikus  5 Responses »
Jun 262015
 

 

(Andy Synn delivers another long-overdue installment in his irregular series of album reviews in haiku. Two more reviews come after the jump. With music, of course.)

Wow, so, correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s been almost a year since I did one of these?

How time flies when you’re having… fun…

 

KRAKOW – AMARAN

Shot through the heart. Pink

Floyd’s to blame. Norwegian prog

Has a damn good name Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: AVULSED, COFFINS, CLARET ASH, CETUS

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
Jun 262015
 

 

We had a busy day at the site yesterday, and I thought I wouldn’t have time to explore new music. But my wife decided to strand me at home last night while she went out and whooped it up with some friends of hers, and so what was I to do? I damn sure wasn’t going to venture into the loris compound by myself; my wife’s good with a knife and she usually has my back, but without her I’m not getting close to those devious fuckers. So instead I decided leave the loris ninjas to their own devices, hunker down at the computer, and drown myself in new metal. Here is a collection of new stuff from four bands that helped me pleasantly pass the time.

AVULSED

Let’s first have a round of applause for Juanjo Castellano, because goddamn, is his cover art for the new EP by Avulsed the absolute shit, or what? Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2014’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 26): SINMARA, SVARTIDAUÐI, SABBATIC GOAT

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2014  7 Responses »
Jun 252015
 

 

Yes, that’s right, in case you missed yesterday’s announcement I’ve resumed the roll-out of our list of last year’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs — a scant five months (ugh) after the last installment in the series. If perchance you don’t know what this list is about, you can find an explanation here.

To get this thing started again, I decided to jump into the turbid and turbulent end of a very black pool. Apologies in advance if I happen to kick you in the teeth on the way in.

SINMARA

I’m re-launching this series with songs by two Icelandic bands, the first of which is Sinmara, whose ranks include members from other personal favorites like Svartidauði, Wormlust, and Slidhr. The song is “Verminous” and it comes from the band’s 2014 album Aphotic Womb, released last year by Terratur Possessions. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ALTARS OF GRIEF — “IN DYING LIGHT”

 Premieres  23 Responses »
Jun 252015
 

 

Exactly one week ago we had the pleasure of premiering for you a fantastic track by the band Nachtterror from their forthcoming split on the Hypnotic Dirge label with fellow Canadians Altars of Grief — and today we’re equally happy to stream for you one of the songs by Altars of Grief — “In Dying Light”.

Entitled Of Ash and Dying Light, the vinyl version of the split includes two songs by each band, and the digital version will also come with a bonus track by Altars of Grief and two bonus tracks from Nachtterror.

“In Dying Light” is a thoroughly engrossing piece of music, from the isolated opening guitar notes to the huge wave of sound that soon follows it, from the sweeping, exalted melody to the rippling, finger-tapped bass notes and gunshot drum beats, from the anguished snarls to the sombre clean vocals. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: BEARSTORM — “AMERICANUS”

 Premieres  10 Responses »
Jun 252015
 

 

(Austin Weber brings us the full streaming premiere of the new album by Bearstorm from Richmond, Virginia.)

Occasionally bands win the lottery, the stars line up perfectly, and you get a near-perfect band name and an idea for a sound that focuses on an as-yet-uncombined merger of musical styles. In such a rare moment, Richmond, Virginia-based Bearstorm was born.

Graced with more than an intriguing band name, Bearstorm are truly a whirlwind of creativity and gorgeous fury fused together in an inseparable union of awesomeness. Islander mentioned them in a post not too long ago, and so here we are with a full album stream to show you what this mindfucking new record called Americanus is all about. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SKINLESS — “BARBARIC PROCLIVITY”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Jun 252015
 

 

Of course, you’ve already grabbed a copy of the new Skinless album, Only the Ruthless Remain, and allowed it to gnaw off your leg, rupture your spleen, and rend your face into bloody tatters.

What’s that? You haven’t??? Well damn, maybe you need a little extra encouragement. We can arrange that. In fact we have arranged that, because we’re delivering right here, right now, a premiere of the band’s lyric video for the song “Barbaric Proclivity“, the title of which could hardly be a more apt description of what the song and the album exhibit, in spades. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ABNORMAL THOUGHT PATTERNS — “DISTORTION OF PERCEPTION”

 Premieres  9 Responses »
Jun 252015
 

 

(Austin Weber introduces our premiere of a new song and video by Abnormal Thought Patterns.)

California-based Abnormal Thought Patterns are in my estimation one of a rare breed of astonishing instrumental metal acts deserving of praise and much more press, yet who are somehow among the least-mentioned instrumental groups (which I don’t understand). The last time I wrote about them here at NCS was when I put the band’s 2013 record, Manipulation Under Anesthesia, on my lengthy 2013 year-end list. Fortunately, the band have a new record to engage with and be enamored by called Altered States Of Consciousness, which comes out June 26th through Lifeforce Records. Ahead of its release, we at NCS are proud to show you a new song/new video from this album called “Distortion Of Perception”.

The core of the band has always been the genius guitar/bass duo of the Tipton brothers (Troy Tipton on bass/ Jasun Tipton on guitar). I first fell in love with their Meshuggah-influenced prog/shred madness back in 2001 with their old (in a modern context way) pre-djent record, The Towers Of Avarice, by their previous band Zero Hour. Even their old drummer from Zero Hour, Mike Guy, continued along with them on this new soaring instrumental avenue paved with soulful chug ‘n’ shred done right (and far better than most others), and the band further includes second guitarist Jason Montero. Continue reading »

KATAKLYSM: “OF GHOSTS AND GODS” — FIRST IMPRESSIONS (AND MINOR DIGRESSIONS)

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Jun 252015
 

 

(Andy Synn wrote the following first impressions of Kataklysm’s new album — and there IS a summing-up at the end.)

So I’ve decided to do something a little different for this review. Instead of my usual over-wordy, over-intellectualised stream of self-congratulatory bullshit (quality bullshit, of course) I’m going lo-tech and lo-fi with this one!

So after the jump you can follow my first impressions in a semi-live manner, as I note down my random feelings and musings from my first listening session to the band’s new album.

Ok, so, here we go… pushing play… Continue reading »

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