NO CLEAN SINGING

THE REARVIEW MIRROR (ZYKLON)

Nov 082015

For this Sunday’s look back at metal bands of yesteryear, we’re featuring Norway’s Zyklon.

In addition to the quality of their music, Zyklon are notable because the band’s line-up included guitarist Samoth and drummer Trym Torson from Emperor.

In a way, the band could also be thought of as a continuation of the project called Myrkskog, since Zyklon also included Myrkskog members Destructhor (guitar) and Sechthdamon (bass, vocals). (The discography of Myrkskog, by the way, was the subject of Andy Synn’s seventh SYNN REPORT back in May 2011 — here.) Continue reading »

RECOMMENDATIONS: ARCHIVIST, BLAZE OF SORROW, KHADAVER, GRAVECOVEN

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 10 Responses »

Nov 072015

Greetings from Anchorage, Alaska, where I’m still mired in a day-and-night project for my day job that has pared my blog time to the bone. Because my free time is so limited, I’m doing something we almost never do around here: Just throwing some recommended music streams your way without writing much at all about the music.

ARCHIVIST

The first recommendation is a self-titled album released through Bandcamp in June by a multinational group called Archivist. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AWE — “PROVIDENTIA”

Album Reviews, Premieres 8 Responses »

Nov 062015

One of the best split releases of 2015 is an album entitled Moerae (reviewed here) that was released last spring by three Greek black metal bands — Vacantfield, End, and AWE. It’s a concept album taking as its inspiration the three Fates of Greek mythology (the Moerae), with each band contributing a song about one of the Fates. Apart from a short song on the compilation album Mono Maniac vol.4 released by Blast Beat Mail Murder in 2014, Moerae marked AWE’s recording debut.

AWE have now recorded a debut album, Providentia, that’s set for release on November 13 by Pulverised Records. It’s a hugely ambitious, visionary album, and a brilliantly successful one. And we’re giving you the chance to hear all of it today. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): ENSLAVED, DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, DAKHMA

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 5 Responses »

Nov 052015

It’s cold, gray, and depressing here in Anchorage, Alaska, where I’m toiling away for my fucking day job. I worry what the loris horde are doing to the NCS compound in my absence. I miss my daily swoop through the interhole in search of new music. I’m going to be even more ridiculously late writing reviews. I’m basically just a miserable shit.

In an effort to cheer myself up, I did pull my nose from the grindstone long enough to check out a trio of new things that I spied on Facebook. All three were winners. Here they are.

ENSLAVED

Norway’s mighty Enslaved released a new music video a couple of days ago. It’s for the song “Convoys To Nothingness” from 2001’s Monumension. It was recorded live earlier this year in a mobile studio provided by the music streaming service TIDAL at the Øya Festival in Oslo. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 1): THE OSEDAX AND “SWEET LEAF (A STONER ROCK TRIBUTE TO BLACK SABBATH)”

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 9 Responses »

Nov 052015

(Grant Skelton steps in for round-up duty with this feature on two new albums. We’ll have a second round-up later today.)

THE OSEDAX

The Osedax (Latin for “bone devourer”) take their name from sea-dwelling worms who feast on the bones of dead whales. Yes. Enjoy that with your meal. Get more info here if you’re curious.

Islander reviewed the band’s first album Delayed Response way back in 2011. At the beginning of this month, the band released a follow-up called Titans Lament. For those who’ve been underwhelmed by doom this year, I submit this album for your consideration. Continue reading »

BENEATH THE NCS RADAR

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 14 Responses »

Nov 052015

(We welcome back Norwegian guest contributor Gorger, who has provided us with another feature on bands we seem to have overlooked at NCS. For readers of Norwegian, please check out Gorger’s Metal.)

Thirteen months ago I did a short series of reviews (here and here) under the moniker “Metal Not Previously Featured On NCS”. Now that Islander is busy gazing into the sky I thought I’d chip in a contribution once again. (What? He’s working? Well, that’s what you get for only looking at the pictures).

There are more creative serpentine forces lurking and dwelling in the underground than ever. With all new creeping and crawling releases that are spewed forth, no one can keep track of everything. Thus, good stuff flies under the radar, undetected or forgotten and lost in the pandemonium (along with you-know-who). Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: STELLAR MASTER ELITE (D.F.)

Interviews 1 Response »

Nov 052015

(Andy Synn interviews D.F., master of guitars and synthesizers for Germany’s Stellar Master Elite. To read Andy’s reviews of all the band’s albums, including their new 2015 release, go here.)

So let’s start this interview off with a simple question… how are you, and what are you up to at this precise moment?

DF: Writing this interview with the damn flu while listening to Boards of Canada. Could be worse! Continue reading »

LOOKING AHEAD

Listmania 24 Responses »

Nov 042015

In the near term, the forecast for our site is cloudy. Early this morning I left Seattle for Alaska again, where I’ll be spending the next 10 days on a project for my fucking day job. Like most of these out-of-town adventures, I’ll be working day and night and unable to spend much time on NCS.

I do expect I’ll have enough time to post what our other writers send me, and maybe time to write a few things myself (such as one post I’ve planned for tomorrow). Things should get back to normal during the week of November 16, but until then the volume of our daily posts will probably decline.

But the forecast gets brighter after the next 10 days. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CAECUS — “AFFLICTION”

Premieres 6 Responses »

Nov 042015

Affliction is the title of the debut EP by a Scottish trio named Caecus. You listen to the music, and it seems born of affliction, and it expresses affliction — among other powerful emotions. It will take you less than 10 minutes to hear the three unnamed songs on the EP from start to finish, but it’s still an all-consuming experience.

If you’re like me, the first thing you’ll want to do at the end, while your head is still spinning, is go back to the beginning and launch it again so you can try to understand better what just happened to you. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HANGMAN’S CHAIR (JULIEN ROUR CHANUT)

Interviews 2 Responses »

Nov 042015

(Comrade Aleks brings us another interview, this time with Julien Rour Chanut, guitarist of the French band Hangman’s Chair.)

This is one of the most nihilistic, dirty, and desperate doom outfits from France. Hangman’s Chair was born in 2005 and proved their skills with three full-length albums until now. These are hymns of outcasts, confessions of the addicted, a portrayal of crude reality from the backyard of a city’s daily life.

The reason for this interview with Julien Rour Chanut, the band’s guitarist, is the release of Hangman’s Chair’s new album This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive on Musicfearsatan Records. Another murky reflection in a cracked mirror of our lives… Another expressive art-work, another handful of depressive and realistic tunes from the underground of suburban Paris. Continue reading »

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