AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BLACK THERAPY — “MAD WORLD”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Feb 032015
 

 

Last fall we had the pleasure of premiering a full stream of The Final Outcome, a new EP by the Roman band Black Therapy, as well as a lyric video for the title track. And today we’re helping premiere an official music video for another song on the EP — the band’s cover of “Mad World”.

The cover was an interesting choice for the EP and a significant change of pace compared to the high-voltage melodic death gallops that precede it on the EP. Of course, the song was originally recorded by Tears For Fears, though in this case the band took their inspiration from the Gary Jules cover of the song that was included on the Donnie Darko movie soundtrack. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: DISTANCE — “SEEKER OF TRUTH”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  1 Response »
Feb 032015
 

 

Here’s yet another example of why music videos matter. Distance are a metal band from Madrid, Spain, whose debut album I was released by Mighty Music in November 2014. I overlooked the album when it was released, but the video we’re about to premiere has put it on my radar screen, and I hope it will put it on yours, too.

The video is for a song from the album named “Seeker of Truth”. It was made by one of the band’s guitarists, Alfredo Fernández, and by Miguel Mateos from Firefront Pictures. It combines a lot of interesting imagery, including computer animation as well as creatively framed shots of the band’s performance, and it suits the music. Continue reading »

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH (JANUARY 2015)

 Listmania, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(KevinP inaugurates a new feature in which he runs down his list of the best releases from the preceding month.)

Welcome to my feature on the best releases of each month.  I’m calling this “Albums of the Month”, but demo’s, EP’s, splits, etc., are also viable candidates, as long as the material is good enough.  Ideally this will be posted during the last week of the month we are discussing, but this time life got in the way for yours truly and our beloved CEO.

Anyways, please feel free to share you comments, thoughts and favorite releases in the comments section below.

5.  Mindful of Pripyat – …and Deeper, I Drown in Doom (EP)

For being around such a short period of time (formed in 2014), it’s quite stunning how professional and tight the sound is from this Italian trio.  Think Terrorizer and early Carcass with absolute razor precision backed by a solid production.  Continue reading »

RECALCITRANT ROUND-UP: IN LIEU OF ISLANDER (PART 1)

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(Austin Weber steps up with a fill-in round-up…)

In lieu of a “Seen and Heard” from Islander, since he is swamped, I’ll cover a bunch of different-sounding bands, ranging from post-grind to anti-grim to electro-gypsy and smegma-core. Everything the body needs and then some. I’ve been a bit behind, so some of this news/releases is more recent than others. Part two with a class of equally different-sounding bands will be posted tomorrow.

The Heads Are Zeros/Neck First split

I’ve been meaning to cover this gem of a split for some time, and now that time has finally come. The Heads Are Zeros are a first-rate, ruthlessly intense grind act from Baltimore whom I covered here last year with their album, All The Men I Love Are Dead, a grind album that I put on my year-end list and felt was one of the rare grind acts you hear who truly have their own identity and unique songwriting abilities within this style. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: ASTROUS (AENAON) ANNOUNCES NEW GREEK SUPERGROUP — KATAVASIA — AND WE BRING YOU A SONG PREMIERE

 Interviews, Metal News, Premieres  3 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(KevinP brings us another edition of his short-interview series, “Get To The Point”, and he talks with Astrous, vocalist of the Greek black metal band Aenaon. But this time the interview includes both a news scoop about the new Greek supergroup Katavasia and the world premiere of a new Katavasia song.)

K:  So what’s the big news you want to share with all of us today?

A:  I feel great to announce a new alliance in the Greek Black Metal circles which is called KATAVASIA. This new project consists of well-known musicians and guest appearances, aimed to produce the unique sound and spirit of the early Greek black metal era.

 

K:  Can you tell us who is responsible for this alliance? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: TARDIVE DYSKINESIA, LORD DYING, THE WILL OF A MILLION, INNER SANCTUM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Feb 012015
 

 

I took a break from my work this morning to take a quick look for new music that might be interesting, and I found some songs that I thought were worth recommending. I still don’t have much time to myself, so once again I’m not able to write quite as much about the music as I normally do. I realize it won’t sound as good without me explaining why it sounds good, but somehow, you will have to make do.

TARDIVE DYSKINESIA

The Greek band Tardive Dyskinesia, who I’ve been following for a very long time, just released a new single named “The Electric Sun“, and it comes with a video. It’s one of 10 songs the band are developing for a new album that they’re projecting for release at the end of this year. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 54: MARTYR

 THE SYNN REPORT  5 Responses »
Jan 312015
 

(In this latest edition of The Synn Report, Andy Synn reviews the discography of Martyr from Québec.)

Recommended for fans of: Death, Obscura, Psycroptic

It occurred to me just recently that the last three editions of The Synn Report have all had something in common, despite each covering very different bands. Each one, you see, tended towards the more mid-paced, or slower, end of the speed-scale, with a focus more on doomy, grimy grooves, over sheer velocity.

So, it seemed time to make an abrupt left-turn, flip the script, and spin the dial 180 to hit you with the fretboard mangling dynamism of Tech-Death lords Martyr.

Formed in 1994, and releasing their first album in 1997 (and, unfortunately currently “On Hold” since 2012), the Canadian quartet were one of the earliest seminal acts in the burgeoning sub-sub-genre of “Technical” Death Metal, standing proudly alongside such legendary luminaries as Pestilence, Atheist and Gorguts with their mix of intricate rhythms, angular aggression, and extravagant fretboard fireworks. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: NIGHTRAGE, DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, HELLRIPPER, MUCK

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jan 312015
 

Happy Saturday to all of you. It is not a happy Saturday for yours truly. I am still mired in day-job hell, or more accurately, day-and-night-job hell. Fortunately, other people have been stepping up and providing content for our site, but until I make it to the end of my work project next weekend we’ll still be a bit light on NCS content.

I continue to be way behind in checking out new songs and videos, but I did spot a few this morning that I thought were worth sharing. Because I’ve got to get my nose back to the grindstone, I’m once again just going to throw the music at you with minimal commentary. Continue reading »

UNDERDOGS IN THE UNDERGROUND: ARA – “DEVOURER OF WORLDS”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Jan 302015
 

 

(Austin Weber wrote this review.)

It’s been awhile since I came out with anything labeled under my “Underdogs” series here at NCS, but some recent events have influenced its return — mainly that Islander is stuck in work hell, and this site needs content damnit! But more specifically, it needs what we do best: coverage of music that few others do.

So, the plan is for me to do one of these a day (on weekdays) to help out, and also to give me a chance to write about more of the bands I keep finding online. Some may be shorter than this, but all will cover exceptional bands you need to hear from various metal subgenres.

The first target in the resurgency of this series will be Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based technical death metal omni-wizards Ara. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: GRIMOIRE — “L’AORASIE DE SPECTRES RÊVEURS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  4 Responses »
Jan 302015
 

We bring you a review and the premiere of L’aorasie des specters rêveurs, a four-track EP by the a one-man atmospheric black metal band from Québec known as Grimoire.  The EP is being released by the German label Eisenwald and it follows Grimoire’s 2011 debut album À la lumière des cendres.

The one man behind Grimoire is Fiel, who is also a member of other Quebecois black metal bands — Forteresse, Csejthe, and Ephemer. With this EP he has created an enthralling union of the the harsh and the sublime, a captivating work that is effectively atmospheric and emotionally gripping. Continue reading »

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