GAZE UPON THE STUPENDOUS ARTWORK FOR THE NEW NE OBLIVISCARIS ALBUM

 Eye-Catchers, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Aug 182014
 

 

Not long ago we posted Part 2 of Ty Lowery’s list of personal favorite album covers for 2014 to date. And then about 5 minutes later, I saw THIS ^^^^!!!

It’s the cover art for Citadel, the new album by Australia’s Ne Obliviscaris. The artist goes by the name Xen, (aka Xenoyr) who is the band’s lead vocalist and lyricist, and whose Facebook page is here:

https://www.facebook.com/svartw3rk/

And wow, isn’t that a fantastic cover?

We have very high hopes for the music on this album, too. It’s set for release through Season of Mist on November 7 (November 11 in the U.S.).

And since Ne Obliviscaris is on my mind, I think I’ll just put this music stream of their debut album right here: Continue reading »

THE BEAUTY REPRESENTING THE BEAST (PART 2)

 Eye-Catchers, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Aug 182014
 

 

(Guest writer Ty Lowery has assembled a personal list of favorite metal album covers for 2014 to date, divided into two parts. Part 1 appeared here. Once again, Ty asked his wife Heather (who he says isn’t very big on metal music as a whole) and his friend Adam (who is) to look at the album art and provide guesses about the music. Once again, please feel free to add your own favorites in the Comments.)

Alright, so the first round went pretty well for my two assistants. Where we left off, they were neck-and-neck in our little guessing game. So, time to finish this thing up and see if the trend continues. Lets get right to it, shall we?

Schammasch – Contradiction

There’s just something about the color red with me, for some reason. I really like how while the majority of this artwork is solid red, yet there’s enough variation that you can divine the angel, the demon, the symbols, and the serpents. With that knowledge, Heather was able to correctly suggest that this album was steeped in religious undertones, probably in the vein of black metal, as did Adam. He suggested that it might have something to do with atheism, but changed his mind after seeing the symbols along the bottom.

The cover art is by Valnoir of Metastazis Studio in Paris. NCS reviewed the album here.
http://www.graphic-noise.com/valnoir Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: HOD, ABOMINOR, VAMPILLIA, NACHTLIEDER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  7 Responses »
Aug 172014
 

 

This is a collection of new (or newish) songs I heard yesterday that I wanted to recommend. The music is quite diverse, yet each song contains elements of black metal — hence the “Shade of Black” title. Lots of creativity on display in what you’re about to hear — and a few things that will hit you like a semi-truck with the pedal all the way down.

HOD

San Antonio’s HOD will release their new album Book of the Worm, on September 9 via Arctic Music. The cover art, which I like a lot, was created by Jon Zig. Earlier this week Revolver (Revolver???) premiered a song from the album, and I finally caught up with it — or more accurately, it caught up with me and rode me down into the mud.

The song is “Where Are the Demons”, and the answer is — right here, in this song. It’s one of the best things I believe I’ve ever heard from HOD  — a slashing, galloping, ravaging powerhouse assault, loaded with writhing, head-whipping riffs, frenzied chord progressions, and blistering percussion. It’s a hellish inferno with tremendous surging power, but a very interesting and technically impressive  song at the same time. And the vocals will bring the grizzlies down from the hills.

The album can be pre-ordered here. A previously released track can be heard at this location. And this is where the demons are: Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: VILE REGRESSION — “EMPIRES”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Aug 162014
 

 

(Here we have yet another review by DGR, and this time the subject is the new album by an Irish band named Vile Regression.)

Even though it’s probably a bit formulaic at this point, I still love to introduce reviews by explaining how I found the band. So, let’s take a walk down memory lane for a little bit, as I tell a truncated version of my history with Dublin, Ireland-based Vile Regression and of websites gone by.

On the previous website that I worked for, one of our writers made it a routine during our two-year history that around St. Patrick’s Day he would try to share as much Irish metal as he could — stuff people hadn’t heard of, not the usual listing of bands. He really wanted to dig, find smaller groups, even go into local scenes if he could, to really try and put the country at the forefront at about the most stereotypical time possible.

Even though I jokingly poke fun at the reason for these bands getting listed on our site — and we returned to them numerous times throughout the following year — I still found a couple of really good groups, and that feature was instrumental in my discovery of some amazing stuff. Continue reading »

FERIUM: “REFLECTIONS”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Aug 162014
 

(Guest writer Ty Lowery brings us this review of the 2014 debut album by Israel’s Ferium, which features cover art by Eliran Kantor.)

2014 has been a great year for technical death metal. Inanimate Existence, Hour of Pennance, Artifical Brain, and Archspire have all released albums this year, and that doesn’t even begin to touch the tip of the iceberg. There’s enough heads getting cut off on a daily basis to make Vlad the Impaler turn in his sword and adopt a more subtle life of knitting and macramé. What I’m trying to say is, sometimes you just need a break from all the ridiculously fast shred.

Enter Israel’s Ferium. These guys couldn’t be pinned down by Bullseye on his best day. One moment they’re thrashing their way through a flame-tongued lead accompanied by a mid-tempo blast beat and the next they’re flaunting a swagger not often seen in metal this heavy. It’s an intricate mix of groove and technicality that lends Reflections both approachability and sustainability. There’s enough beef there to keep the thrill-seekers satiated, with plenty of rolling technicality to intrigue even the most seasoned of death metal’s veterans, and then there’s just the nicest little sprinkling of groove (that swagger I was talking about) to make the prog kids raise an eyebrow over their thick framed glasses. Continue reading »

AEON OF HORUS: “EXISTENCE”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Aug 152014
 

(Continuing with our week-long series of daily reviews by DGR, here’s a write-up on the 2014 album by Aeon of Horus.)

On occasion, it seems like we’ll randomly take the site through bursts of music that are coming out of Australia. Australia has a hell of a metal scene and it is one that always seems to have a couple of really good acts just off of the periphery and hidden from view. No idea why, whether it be travel expenses or those huge bodies of water that separate it from the nations where most of the media that cover metal seem to be based. Whatever the reason, we can use the power of the internet for some good, because it really has allowed us to stumble into and search out all sorts of amazing bands.

Aeon Of Horus are a Canberra, Australia-based progressive metal band. I hesitate to call them death metal, because outside of a chosen grunted vocal style the band are much more in favor of using different angular riffs, start-and-stop heavy dynamics, and various ways of interweaving a keyboard into the music.

They’ve received some critical notice before, yet 2014 brings forth only their second new album. They released an EP in 2011, but the gap between full albums is much larger, with a six-year space between the group’s new album Existence and their 2008 release, The Embodiment Of Darkness And Light. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: OCEAN CHIEF — “A UNIVERSE AS A VAST NEVER-ENDING OCEAN”

 Interviews  No Responses »
Aug 152014
 

(Our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks interviews guitarist Björn Anderssen of Sweden’s Ocean Chief.)

Björn Anderssen is a skilled channeler who transforms chthonic energies of primordial forces into massive and distorted guitar vibes. He is one of the founders of Swedish doom/sludge/stoner act Ocean Chief, who released their new album Universums härd through the well-known I Hate Records.

As the sea of sound spreads its black waves and consumes us, to become one with the cosmic ocean and find ourselves as tiny sparks of light amidst its senseless vastness… just try to relax and find the joy of primitive and wild delight.

********

Hail Björn! How are you? How goes the promotion of Ocean Chief’s new album Universums härd?

Hey! So far it’s all been good. The reviews has been overly positive, and most people seem to embrace the change since the previous albums. This one is much more dynamic in tempos and songs, hence easier to digest for the listener. Obviously not everyone has been as happy as others, but what can you do?! Continue reading »

“IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME…” — BREAKING UP WITH A BAND

 Mosh Pit  19 Responses »
Aug 152014
 

 

(Time to get some discussion going.  Tell us about bands you used to adore but hd to break up with. Andy Synn starts things off with a break-up story of his own.)

Now, to assuage your fears, I’m not leaving either Beyond Grace or Twilight’s Embrace. Like a persistent rash that you can’t quite explain… I’m sticking with both bands for a long time.

No, this is about what happens when a band you love, a band you’ve followed and supported for years and years, decides to make a change and, in doing so, changes the way you feel about them.

What do you do?

The one thing you don’t do is fly completely off the handle, insult and troll the band online, and basically make yourself look like a jackass. Like any break-up, it’s better for everyone if you handle things with dignity.

Remember what happened when Peter Dolving rejoined The Haunted? The outcry that prompted was both utterly disproportionate and thoroughly amusing at the same time. I remember clearly one commenter threatening to “go and take all [the band’s] cds from the store and burn them”. Now not only would this be very much against the law, but what does it really solve? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: WINTERFYLLETH, FALLS OF RAUROS, UNTAMED AND ETERNAL (A BINDRUNE / EIHWAZ COMPILATION)

 Free Shit, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 152014
 

Here are a trio of discoveries I made last night and early this morning that I believe will be worth your time.

WINTERFYLLETH

The next album by Britain’s Winterfylleth, The Divination of Antiquity, will be coming our way via Candlelight on October 7 (October 6 in the UK). I’ve been very eager to hear the new music. The first single from the album, “Whisper of the Elements”, was released on August 5, and this morning a lyric video for the song got its premiere.

The music is beautiful, intensely melodic and atmospheric, more so than anything the band have done before, and the nature-cenric lyrics well suit the dramatic emotional power of the sounds. Listen next… Continue reading »

EYE-CATCHERS: BÖLZER, MORDBRAND, OCCULTATION, KATECHON, EVERGREY

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 152014
 

 

Here are some things I saw yesterday that opened my eyes wide and increased my flow of drool, requiring an early change-out of the trademarked NCS bib I wear at all times. You may increase the size of some of these images by clicking on them.

ITEM ONE

Item One appears at the top of this post. It’s a shirt design created by Manuel Tinnemans (Comaworx) for Switzerland’s Bölzer, based on the song “Steppes”. I guess it’s not enough that Bölzer are making lots of people jealous with their music. Now they get shirts like this made for them. Stunning. Here’s the artwork on a black background:

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BÖLZER/108657105834227 Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries