ESSENTIAL ENTRIES: FEBRUARY 2015

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Mar 162015
 

 

(In this post Dan Barkasi continues his monthly series recommending music from the month just ended.)

Here we go for round two of Essential Entries. You guessed it – we’re covering February this time. Yeah, yeah, suspense isn’t this guy’s strong point.

January gave us genius like Desolate Shrine and Agos, which is just what was needed to start things off right. How does February measure up? To quote one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, “Great Scott!” If you don’t get that, I bestow upon you great shame. But yeah, February did bring the noise (no Public Enemy included). Here’s the proof, in no particular order.

A Forest of Stars – Beware the Sword You Cannot See

Self-described as a secret society from Victorian-era 1895, A Forest of Stars compose music that’s as intricate and unique as their theming. Black metal with a lot of psychedelic elements is the most basic description, but really, their music is so much more. It’s a continuing story, and their latest chapter is awe-inspiring. Invest the time, as there’s a lot of layers, with the payoff being oh so worth it. Continue reading »

TOURISM: CRYPTOPSY, ALLEGAEON, MELVINS, MAID MYRIAD, THE FINE CONSTANT, FULL TERROR ASSAULT, AGALLOCH

 Metal News  3 Responses »
Mar 152015
 

 

(In this post Austin Weber updates us with news of forthcoming metal tours.)

Metal Injections Presents: Cryptopsy/Soreption/Erimha US Tour

It’s been several years since Cryptopsy have toured the United States, but now they’re coming back, and they’re bringing along some sick support acts to sweeten the deal. Soreption is definitely a favorite around here at NCS. Their sleek combination of mechanical grooves and technical death metal is incredible, and last year’s Engineering The Void was an amazing effort by the band. US Death metal act Disgorge and Montreal-based black/death group Erimha round out the tour bill. Continue reading »

RAPID ROUND-UP: MACABRE OMEN, TENGGER CAVALRY, MOONSORROW, AKHLYS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Mar 152015
 

 

(Our Norwegian friend eiterorm has stepped up to assist with a round-up of recommended new music.)

While Islander is away on duties, I promised to do a quick round-up of some of the news I find. Due to my music-to-words converter running at low capacity at the moment, I’ll leave it to you to find descriptive words for the music. So if you find that adjectives and metaphors are lacking, feel free to add your own in the comment field below. Despite the scarcity of words in this post, however, all the music below is highly recommended. Don’t just take my word for it; stream it all and hear for yourself.

Macabre Omen

Macabre Omen was founded in 1994 on the island of Rhodes in Greece. For the next decade, they recorded a variety of demos and splits until their debut album, entitled The Ancient Returns, was released in 2005. Now, another decade later, the Hellenes have unleashed their sophomore album upon us. The new opus, entitled Gods of War – At War, is an hour-long collection of epic hymns to Hellenic warfare, in the musical vein of Bathory. The entire album can be streamed below for your auditory pleasure. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: IN LIEU OF ISLANDER… AGAIN (PT. II)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Mar 142015
 

 

(Having heard of my job-related inability to assemble round-ups of new music for the last week (and the one that’s coming), Austin Weber has once again graciously stepped up to fill the void. This is Part 2 of a round-up of new music, which began here.)

Dawn Of Dementia

Both Islander and I have written about Lafayette, Indiana-based technical death metal act Dawn Of Dementia before. The band traffic in a highly melodic form of technical death metal, and their newly dropped track, “A Subterranean Exposure”, shows them executing at an even higher level than on their previously released (and amazing) EP, Residuum.

I had the honor of getting to see Dawn Of Dementia play live in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, last fall, and these guys are the real deal. Their forthcoming album, Immolation Of  Avernis, is shaping up to be quite an impressive debut. Continue reading »

CHECKING IN (WITH MUSIC BY GEOFFREY CASTLE)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Mar 142015
 

artwork by Kirill

I hope all of you are having, have had, or will have a good Saturday. For those who missed my “Blog Slowdown” post last weekend, I’m mired in an out-of-town project for my fucking day job,  a 7-day-a-week, 18-hour-per-day grind that’s now about halfway complete, with about 10 days left.

I’ve had very little time to do much at NCS but write about some premieres and get the writing of other people posted on the site. That will be true for the next 10 days as well, though I think I’ll have a little extra free time this weekend, and I hope to do something with that for a post tomorrow.

Meanwhile, other people have been stepping up and helping to provide content for the site, both our regular writers and guests. Here’s what’s coming: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ABOMINATOR — “THE BRIMSTONE NUCLEUS”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Mar 132015
 

 

Australia’s Abominator have been awfully quiet. More than eight years have passed since their last album, The Eternal Conflagration. But at long last they have a new one named Evil Proclaimed that Hells Headbangers is slated to release on March 24. This will be their fifth album overall, in a career that stretches back 20 years.

We’ve previously featured the album’s title track, and today we bring you another — “The Brimstone Nucleus”. It’s a four-minute barrage of machine-gun percussion, deep, thrumming bass rumble, and venomous, grinding riffs. The lead guitar writhes like a serpent attempting to consume itself and explodes in spurts of flame-throwing solos, while the vocalist barks and growls like an enraged mastiff. But while merciless attack is the principal strategy, the band also punctuate their slashing assault with an off-pace segment that oozes with a sickening pestilence. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: IN LIEU OF ISLANDER… AGAIN (PT. I)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Mar 132015
 

 

(Having heard of my job-related inability to assemble round-ups of new music for the last week (and the next one), Austin Weber has graciously stepped up to fill the void… and then I didn’t even have time to post his first installment in a timely manner. The delay is my fault, but even late, it’s still very much worth reading.  There’s a lot of good music in here.)

Our esteemed leader, and general in our revolt against metal mediocrity, Islander, has slipped into the shadows once again. Sometimes when his job flogs him too much he doesn’t have any spare time to flog his ears and spread that beating around to the fine folks who read our daily crazed musings here at NCS. So, once again, I’ve decided to cautiously fill in and ensure that killer new music from across the metal spectrum graces your ears. All death threats, grumblings, or perceptive complaints can be sent to my email: arewebd@yahoo.com. Lots to cover so let’s dive right in.

Vermörd

Vermörd are a Maryland-based blackened death metal band who are new to me, and one Islander had meant to write about before his current work debacle denied him the chance to do so. As such, I figured I’d include them in this post, and also because he told me to check them out under the theory that I might like music. And right he was. Continue reading »

MELECHESH: “ENKI”

 Album Reviews  11 Responses »
Mar 132015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Melechesh.)

I realise I may be in the minority about this, but as much as I enjoyed The Epigenesis I still felt like there was something missing in the final package. Though it certainly broke new ground in terms of adding an even more progressive, expressive edge to the band’s sound, to my mind it lacked a certain fire, a certain ferocity, when compared with their previous releases.

However it’s now been five long years since the release of The Epigenesis, five years which the band have spent (metaphorically) wandering in the wilderness, losing long-serving members and regaining old allies, perfecting and purifying themselves once more, engaged in a penitent pilgrimage which has led, ultimately, to the creation of perhaps their finest album yet. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: APOPHYS — “MISCREANTS”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Mar 122015
 

 

This is a song made especially for you, and you know that because the name of the song is “Miscreants”.

It comes from an album entitled Prime Incursion by the Dutch band Apophys, an album soon to be released by Metal Blade that we’ve been eagerly awaiting since first learning that it was in the works, our eagerness only magnified by the interview we did with the band’s vocalist Kevin Quilligan earlier this year (and yes, we’re mentioning that because we think you should read it).

As for the song, you will enjoy “Miscreants” even if you’re not convinced that it was named for you. The pummeling begins immediately with a phalanx of hammering riffs that seem dedicated to pounding you into the ground like a nail driven through wood, and the start-stop jackhammering doesn’t stop. The music is a ticket straight to headbang city, but that’s not all it is. Continue reading »

AETHERIAN: “TALES OF OUR TIMES”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Mar 122015
 

 

(DGR reviews the debut EP by Aetherian from Athens, Greece.)

Oftentimes, when a writer disappears for an extended length of time, the writer will usually return to the fold — because really, the muse is always calling, siren song being strangled from her (because really, we have to METAL around here) — with tail tucked between the legs, bevy of excuses in hand (most pretty valid), ‘aw shucks’ look on the face, and full of apologies, ready to be welcomed back with grand plans and a ton of material to work with.

I can’t do that this time. I disappeared because work kicked my ass. It’s been a well-known fact that NCS is a labor of love and it is our passion (and that of many others) that keeps the site running. We happen to be in a very blessed position where we don’t have to worry about ad-buys and traffic, and therefore we can sort of freely write about what strikes us. But our amateur status also opens up the scenario in which actual real life takes over, and for about a month and a half I was the aforementioned single digit that was being smashed into dust on Napalm Death’s Apex Predator. Continue reading »

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