FINSTERFORST: “MACH DICH FREI”

 Album Reviews  9 Responses »
Feb 042015
 

 

(Our guest Booker reviews the new album by Finsterforst.)

One of the unique features of this fascinating piece of technological architecture we call ‘the internet’ is the way in which information becomes searchable, indexed, codified and filed away in virtual perpetuity. And as we all know, that can be terrifying when used to spy and pry into people’s lives, or when someone logs into your Amazon account and finds out about that copy of ‘Bronies’ you bought (http://youtu.be/ohnuyqJyEW0)…… yeah, um, that happened to… a friend….

But for someone like me with more memory problems than the guy from Memento, it’s a glorious reminder of ‘how the fuck did I find out about this band?’. Case in point — I can pinpoint the first time the hammering tones of Finsterforst graced my earholes, as this post featured the ‘Nichts als Asche’ video from their previous album Rastlos. And after a few google searches, it was clear the 5-minute odd video was effectively the ‘radio edit’ version (or would that be ‘youtube edit’?) of the 12-minute opening track of the album. Color me intrigued.

Ever since, Rastlos had me hooked with its blend of folk metal, mixed with some strong orchestral influences, traditional Germanic singing, and a touch of Neue Deutsche Härte influence.  And now, a touch over two years later, Finsterforst offer us the follow-up Mach Dich Frei. Continue reading »

UNDERDOGS IN THE UNDERGROUND: ESCHER — “THE GROUND IS MISSING”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  6 Responses »
Feb 042015
 

(Austin Weber reviews a new EP by Escher from Raleigh, North Carolina.)

It’s been very interesting to witness the influence Between The Buried And Me has had on the scene. Because of their eclecticism, few if any have tried to truly copy them, but instead have taken cues from their songwriting style and their ideas about how to make aggressively focused yet complex, progressive-minded metal. Joining the pack of new-school prog metal in this vein are the Raleigh, North Carolina band Escher. One can only guess and hope that their name is a nod to the famed Dutch artist M.C. Escher.

The band just dropped an impressive new EP called The Ground Is Missing on January 20th. As suggested above, they owe a big songwriting debt to Between The Buried And Me, and to some degrees a stylistic one as well. Where they’ve made the music their own, though, is in a way similar to the path followedfellow young progsters The Odious — by infusing their key influence with snippets from technical death metal, earth-shaking deathcore, and a few djent-y chugs. Continue reading »

VENOM: “FROM THE VERY DEPTHS”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Feb 042015
 

 

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Venom.)

One of those bands whose name alone makes them legends. They often get credited for creating black metal, due to an album called, well… Black Metal. As a kid I took down their poster upon realizing they only used satanic imagery as a gimmick, like Slayer (and finding out Slayer were not satanists was like finding out Santa Claus wasn’t real). So this album puts Venom in the hot seat as it’s time to once again prove themselves.

The last album I paid attention to was Prime Evil which came out in ’89. This had “Demolition Man” on it rather than Cronos. So Venom really came to an end after Resurrection, and this is more of a Cronos solo album than a Venom album. The rest of the band is Danny Needham, who also bangs the skins for Tony Martin, and guitarist Stuart Dixon from Order of the Black Sun. Of course, using the Venom name is smarter than calling this Cronos. No one will buy a Cronos shirt, but you better bet they will be buying Venom shirts. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BLOCKHEADS — “CRISIS IS KILLING THE WEAK”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Feb 032015
 

 

The French band Blockheads have been spitting rage at high speed for more than two decades, with five full-length albums  beginning with Last Tribes in 1995, and an assortment of split releases. Their latest album, This World Is Dead, was released by Relapse Records in January 2013, and today we bring you the premiere of one of its most devastating tracks, “Crisis Is Killing the Weak”.

Capturing on video the explosiveness of the kind of grindcore destructiveness manifested in a song like this one, and the impact it has on an audience in a live setting, is never easy. But this video does that. Filmed from multiple camera angles and artfully edited, it brings the mayhem vividly to life. Continue reading »

RECALCITRANT ROUND-UP: IN LIEU OF ISLANDER (PART 2)

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Feb 032015
 

 

(Here’s Part 2 of Austin Weber’s fill-in round-up. Part 2 appeared here yesterday.)

Imperial Triumphant

I’ve been championing Imperial Triumphant for several years now. This New York City-based black metal group are on the cutting edge sonically and compositionally. In just two weeks the band will be dropping a new full-length called Abyssal Gods. Having heard it already, I can confidently say it’s jaw-dropping on numerous levels and of a quality and ferocity that few black metal acts can touch. Continue reading »

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 »

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