NEW NASTINESS FROM AUROCH, DE PROFUNDIS, AND CREST OF DARKNESS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
May 092014
 

I’m in a tug of war with my fucking day job, but I pulled it into the slop long enough to throw together this small collection of nasty new songs and a video. Now it’s my turn to get pulled into the slop — see you on Saturday when we will have… something… probably something covered in slop.

AUROCH

As previously reported, Vancouver’s Auroch have a new album named Taman Shud that will be released on June 24 by Profound Lore, with vinyl coming via Dark Descent. I’ve been very high on this band based on their past efforts, and the new song that debuted yesterday is a strong sign that Taman Shud will be a worthy successor. “Noxious Plume” is the name of this ode to all things poisonous and wantonly destructive. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: JANI KEKARAINEN (SKEPTICISM)

 Interviews  1 Response »
May 092014
 

(Saint-Petersburg-based guest writer Comrade Aleks has delivered to us the following interview with Jani Kekarainen of the seminal Finnish funeral doom band Skepticism.)

Skepticism (Riihimaki, Finland) is one of most ancient funeral doom bands on Earth. The band did appear in far off 1991 and since then have slowly paced into the Hall of Doom Myths and Legends, even though they have only four full-length albums in their stock. The last grand work Alloy was released six years ago, and it seems that Skepticism are now waking from their slumbers and returning to active creative life. We got in touch with Jani Kekarainen (guitars) to learn some details about the forthcoming visit of Skepticism to Moscow and ask a question or two about the new album as well.

 

First of all I’d like to ask you about one big deal: It’s said that Skepticism started composing music for a new album about a year ago. How does your progress go?

Pretty well, I would say. It’s always a long process for us. We have been creating the new songs and basic structures and 80% of the songs are ready for the new album. Our target is to do the first demo recordings for our internal use during this summer. It will be used for fine-tuning the arrangement of the songs. I hope we will be able to record the new album around the end of 2014.

 

It would be interesting to know some details about the new stuff, considering that your last album Alloy was released 6 years ago. Will you reveal any secrets?

It’s still the same old Skepticism, but however, we have been trying some new methods and ideas. We have been focusing on the atmospheres of the songs, even more than earlier. Currently we are doing a song where there is less drumming and vocals than usually in our music. I’m pretty curious to see the final result of that particular song. A new “march song” has been written again and most probably there will be a new record label releasing the album. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: SERPENTINE PATH, WO FAT, BONEMECHANICS, ANOPHELI

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
May 082014
 

This is a small collection of new songs and videos that I found today. I thought you might enjoy them. I sure did.

SERPENTINE PATH

The few songs I’ve heard from Serpentine Path’s new album Emanations have been flattening — including the one that Invisible Oranges debuted today. It’s the opening track, “House of Worship”. There’s so much tar in the song that you’ll be trying to peel it off your skin with a razor blade for the next month. It’s suffused with thick, viscous, riffs; a trudging pace; and a black, congealing atmosphere. Wretched howling and cobra-like soloing are the icing on this poisonous cake.

If you’re unfamiliar with Serpentine Path, the membership includes the three former members of Unearthly Trance, ex-Electric Wizard/ex-Ramesses performer Tim Bagshaw, and Winter’s Stephen Flam. The album comes out May 27 on Relapse. Continue reading »

REALMBUILDER — CHARGE OF THE BLUE FRAME BRIGADE

 Interviews  2 Responses »
May 082014
 

(Our Russian correspondent Comrade Aleks returns to our hallowed halls with an interview of Jeff Halberd of the band Realmbuilder, whose music you’ll get a chance to hear in this post.)

Realmbuilder (New York) is a well-balanced creation of two exclusively artistic persons. “Czar” Craig Zahler (vocals, drums) is known as a pretty productive writer and screenwriter, and Jeff H. Halberd (guitars, bass, keyboards, and additional miscellaneous instruments) is a music professor. It’s always exciting to find men with such backgrounds in the heavy scene.

This duo creates their own worlds based on fundamentals of old school heavy and traditional doom metal, somehow keeping its raw and restless spirit, a thing which is rare nowadays. The project released its third full-length album Blue Flame Cavalry a few months ago through I Hate Records, and it provided a good opportunity to ask Jeff Halberd himself a few questions about it.

 

Hail Jeff! Thanks for your time; I believe that you’re busy as always so it’s much appreciated! As we speak about Realmbuilder I have to remind our readers of the fact that I Hate records has released your third full-length Blue Flame Cavalry in December of 2013. How does your creative life go since then? 

Hail Aleks! Here’s J.H. Halberd. Czar is mired deep in the writing of his latest novel (he’s had at least two more published since we last communicated, including his spectacular horror-western Wraiths of the Broken Land).  My creative life is a little less rich than Czar’s, if only because I make most of my income as a professor instead of through the sale of my creative things, but I’ve had a pretty full last couple of years myself, writing a few new chamber works in addition to some recordings with my sleepy rock band bell monks and a lot of laptop improv performances. Czar and I are ramping up preparations for our next Realmbuilder sessions now, which are already about a year overdue because of a lot of the other work we’ve had going on. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: HUMAN BODIES

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
May 082014
 

I have poor impulse control.  Many people with poor impulse control die young. In my case, over many years, impulsive decisions have worked out to be good decisions. I know this is nothing more than being lucky in my dice rolls with an uncaring universe, but the experience hasn’t exactly motivated me to stop being impulsive.

Take last night for example. I have many partially written NCS pieces that are beginning to grow moss because they’ve been neglected for so long, not to mention a variety of interviews and reviews I told various people I would do but have not yet started. But did I make headway on any of those things-to-do? No I did not.

Instead, I impulsively checked out a link to a song posted on Facebook by someone whose taste has proven to be congruent with my own. And that song turned into five, and now I’m writing this — because it all worked out, yet again.

I think the soil of my mind had already been furrowed and fertilized and made ready for the seeds sewn by Human Bodies after listening to a song by the band Dripback whose album Andy Synn reviewed for us yesterday. Which is to say, I was already hammered by pissed-off music and was in the mood to receive more. Continue reading »

SCHAMMASCH: “CONTRADICTION”

 Album Reviews  17 Responses »
May 082014
 

(Andy Synn reviews the second album, released late last month in Europe, by the Swiss band Schammasch.)

Oh how I have fallen in love with this album. All 85 fantastic minutes of it. Over the course of nine songs, straddling two cds, the music on Contradiction combines elements drawn from some of my all-time favourite artists – the primal riffage of Keep of Kalessin, the pained rhythms of Deathspell Omega, the brooding darkness of Secrets Of The Moon, the impious grandeur of Behemoth – into, something utterly spellbinding.

Yet despite the references I’ve made above, Contradiction is still very much its own distinct entity, the culmination of an ambitious vision, far greater than the mere sum of its parts. Although the band’s underlying DNA shares many strands in common with the Black Metal genre, the music they produce interbreeds and interweaves elements from across the metallic spectrum, a natural synthesis of dissonant sounds and disparate styles all combined in one bold, enlightened display of unbound creativity. Continue reading »

JUST BEFORE DAWN: “COUNTERBATTERY”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
May 072014
 

Early last month we were stoked to break a bunch of news (here) about the new album (The Aftermath) by Sweden’s Just Before Dawn and to bring you sample music from two of the album’s songs. Today, we’re equally stoked to introduce your ears to a new free single that JBD are introducing to tide fans over until The Aftermath becomes available. The new song is named “Counterbattery”.

In case you’re just hearing about JBD despite how often I’ve written about them, this is the project of musician Anders Biazzi (Blood Mortized), who in addition to being a talented songwriter, guitarist, and bass-player, must also have a silver tongue — because he always seems to succeed in assembling a stellar line-up of vocalists and guitar soloists for JBD’s albums. He’s succeeded again on “Counterbattery”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ZGARD — “UNDERWORLD BELLS”

 Premieres  7 Responses »
May 072014
 

Zgard is the one-man project of western Ukrainian musician Yaromisl; the name refers to an amulet in the culture of the Huzuls, an ethno-cultural group who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian mountains, and Carpathian folklore has been a strong inspiration in the music of Zgard. The band’s fourth album has now been completed under the name Contemplation, and it’s scheduled for release by Svarga Music on June 23, 2014. Today we bring you the premiere of the album’s closing track, “Underworld Bells” [Дзвін потойбіччя].

Contemplation has been my first exposure to the music of Zgard, and “Underworld Bells” exemplifies much of what makes the album as a whole so captivating. Like almost all the tracks, it’s a long song, running almost 11 minutes, and yet I’m betting your interest won’t flag in the least as it pulls you into its epic atmosphere. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BELPHEGOR, ALLEGAEON, MEDICATED, MEANKIND

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
May 072014
 

Here’s the second of today’s planned round-ups of new and noteworthy music and informational items that your fiends at NCS have selectively sifted from the slurry of the interhole for your enjoyment and edification.

BELPHEGOR

It seems to be “Seth Siro Anton” day at NCS. First we helped premiere a new song from his band Septicflesh, and now we have the unveiling of his very recognizable artwork for Conjuring the Dead — the forthcoming 10th studio album by Belphegor. The album was recorded at Mana Studios with Hate Eternal’s Eric Rutan. It’s due for release by Nuclear Blast on August 8 in North America and the EU and on August 11 in the UK and France.

More than three years have passed since Blood Magick Necromance, and so we’re pretty damned hungry for some new Belphegor here at NCS. We’re ready to be fed! As soon as we have music to play for you, you can be sure we’ll do that without delay. To keep tabs on Belphegor, their FB page is at this place. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SEPTICFLESH — “BURN”

 Premieres  17 Responses »
May 072014
 

As we’ve been faithfully reporting for months, the Greek symphonic death metal titans Septicflesh have a new album fittingly named Titan that’s coming our way in North America via Prosthetic Records (June 24). We’ve previously featured the first advance track from the album (“Order of Dracul”), and today we have the pleasure of helping premiere a second song named “Burn”.

The name is well-chosen, because the song does indeed burn. Blazing tremolo riffs blacken the music and turn it into a ripping assault. But that’s just for starters. The song also includes a massively headbangable stomping riff — as well as a beautiful soaring melody spun out like glistening gossamer by lead guitar and symphony. It’s a hell of a song. Continue reading »

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