DARK TRANQUILLITY: “CONSTRUCT”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Jun 132013
 

(DGR reviews the new album by Sweden’s Dark Tranquillity, with all four officially released album tracks to stream at the end.)

When a band has become as storied as Dark Tranquillity, new releases can pose a bit of a challenge. It seems that at some point pretty much everyone in the metal community has crossed paths with these melodeath veterans, and their opinion of them has largely been marked by that experience.  Reviewing a new release by a band such as this one is also difficult; you don’t want to spend a whole review comparing a newer work to past albums because you tread a very thin line between either sounding informed or accidentally painting the new disc as derivative and making yourself look like someone who can’t let go of past glories.

Construct, which saw release at the end of May, is a tale of two albums. It is an album that feels a bit like a career retrospective, yet it also includes some of the most daring work the guys have gotten up to in a while. Construct is the furthest that Dark Tranquillity have spread their wings in their career.

On We Are The Void it really felt like they had pushed the style that they had used on Character and Fiction – a sound that is more straightforward melodeath and really represented a more refined Damage Done. The crazy part about Dark Tranqullity’s career arc, however, is that they also produced a couple of slower, mid-tempo, synth-filled affairs in Haven and Projector, and until now, those albums had represented the points at which the band had most changed things up.

If you were to put Dark Tranquillity’s discs on a spectrum, then, Construct would lay closer to the Haven/Projector side of things. However, if you’re spooked by that mention, then you need to stick around – because Construct is one of those times where almost every experiment works really well. Continue reading »

KYLESA: THE VIOLITIONIST SESSIONS

 Exceptions to the Rule, Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jun 132013
 

We’ve mentioned The Violitionist Sessions twice before, but you may have forgotten. In the words of the site’s proprietors: “The Violitionist Sessions are 3 questions and 3 songs with bands from Denton and passing through Denton, Texas. The sessions are all recorded live in a living room with no overdubs and no fancy tricks. The goal is to document a moment in time. This is what happened in Denton, Texas.”

Yesterday, The Violitionist Sessions put up videos of the three songs recently performed in that living room by Savannah’s Kylesa. They also made the live recordings available for free download on Bandcamp. And they also included an interview of the band. The three songs are “To Forget” (Spiral Shadow), “Said and Done” (Static Tensions), and “Hollow Severer” (Time Will Fuse Its Worth). All of that is collected here, though I’m also going to embed the videos after the jump.

As has been true of every recording I’ve heard from The Violitionist Sessions, the sound quality is outstanding, and Kylesa were really hitting it hard in these sessions — tight, tough, trippy, and plenty heavy. I’m not well-versed in Kylesa’s music — hadn’t heard any of these songs before — and it was an eye-opener for me. “To Forget”, in particular, made a big impression when I watched and listened to these videos. Continue reading »

ANOTHER REASON TO JUMP INTO BANDCAMP: NEW MUSIC PLAYERS

 Metal News  13 Responses »
Jun 132013
 

If bands and record labels needed any more reasons to set up shop on Bandcamp, they just got another one as of this morning. Bandcamp has just unveiled a group of new customizable music players that can be used to embed music across the web. Not only can bands and labels use the new players on their own web sites, but bloggers like me (and anyone else who creates pages on the web) can do it, too. And people who already have their music on Bandcamp don’t need to do anything to take advantage of this new functionality — it has automatically become available on all Bandcamp music pages.

I’m going to show you exactly what I’m talking about. And I’m picking the new EP by Sweden’s Vomitous (reviewed here) as a guinea pig, in part because it includes amazing album art by New Zealand’s Nick Keller. First, here’s a large player that doesn’t include a track list (I’ve customized the background and link colors, which you can also do with these new players):

Next, here’s the large player with a track list: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: WATAIN, SQUASH BOWELS, DRAUGR, AND SAIVA

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Jun 132013
 

Herein, a selection of four items I came across yesterday that I guarantee will appeal to you. Assuming that your tastes are identical to mine. Otherwise, no guarantees. But have no fear, the bands featured here are so diverse there’s bound to be something that will turn you on.

WATAIN

As we previously reported, this Swedish horde have a new album named The Wild Hunt coming on August 19 in Europe and August 20 in the US via Century Media Records. A two-track single (“All That May Bleed”) will be released on June 21.

Yesterday Watain unveiled the album cover, which you can see above. It’s a painting in oil and mixed materials by the phenomenal Zbigniew M. Bielak, who created (among other things) the artwork for Watain’s last album, Lawless Darkness, as well as the cover for the single.

More info, including the track list, can be found at Watain’s official site (here). Continue reading »

CORMORANT ARE BACK, WITH A NEW VOCALIST AND A NEW ALBUM ON THE WAY

 Metal News  8 Responses »
Jun 122013
 

I was extremely disappointed to learn last fall that Arthur Von Nagel had (amicably) parted ways with Cormorant to pursue a career in the video-gaming business (details reported here). That band was a powerfully talented collective, and Arthur was unquestionably a key part of its appeal. On the other hand, Cormorant encompassed a lot of other talents, too — and now the band are on their way back with a new vocalist and a new album.

As reported here within the last hour, Cormorant are preparing to enter Trakworx Studio in South San Francisco this coming September to record the follow-up to 2011’s remarkable Dwellings, and the new album is projected for release in late 2013 or early next year.

According to that same press release, “the band’s third LP will further explore the black metal and doom influences found on Dwellings and will also mark the first appearance of new bassist/vocalist Marcus Luscombe (VENGINCE, ex-CLOAKWHEEL).”  Continue reading »

TOURISM: DYING FETUS, DEVOURMENT, EXHUMED AND ABIOTIC TOURING NORTH AMERICA THIS FALL!

 Metal News  12 Responses »
Jun 122013
 

UPDATE: This tour has now been confirmed. After the jump you’ll find the official flyer and all the dates.

I guess you could call this gun-jumping, since I’m posting it in advance of any official announcement. Not long ago I noticed a series of coincidences: Dying Fetus, Devourment, Exhumed, and Abiotic — four ass-kicking bands I follow on Facebook — all posted similar statuses.  For example, Dying Fetus posted: “major tour announcement 4pm EST today”.  And Abiotic posted: “Check back here at 4pm EST for a HUGE announcement! \m/”

Being the impatient sort, I googled those four bands’ names plus the word “tour”. And lo and behold, what I discovered were three widely separated venues in the US and Canada offering tickets for a show involving those four bands. Using the superior deductive skills for which I’m widely known, I deduced: NORTH AMERICAN SKULL-FUCKING TOUR!

Actually, I don’t know for sure that it will be called the SKULL FUCKING TOUR, but that really should be the name. Here are the dates and places I’ve found so far: Continue reading »

BLOODGUARD LIVE — MANCHESTER / BRADFORD / LONDON

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jun 122013
 

(Andy Synn is doing a quick last-minute plug for three shows in England that begin tomorrow night and run through Saturday night, featuring his band Bloodguard. Book your flights without delay!)

So this may be a little last-minute, but honestly, I’ve been so busy booking these shows, getting the other bands sorted, practicing, promoting… I haven’t had much time to write for NCS at all, let alone use it as a platform to advertise the show!

Still, I’m taking the chance now, so open your eyes, and your minds, and check out the various bands we’ve got sharing the stage with us over the next couple of days.

If you’re really feeling generous, you should come on down, and drag your friends along too! The more support we get (and the more t-shirts we can sell) the better things will be!

After the jump, all the dates, and links to all the bands! Continue reading »

TOAD, THE GARDNERZ, AND FESTIVAL OF THE FUCK BANDS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jun 122013
 

I don’t know if you noticed, but we’ve been pretty light on content the last two days (not meaning to take anything away from Andy’s haiku reviews, but what’s lighter than haiku?). I had to be out of town for 2 days for my fucking day job, one of those deals where I was going from early ’til really late, with almost no time to check out what’s been happening in the world of metal or listen to music or write much. As a result, I find myself way behind, so far behind that trying to catch up seems unrealistic. Basically, I’m just a big behind.

But I’m not completely empty-handed this morning.  I did spot a few items on a quick survey of my e-mail and Facebook that I thought were worth sharing. Here they are. Things should be getting back to ab-normal around here today or tomorrow.

TOAD

TOAD are from Phoenix, Arizona. They aren’t actually named after toads. The name is an acronym for Take Over and Destroy. But I like the fact that they just go fuckin’ ugly with TOAD.

I got interested in the band about 10 days ago when I spotted the killer artwork you see above (by Sean Williams), which appears on their forthcoming EP Endless Night (click it to make it bigger). I waited for the release of some music, and yesterday I got some. I actually got an advance of the EP, which I haven’t heard yet (fucking day job), but the reason I’m including TOAD in this post is that Pitchfork premiered a song from the EP for everyone to hear. Continue reading »

NEW VIDEOS FROM EXTOL AND CHTHONIC

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jun 112013
 

Within the last 24 hours two of our favorite bands have released new videos. Norway’s Extol have premiered a video for “A Gift Beyond Human Reach”, a song from their forthcoming self-titled album, which is due for release in a couple weeks (the album can be ordered here). It’s a cool song and a cool video to watch — a different kind of performance clip, as you’ll see.

And Taiwan’s Chthonic have released a third video in support of their new album, Bú-Tik, which will be released in North America via Spinefarm Records US digitally on June 18 and on CD June 25 (for pre-orders, go here). The new video is for “Supreme Pain For the Tyrant”. In teh words of the band: “Metalheads travel back in time to 1930s to disrupt a party between Nazis and KMT! Check out the incredible Martial arts, modern dance, debauchery, and Oriental Metal!!”

Both videos are definitely worth seeing and hearing, so go do that righty after the jump. Continue reading »

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