A PUZZLE: HEAVEN SHALL BURN PREMIERES “LAND OF THE UPRIGHT ONES”

 Metal News  10 Responses »
Feb 202013
 

Heaven Shall Burn’s new album Veto is one of my “most anticipated” releases of 2013. This morning, the band and its label (Century Media) unveiled the album cover, which, as you can see above, makes use of an eye-catching 1898 painting of Lady Godiva by John Collier.

But that’s not all. They also made available for streaming and free download a song from the album entitled “Land of the Upright Ones”. But you have to work for this. They’ve constructed a puzzle that must be solved before you can hear or download the music. This is what the puzzle looks like:

I’ll tell you this much: it isn’t as simple as just dragging and dropping each stone into those spaces in the same order as you see them. Reversing the order doesn’t work either. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SUFFOCATION’S DEREK BOYER

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Feb 202013
 

(Suffocation’s new album Pinnacle of Bedlam is a stunner, but what did you expect? As TheMadIsraeli said in our review of the album, Suffocation “define the three things that make a great band: Consistency, legacy, and relevancy.” We’re honored to present Andy Synn’s interview of Suffo’s uber-bassist Derek Boyer.)

So a couple of weeks back I was asked if I wanted to interview Suffocation… and who could say no to something like that? I wasn’t aware who exactly would be answering my questions, so I tried to make them of a type that could easily be answered by any and all members of the band. In the end it turned out to be uber-bassist extraordinaire Derek Boyer who was tasked with responding to my inane queries, and – all credit to him – he did so in a thoroughly entertaining and really detailed manner.

You’ll notice that I didn’t bother to touch on any of the recent line-up changes, the he-said, she-said back and forth between the band and departing drummer Mike Smith, or even the storm-in-a-teacup that was Fran Mullen’s decision to cut down on his own ability to tour. These have all been covered pretty thoroughly elsewhere, and, as I think you’ll see, it seems like Derek certainly appreciated not being asked about them for the 100th time.

Ultimately, I hope he got some enjoyment out of answering the questions himself, and I hope you all appreciate his answers and his generally very friendly and relaxed demeanour, which really comes across despite the limitations of the email interview format! Continue reading »

THE FACELESS “DECONSECRATE” VIDEO

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Feb 192013
 

Not long ago The Faceless released an official video for “Deconsecrate”, a song from last year’s Autotheism album (reviewed here by DGR). I suppose everyone who cares to has already heard the song, with its schizophrenic mix of prog, tech death, and jazz. It’s a song that caught me off guard when I first heard it — and I can’t say I’ve gone back very often to give it more time.

But a strange thing happened to me when I listened to the music in the new video, after having put quite a bit of space between me and it: I really enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed the really well-made video directed by Ramon Boutviseth. If you know the lyrical themes of this album, the story won’t come as a great surprise. However, if you think it’s showing a theft in progress, thing again. Watch after the jump. Continue reading »

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS, WITH CREST OF DARKNESS, ANTESTOR, JOHN CLEESE, AND SABAZIUS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Feb 192013
 

Here is a truly random collection of items I came across over the last 24 hours that I’d like to share. On the sublime end of the continuum are new videos from Crest of Darkness and Antestor. On the ridiculous end of the range is a new YouTube clip from Sabazius — the longest clip ever uploaded to YouTube, and it’s a metal song. And in between I have something from the immortal John Cleese that’s both sublime and ridiculous.

CREST OF DARKNESS

Norway’s Crest of Darkness have a new album (their sixth studio release) named In the Presence of Death that’s scheduled to appear on February 25 via My Kingdom Music. Just 12 days ago I wrote about the first new song to debut, a track called “From the Dead”. This morning brought a second new song — “Demon Child” — via an official video. Actually, the song seems to be a special video mix, and so it may differ somewhat from the album track.

I really like the song for the same reason I enjoyed “From the Dead” — Crest of Darkness mix things up. There’s certainly plenty of face-ripping black metal viciousness, but the song also segues into a catchy-as-fuck rock beat that really got my head nodding. Continue reading »

ASH BORER: “BLOODLANDS”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Feb 192013
 

With relatively few hammer blows, Ash Borer have already chiseled their name into the obsidian edifice of American black metal. They’re bringing the hammer down again with the the impending debut of their newest album Bloodlands, which will be co-released on vinyl by Gilead Media and Psychic Violence.

I’ve been following the band since discovering their 2011 split with Fell Voices, and each release has brought signs of growth and deeper exploration into the heart of darkness, with their 2012 Profound Lore release Cold of Ages (reviewed here) really cementing their reputation as a band worth watching closely.

On Bloodlands, Ash Borer continue to throw themselves (even more intensely) into the uses of long-form music as a palette for the creation of emotion-changing soundscapes, and confronting even more daringly the concomitant challenge of maintaining listener interest over songs of extended length: Bloodlands includes only two tracks, one about 15 minutes in duration (“Oblivion’s Spring”) and the second running about 20 minutes (“Dirge/Purgation”).

The average human attention span being what it is here in the 21st century, i.e., only slightly longer than that of a hummingbird, the challenge is evident. But, in the right hands, the opportunities for pulling listeners along in a truly immersive experience also can’t be matched by songs of normal length. This is the tightrope Ash Borer have chosen to walk, high above the ground without a net. On Bloodlands, they walk the line confidently, never losing their balance.  Continue reading »

PAIN – LIVE AT THE HAIRY DOG, DERBY, FEB 16, 2013

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Feb 192013
 

(Our UK-based correspondent Sir Andy Synn experienced his first concert by Sweden’s PAIN in Derby, England, on Feb 16, 2013, and files this report, accompanied by his own copious videos of the experience.)

Ah… Pain. One of many projects of the legendary Peter Tägtgren, where he lives out his electro-rock, industrialised-dance-metal fantasies. They’re all about big riffs, pulsing synths, and heavy beats. They’re also a band I’ve never managed to see before, so tonight’s experience was going to be one for the books.

One thing that became almost immediately apparent about the band was how painfully tight (no pun intended) they were as a live unit, producing an intense heavy metal experience that came straight at the audience in a wall of light and sound. The quartet’s live guitar tone was absolutely crushing, only slightly let down by an occasionally muted lead line, while the thrumming bass and slippery, strafing drums locked together into a tight, sexy groove.

Also immediately noticeable was the odd variety of clientele in attendance. The venue was impressively packed, with individuals and groups from all the different metal tribes. There were balding old-school rockers, pierced punks and neophyte nu-metallers, a host of over- (and under-) dressed goth chicks (varying from emaciated to elephantine), and almost every other permutation of metalhead you could think of! Continue reading »

ARKHUM: “EARTHLING”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Feb 192013
 

 (In the following post NCS contributor Austin Weber reviews the new album by one of our favorite bands, Oregon-based Arkhum.)

When Anno Universum dropped like a bomb all the way from Eugene, Oregon, in 2010, many sites and fans were made curious and became stuck on this new group’s virulent combination of technical death metal with brutal vocals and black metal soaked in sci-fi concepts. Earthling finds Arkhum in an even more mature place where instead of merely crossing genre streams, they’ve upped the black metal aesthetic and given it considerably more room to grow.

Like the last record, they decide when and where things will switch from black metal to death metal, but they do it with much more skill, and oftentimes that integration and the decision of when to do it are the coolest parts of their music.They have an unparalleled skill in fusing black metal and death metal together. This leads to two interesting dichotomies: black metal-fueled death metal and death metal-fueled black metal. Continue reading »

MID-DAY ROUND-UP: THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYBREED, AND FEARED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Feb 182013
 

Today and the next few days are pretty jammed with the work that pays the bills, but I just took a break long enough to spot the following tidbits I’d like to pass around like a family-sized bag of popcorn.

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN

I saw an announcement that The Dillinger Escape Plan have revealed the title of their next album — One of Us Is the Killer — and a general timeframe for release — May — as well as the album cover (above).

The album will be released by the band’s imprint label Party Smashers Inc. and will be distributed in NorthAm by Sumerian and by BMG everywhere else.

I also saw that DEP has already begun scheduling tour dates in the U.S. and overseas. Many more dates will follow, but you can see the initial list right after the jump. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: LOST SOCIETY, INFILTRATOR, DEMILICH, KATATONIA, SEPTIC FLESH, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, CARACH ANGREN, NAILS, AND NE OBLIVISCARIS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
Feb 182013
 

Hey, happy fucking Monday to all you brain-dead metal heads. Here’s a big collection of new music and news that I came across at the start of my bleary-eyed morning today.

LOST SOCIETY

I’ve confessed before that straight-up old-school thrash is not among the metal genres that are nearest and dearest to my black heart. In addition, I’ve become even more numb due to the avalanche of re-thrash releases by many new bands who all sound alike to me. But with that said, I’m digging the shit out of a new song clip that premiered today by a Finnish band named Lost Society.

The song title alone hooked me: “Braindead Metal Head”. And then the music Finnish-ed me off. It’s a jet-fueled, out-of-control thrash rocket with multiple warheads. The riffing is catchy as fuck, the vocals are pleasingly drunk on the high energy, and the obligatory guitar solo is a first-class trip to shred city. This is speed metal I can get behind.

The video strings together words of high praise by the likes of Mille Petrozza (Kreator), Schmier (Destruction), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura), Craig Locicero (Forbidden), and Kragen Lum (Heathen), and they might know what they’re talking about. Continue reading »

SUFFOCATION: “PINNACLE OF BEDLAM”

 Album Reviews  9 Responses »
Feb 182013
 

(Below, NCS writer TheMadIsraeli reviews the new album by Suffocation.)

Suffocation are THE pinnacle of technical death metal.  Every single moment of music they’ve written from Human Waste on has been full of eviscerating brutality, technical instrumentation brought together by one of the best senses of songwriting in the entirety of the genre, and the signature trademarks of Frank “The Tank” Mullen’s vocals, Terrance Hobbs’ indescribable but instantly recognizable brand of riffing, and in this particular case David Culross’s drumming (I think his approach on Despise The Sun was unique, and it definitely sounds like him here). So, the chance to review Pinnacle Of Bedlam was something I leaped at.

In addition to Vader and Dying Fetus, Suffocation are at the head of my trinity of brutality.  No one has EVER matched up to this band’s body of work, not even close.  They define the three things that make a great band: Consistency, legacy, and relevancy.  I don’t think anyone would dare have the nerve to say Pierced From Within sounds old; at least to my ears, that album is as musically current as it ever was, which may raise some questions about the state of modern metal.  What does it mean when many newer bands out now sound older and outdated while certain old school stalwarts still manage to sound not only relevant, but still ahead of the times?  To this day, Suffocation still maintain a commitment to excellence and a standard of quality that exceed that of most other bands.

Pinnacle of Bedlam is the shit.  That’s the essence of what I’m trying to say.  Continue reading »

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