AN NCS INTERVIEW: BENEATH

 Interviews  1 Response »
Nov 192012
 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Seattle-based writer and NCS reader Gemma Alexander happens to be a fan and student of all things Icelandic. After months of planning, Gemma journeyed to Iceland in late October to see the country, and she timed her visit to coincide with the Iceland Airwaves festival, which includes over 420 bands playing all over Reykjavík for five days, plus 400 more unofficial, off-venue performances.

Though Airwaves may be best known as an indie pop fest, it also includes performances by an impressive array of Icelandic metal bands. Knowing of NCS’ own appreciation for Icelandic metal and the attention we’ve paid to Icelandic bands this year, Gemma offered to arrange interviews with several of them. We previously posted her interview of Angist, and today we’re privileged to give you Gemma’s interview of two of the members of Beneath, whose killer debut album was released earlier this year by Unique Leader (featured at NCS here).

Gemma has also been blogging about her entire Icelandic vacation — and it’s wonderful. Do yourself a favor and check it out HERE. And now, here’s Gemma’s interview — with some Beneath death metal at the end.

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Beneath is fairly new, but the musicians behind the name are some of the heaviest hitters in Icelandic metal. Fronted by Gísli Sigmundsson of the historic Sororicide, with Unnar Sigurðsson of Ophidian I fame on guitar, and with drums provided by Atrum’s Ragnar Sverisson, Beneath came out swinging in 2009, winning Iceland’s first Wacken Metal Battle. An EP followed in 2010, with their first full-length, Enslaved by Fear, released this July. Needless to say, all of the usual metaphors involving blunt force trauma apply.

I was fortunate to meet with Gísli and Ragnar at Dillon Whiskey Bar in Reykjavík before the Iceland Airwaves festival. We talked about the band, their music, and the state of Icelandic heavy metal. Continue reading »

THE TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA: “DANZA IIII”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Nov 192012
 

(Kentucky-based guest writer Austin Weber makes a return appearance with this review of the final album by The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, which is out now on the Black Market Activities label.)

Worry sets in when a band announces the departure of founding members, leaving fans to wonder what will become of the music. In these types of situations, rarely does the change lead to a revolution, where a better version of the band’s signature sound emerges despite the loss of key members.

Such questions arose when Josh Travis joined The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza as a replacement for founding member and guitarist Layne Meylain. They were already an interesting band before he came along, but had yet to hone their chaotic output into linear, digestible songs.

The release of Danza III showed a mature band, elevated by a new line-up, as an unstoppable force of laser-guided vitriol. Now with the arrival of Danza IIII:  The Alpha – The Omega, comes a certain sadness as Josh Travis has already left for Glass Cloud, making this the band’s final statement and swansong. This time around they recorded with an even more stripped-down line-up, with Jessie Freeland performing vocals and Josh Travis handling all instruments, samples, and noise.

The most prominent aspect of these songs is how goddamn crushing they are. Each tune is propelled by a thick groove foundation, colliding with dissonant  riffs, whammy abuse, and robotic tapping in the most malevolent way possible. We’ll get to the noise issue in a bit. Continue reading »

MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN METAL: EXTREME NOISE TERROR AND FIRING BLANKS

 Mosh Pit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Nov 192012
 

(This guest post was written by an Australian writer who calls himself Hoss.)

The other week, while researching for an article on John Peel and grindcore, I came across a nice little moment in metal history. When I first read about it, I thought it was just about one of the coolest things ever. I’m going to share it with you now.

In 1992 British art-electro-hip-hop-kinda-thing band The KLF were invited to perform their hit “3AM Eternal” live at the Brit Awards. The KLF are perhaps best known for being justified, ancient, driving an ice cream van, and, most importantly, being endorsed by Tammy Wynette. Ever the pranksters, they invited Ipswich grinders Extreme Noise Terror to perform in their stead.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking – ‘getting a metal band to perform a pop song!? THAT’S HIL-AR-IOUS!’. But you must remember that in 1992 this irony-laden chestnut was not yet old, and still might have caused at least a few bemused smirks. Part of the joke also included firing machine guns filled with blanks into the crowd (rad) and dumping a dead sheep at the afterparty.

Sounds awesome right? I mean, this photo of The KLF head guy Bill Drummond certainly makes it look that way: Continue reading »

ALGAROTHSYUM: “WASTELANDER’S EPOCH”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Nov 182012
 

(Today we continue our series of guest posts with another review by “Andrew Jackson” . This time his subject is an album by Algarothsyum.)

Algarothsyum is a band that, chances are, you have probably never heard of. The band’s first LP is six months old and definitely has not received nearly as much exposure or praise as it should (unfortunately, so is the case for many other bands). So, when my good friend Israel (AKA: TheMadIsraeli) asked if I wanted to write a guest post or three for No Clean Singing this was one band that I just simply had to cover.

Algarothsyum is best described as an Atmospheric Blackened Death Metal band heavily inspired by apocalyptic themes and ideas. According to the band’s ReverbNation page:

 “The concept of Algarothsyum’s theme is based on a world consumed in a post-apocalyptic existence. The music provides an aural soundscape of life and survival in a nuclear wasteland.”

And Algarothsyum first release, Wastelander’s Epoch, is true to this theme. It is an entirely instrumental concept album centered on the hardships of life, catastrophes that lurk around every corner, and events that transpire in a post-apocalyptic world.

Interested yet? Then check this out: Continue reading »

“THAT’S METAL!” – BUT IT’S NOT MUSIC (NO. 67)

 That's Metal -- But It's Not Music  31 Responses »
Nov 182012
 

You know it when you see it — things that are metal even if they’re not music. And that’s what we collect in this series of posts — photos, videos, and news items I think are metal.

It’s been a couple weeks since the last time I did this, so today I’ve got a whopping ten items for you: striking photos from an Australian rainforest, a trouser snake from the Amazon, sexual horrors of the insect world, the world’s largest collection of penises (in Iceland), dumb ways to die, Finnish hockey commercials, mind-blowing video of the new world record for holding your breath, a couple of dudes wearing medals, and a new Oz movie that’s got me pretty excited. Here we go:

ITEM ONE

The first item is a series of photographs that appeared in Australian Geographic. They were taken by Kaisa and Stanley Breeden in a northern Queensland rainforest for their book Rainforest Country, which was published earlier this year. One of the photos is at the top of this post — a close-up of a Boyd’s rainforest dragon (Hypsilurus boydii).

Right after the jump, in the following order, you’ll see a cassowary (a bird that’s covered in black feathers everywhere except for the skin on the head and throat, which are brightly colored); a small patch of wet rocks on a beach (they are only brightly coloured when wet); and a pygmy possum (lol).

The Australian Geographic article about the Breedens and Rainforest Country can be found via this link, and you can click here to see even more of these eye-popping photos. Continue reading »

PÕHJAST: “THOU STRONG, STERN DEATH”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Nov 182012
 

(Guest writer Patrick — whose own blog is here — provides this review of the new album by Põhjast, which is out now via Spinefarm Records.)

Põhjast are a black/Viking metal group with members from Estonia and Germany. Early this year they released their first EP, followed by their full-length debut Thou Strong, Stern Death.

These guys are, more clearly and completely than any other band I have ever heard, throwbacks to Bathory, circa Blood Fire Death. The production maintains a similar feel, though it is notably cleaner than on those early works (more similar to Bathory’s final albums). The rough guitar riffs have almost exactly the same tone and the same distinctly thrash-based roots. The stylistic balance between black metal hostility, epic Viking metal passages, stark beauty, and primitive dirtiness is all in full form.

Perhaps most significantly, their vocalist sounds shockingly similar to Quorthon. This guy is a slightly stronger and more in-key singer, but his plaintive howls often come in a tone so like Quorthon’s that I almost forget I’m listening to another band. This, and in fact all my claims in this post, are perhaps most fully evident on the wonderful closing track “The Three Brothers”, though they certainly hold true elsewhere.

With all that said, obviously this band is not at all original in their style. That is the single, glaring fault one might find with this record, as it appears the band does not even pretend to forge their own path. However, as was true of the songs found in Bathory’s great “Viking trilogy”, these tracks are all clearly distinguishable from one another as separate compositions that flow well together, so good songwriting does play a distinct role in their music. Continue reading »

NEW LIVE GOJIRA TRACKS: “LOVE” AND “TOXIC GARBAGE ISLAND”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Nov 172012
 

Photo credit: Romain Dronne

Those French titans of metal in Gojira are coming back to North America early next year to tour with The Devin Townsend Project and The Atlas Moth. I bought advance VIP tickets for the January 20 show at Seattle’s Studio Seven as fast as I could. One of the perks of doing that was the promise that I would get a download of two live recordings now and another one closer to the start of the North American tour.

Yesterday the download link arrived in my in-box. The two songs included in the download were “Love” and “Toxic Garbage Island”. They were recorded during Gojira’s performance at at the Studio at Webster Hall in New York City on August 14, 2012. They’re crushing, and too good to keep to myself. So, after the jump I’m going to stream both of them for you.

Also after the jump, in case you missed it, is a video of the band performing “Explosia” from the new album L’Enfant Sauvage at the same Webster Hall show.  To get the North American tour schedule, check out this previous post about the tour.

Enjoy. Continue reading »

IS THIS NEW STUFF FROM ANTESTOR, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED, AND FINSTERFORST ANY GOOD?

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
Nov 172012
 

Went out on the town last night with a bunch of good people to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday. Had a blast, and got blasted. Today I feel like a demolition crew is excavating my fuckin’ head with dynamite. Honestly, listening to any kind of intense music right now isn’t an appealing idea. If there’s going to be any music in my near-future, it will be something like Hammock, a band Phro introduced me to. I’m guessing he must have been really hungover when he did that.

But even though I can’t bring myself to add any musical dynamite to the blasting that’s already going on in my cranium, I do want to contribute something to the blog today. So here’s how this will work:  I saw three items this morning that I’m guessing are really good, but I can’t bring myself to listen to them. So do me a favor, will you?  Leave a comment and let me know if my guesses are right or wrong.

ANTESTOR

This is a coincidence. Just yesterday we posted the milestone 30th edition of Andy Synn’s SYNN REPORT, the subject of which was the discography of Norway’s Antestor. We also reported that Antestor had recorded a new album entitled Omen — their first one in seven years — and that it’s scheduled for release on November 30, and that it uses a painting by NCS favorite Zdzisław Beksiński for the album cover. And here’s the coincidence: Today the band started streaming a track from the new album called “Unchained”. Continue reading »

FOR THE LOVE OF INSTRUMETAL!

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Nov 172012
 

(Guest writer Tyler Lowery has bestowed upon us another article, and this one is about instrumental metal.)

 One of the biggest issues I had when I was first getting into extreme metal was the overbearing vocals in the music of many bands who were the front runners. The growling that my untrained ear misinterpreted as garbled cacophony kept me away from bands such as Necrophagist, Behemoth, and Napalm Death. From these bands I have now built a decent-reaching empire of extreme metal bands who I now thoroughly enjoy. However, it took me far too long to become accustomed to them as their vocal presentations distracted me from the excellence of their music as a whole.

As I began the perilous quest toward the seedy underbelly of the metal genres, I made my way through less than appealing bands who were  heavy but not crushingly so. These days were tedious and often without reward. Eventually tiring of the hit-or-miss tomfoolery, I started dipping my toes in the vast waters of Death Metal.

To cope with the harsh vocals that consistently harshed (hardy har har) my buzz, I found bands who employed clean vocals, as a diversion from the constant battery of screeching and growling. Bands like Opeth and Between the Buried and Me helped create the groundwork for an appreciation of the extreme, but even still the music was sometimes overshadowed by the vocals. That being said, the next logical step was to remove vocals altogether, right? Continue reading »

FACEBOOK UPDATE: NEW WAYS FOR “BRAND PAGES” TO REACH THEIR FANS

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Nov 162012
 

SUMMARY: In this post I’ll review the most recent evidence that over the last two or three months Facebook has intentionally reduced the reach of Facebook Page posts even further — by as much as 40% on average. But I’ll also explain two very recent changes that Facebook has rolled out which, at least for now, will allow users to see all the posts from Pages they want to follow: Page Feed and Notifications. I’ll also explain recent changes that Facebook has made to the Comment feature on Page posts.

Yes, having previously ventured into the gaping maw of Facebook’s machinations, I now find it difficult to get away from them. The rough tongue of the globe’s biggest social media platform has wrapped itself around my torso and won’t let go. I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help myself. Chalk it up to morbid fascination. I’m fascinated by books bound with human skin, too.

RECAP OF THE PROBLEM: THE SHRINKING REACH OF PAGE POSTS

It all started in May when Facebook rolled out their Promoted Post feature, which offered administrators of FB Pages the glorious opportunity to pay FB so that more than a small fraction of a Page’s fans would see their posts. This led ignorant grunts like me to discover that for at least a year before that, Facebook had been using computer algorithms called “EdgeRank” to pick which which fans would see which Page posts. Some would see them, most would not.

Then, in July, Facebook removed some of the statistics that Page admins could see on their Page Timelines — the stats that quickly showed the percentage of their “likes” who were seeing each post on the Page. This seemed like a fairly blatant attempt to hide from Page admins the most easily understandable evidence about how few fans their posts were reaching.

At about the same time, Facebook began reducing the number of status updates that would automatically load in user’s news feeds — with FB’s algorithms determining which ones would appear higher up in the feed (thereby increasing the chance they would be seen).

It also became evident at that time what Page admins would get by paying FB to promote posts: FB would not necessarily deliver the posts into the news feeds of more users; they would instead push them higher up the feed for users selected via FB’s algorithms (i.e., not 100% of a Page’s fans), thus increasing the likelihood that those selected users would actually see the posts. Continue reading »

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