AN NCS PREMIERE: PAGANIZER — “WORLD SCYTHE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 302024
 

(written by Islander)

What better way to launch your weekend than to have Paganizer blast through the midnight barrier hours before it arrives? And to show us that what lies beyond the barrier is something much more thrilling (and frightening) than an early Saturday morning?

As you undoubtedly know, Paganizer have been seizing attention ever since the late ’90s. With Rogga Johansson continuously at the helm and a changing cast of allies alongside him, Paganizer have released a dozen albums and nearly two dozen shorter releases, and now there’s a lucky 13th album headed our way — entitled Flesh Requiem — with an arrival date of November 1st through Transcending Obscurity Records.

As you can see, it’s adorned by the distinctive artwork of Mariusz Lewandowski, which gives us a chilling glimpse of the other world that lies beyond the midnight barrier. It’s also a suggestive sign that what Paganizer are doing on this new album goes beyond the delivery of ruinous death metal might — and the song we’re premiering today is an electrifying demonstration of that. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DESTRUCTION OF ORION

 Interviews  1 Response »
Aug 302024
 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us an interview with an unusual creative artist, whose debut album released in late July is a very unusual accomplishment. You’ll find out just how unusual by reading the good discussion below — and of course we hope you’ll immerse yourself in the music too.)

Funeral doom never was popular because of its specific features, like monotony and a quite limited palette of self-expression, but still there are exceptions; there are bands and projects which can offer something new.

Bulgarian Destruction of Orion is one of them. It is the solo project of Tehina Spasova who performs all instruments on her first album Decreasing Brightness. Oh, and she performed all growling vocals on her own too, so that’s notable – a funeral doom band with a lady on vocals. But, moreover, the concept behind Destruction of Orion is worth of mentioning too.

As Tehina states, the project’s name is related to the constellation’s impending doom and at the same time, it’s about a self-destructive personality. All of her songs deal both with the physical process of dying stars and poetic interpretations of inner turmoil and disintegration, something you can easily read between the lines. So let me introduce Tehina and Destruction of Orion through this interview. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: THE CROWN, WOLFBRIGADE, HORRENDOUS, FERAL NATURE, WRETCHGOD

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Aug 292024
 


The Crown – photo by Daniel Johansson

(Written by Islander)

I had fewer commitments to prepare NCS posts for today than usual, so I used the extra time to try to make this coming weekend’s roundups a little less daunting by featuring a handful of new songs and videos today.

Today’s roundup leads off with some well-known names from the metal pantheon, but as we always try to do, I’ve also worked in some stuff from deeper in the metal underground.

THE CROWN (Sweden)

I had to start with The Crown. Metal Blade announced this week that they will release this band’s 12th studio album, Crown of Thorns, on October 11th. The press release included this quote from guitarist Marko Tervonen: Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: DEATH OF GIANTS — “ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 292024
 

Cover songs usually fall into one of two categories: Either they’re straightforward and faithful renditions of the original (though vocal variations inevitably introduce some differences), or they’re efforts to re-imagine and re-configure the originals, sometimes creating truly new originals.

The latter type of cover song is risky because listeners who are fans of the original may continue hearing it and thinking about it as they listen to the cover, which is a distraction, and at worst they may be annoyed at the changes. But when a cover song “works”, it’s far more interesting than a faithful repetition.

Death of Giants‘ cover of Iron Maiden‘s “Only the Good Die Young“, a video for which we’re premiering today, unmistakably falls into the second category — a striking reinterpretation of the original that turns it into a very different song, and one that works supremely well. It’s even more interesting and moving when you understand how the cover was inspired, though it would be powerfully moving even if you didn’t know. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: THE ETERNAL

 Interviews  No Responses »
Aug 292024
 


photo by AJ Savolainen

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ extensive and informative interview of Mark Kelson — co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist of The Eternal, whose new album was released in June by Reigning Phoenix Music.)

The Eternal was born from the remains of one of the first Australian death-doom bands, Cryptal Darkness, and Skinwalker is the seventh full-length in The Eternal’s career. It was released in June by Reigning Phoenix Music, and I need to tell you that since the release of their last album Waiting for the Endless Dawn (2018), the line-up of the band has changed dramatically.

I don’t know how, but The Eternal’s founder Mark Kelson (vocals, guitars) and his bandmate Richie Poate (guitars) lured the rhythm section of Amorphis – Jan Rechberger (drums) and Niklas Etelävuori (bass) – into the lineup. Also the vocalist and keyboardist of Amorphis are listed as guests, and this is, of course, something out of the ordinary!

The doom component of Skinwalker is minimized, and Mark and his comrades play their heavy gothic metal quite briskly, weaving patterns of airy melodies and delivering melancholic vocal parts almost without looking back at their death-doom past. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BORNBROKEN — “HOW STRONG YOU ARE”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Aug 282024
 

If you’re born broken, what do you do? Do you succumb to the idea that you’re fated to failure and become motionless or manipulative, or do you put away excuses and find out how strong you really are?

The Montreal band BornBroken have their own clear answer to that question, and provide it in the song we’re premiering today — “How Strong You Are” — from their forthcoming album (which seems to ask its own related question), Am I Invisible. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: INFERN — “UNDERTOW”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 282024
 

Let’s dive right into this one — but be forewarned: This “Undertow” will powerfully pull you under and crash you against the rocks.

As the words to this song reveal, the waters here aren’t earthly in origin. Rich in references to ancient mythology, the lyrics shown in the video (and growled monstrously but intelligibly in the song) portray a boat-less journey down the Styx and the harrowing underworld curses it brings.

Like the vocals, the music is also monstrous — monstrously heavy, ruthlessly bone-smashing, irresistibly neck-wrecking, and shrouded in an insidious atmosphere of evil and death. Continue reading »

AMIENSUS – RECLAMATION, PART 2

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 282024
 

(Andy Synn closes the circle with his review of part 2 of Amiensus‘s new double-album, out Friday)

There is, of course, no way to talk about Reclamation, Part 2 without considering it in the context of its already-released predecessor – the two of them forming both sides of a singular (in both senses of the word) coin.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Part 2 is incapable of standing on its own – far from it – it’s just that the group’s decision to release Reclamation in two parts, almost a full four months apart, offers us an opportunity to reassess the latter while analysing the former at the same time.

So, let us begin, shall we?

Continue reading »

GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, AUGUST 2024

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 282024
 

(With the month of August nearly over, our Denver-based writer Gonzo has brought us reviews of four albums released this month — by Summoning the Lich, Yanos, Generation of Vipers, and Zeal & Ardor.)

As we trudge through the final days of August into summer’s last inexorable gasp, there’s still a veritable battalion of quality new releases on the horizon. Hell, even by the time you read this, new albums from Amiensus, Anciients, Leprous, Nails, and Wintersun might even be out – all are set to hit streaming services this Friday.

Unfortunately, my upcoming travel schedule won’t be conducive to getting this Friday’s (August 30) releases included in this month’s roundup, but at least Andy Synn already offered a top-shelf review of the new Leprous last week.

All that being said, August had more than enough quality to kick up a circle pit or two. Dust yourself off and give these releases a spin. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DISTANT DOMINION — “WE’VE COME FOR YOUR SOULS”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 272024
 

Let’s be honest: When some of you metalheads (or at least those who are a bit jaded), see a band advertised as one whose Philadelphia-based members combine more than a collective century of experience, you might think, “Oh, a bunch of old dudes, probably playing tired old music.”

But when you see that their resumes include names like Krieg, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Polterchrist, and Mortal Decay (among others), maybe you’ll start reconsidering your assumptions.

And then when you hear what these people have done in their band Distant Dominion, you’ll really feel foolish — as you scramble for fire extinguishers and wonder where your teeth went after the music punched them out. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries