NO CLEAN SINGING

ROLLERCOASTER – PART 2

Oct 172011

Here’s the second part of a post I started earlier today featuring a divergent assortment of new music and videos I heard and saw over the weekend. In Part 2, I’ve got a new song (and video) from Eryn Non Dae. (France), a recent live video from Iskald (Norway), and a new song from Dischordia (U.S.-Oklahoma).

ERYN NON DAE.

In 2010, we published no fewer than four posts about this band from Toulouse, France. Those posts included a review of the band’s 2009 album Hydra Lernaïa, an interview with the band, and two updates that included videos of live performances. The last post, from June 2010, includes links to all the others. And then we’ve posted about them twice this year (here) and (here). Do you think we’re overdoing it? Obviously, I don’t think so. I think they’re worth all the attention, and then some. They’re one of the growing number of bands from France who have put that country on the worldwide map of great current metal.

The cause for today’s attention is a new song (yippee!) from a new album (ki-yay-motherfucker!) that’s in the works and planned for release next year. The song is called “Scarlet Rising”, and the band was caught on film performing it at the Impetus festival in Montbéliard, France this past April. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

NEW KRISIUN: “RISE AND CONFRONT”

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 5 Responses »

Oct 172011

The almighty Krisiun have a new album on the way. Called The Great Executioner, it will be released by Century Media in Europe on October 31 and in the U.S. on November 1.

Previously, Krisiun released a song from the album called “The Will To Potency”, which you can find for immediate brain-slaying purposes here.

This morning, the band released the second single from the album, entitled “Rise and Confront”.

You can hear it via the Soundcloud player below.

I really don’t need to say anything more, do I?

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/25726153″]

ROLLERCOASTER – PART 1

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 15 Responses »

Oct 172011

Over the weekend I came across a divergent array of largely new music that I feel compelled to share here at the beginning of the week. It’s really all over the place, up and down, swerving right and left. Tracking through these songs and videos put me in mind of a rollercoaster ride, hence the title of this post. There’s so much here that I’m dividing this into two parts. The next one will follow in a couple of hours. I’ll keep the verbiage brief and let the music do the talking for itself. In Part 1, the music comes from Ne Obliviscaris (Australia), God Is An Astronaut (Ireland), and Apostate (The Czech Republic).

NE OBLIVISCARIS

We originally featured this unsigned Melbourne, Australia band back in March 2010, focusing on a 2007 EP called The Aurora Veil. At long last, they’ve completed their debut album, Portal of I, which will be released in the near future (I haven’t yet found a specific date or how it will be distributed). It will consist of 7 tracks, with a total run-time of more than 1 hour 11 minutes. So yes, the songs are long ones. The band released one of them to their Facebook page on Friday night. It’s called “And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope”. I heard it via a link from NCS reader Kevin this morning — and it has floored me.

I know that I’m given to impulsive bursts of enthusiasm and that this undoubtedly devalues the weight that some people give my opinions. So, those people will want to take this with a grain of salt. Actually, take it with a pound of salt and choke ’til you pass out, because I’m serious: this is a wonderful song. It begins with a sweeping, violin-led melodic instrumental section and then moves on through a changing splash of musical colors and tones, part black metal, part melodic death metal, part prog metal — all good. It’s right after the jump. Continue reading »

OGREFEST 2011 – Part 1

Concert Reviews No Responses »

Oct 172011

(In this two-part post, which begins today and concludes tomorrow, BadWolf reviews the 2011 edition of OGREFEST in Lansing, Michigan, and we’ve got music for you from most of the bands whose performances he covers.)

[This article has been the absolute bane of my existence for six months. The weather messed with my car, I missed some bands while interviewing others, none of the photos turned out, half the interviews were unlistenable, and other variables (loss of employment, re-gaining employment, writing at InvisibleOranges) just fucked it for me.

That said, seeing as how I’m about to go to Suckfest (and have a blast!) I figured I would warm you readers up with another festival report, that for Lansing’s annual Ogrefest. I was going to put this article up at my personal blog, Midwestern Metalhead, but I spend so much time writing here and at IO that my personal project has fallen by the wayside. Therefore, this article is for you, dear NCS-ers!

Also, posting this article to a wider readership is my little way of apologizing for the unreasonable delay—it won’t happen again next year! Dave, Jim, this one’s for you guys!
And all of you strangers—come to Michigan. See Ogrefest. It will be the shit.]

Here’s the nitty-gritty: Lansing has the best underground metal scene in the US, IMO, and Ogrefest, curated by Satyrasis’ Dave Peterman, is that scene’s annual showcase. It’s held every year at Mac’s Bar and is always the show I anticipate most. At least one of these bands always ends up a personal favorite, and 2011 was no exception. On to the narrative! Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: BRAIN FAMINE

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 2 Responses »

Oct 172011

Brain Famine is a studio project that was formed in 2011 by two guys named Chris Leamy and John Gillis, both of them veterans of other bands in their community. On October 1, they self-released a six-song, self-titled EP. Gillis played drums on the recording and Leamy did everything else, including the engineering and mixing work. The EP is now available for free download at Bandcamp. You can get there by following this link. And that’s pretty much all I know about Brain Famine.

Except for the music, of course. The music is a goddamned weapon designed to shred the contents of craniums and leave the listener cross-eyed and drooling. Generally, it’s faster than your average greyhound, but it obeys no rules of metric consistency, darting from one time signature and tempo to another with oodles of technical skill. Pulverizing riffs churn your fuckin guts while the drums go off like guns firing semi-automatic bursts of lead. Leamy barks like a big, rabid death-metal dog that wants to use your jugular as a chew toy.

The longest and probably most interesting song, “Ingest”, backs off the flamethrower pacing of the first two tracks, but it’s equally berserker in its use of schizophrenic rhythms and unpredictable, unsettling guitar leads. “Citizen Solution” starts as another similarly mid-paced marauder, driven by thick, sludgy riffs and frenzied drums, but it grows in complexity and builds in speed until it becomes just as whacked out as the more abrupt, grind-centric blasters like “Die Off” or “Ignorant Dopes”, and it includes a beautifully diseased guitar solo. The EP’s closer, “N.F.O.”, commences like another hair-on-fire grind beast, then drops into a ghoulish crawl, before ending the festivities in a burst of cacophonous noise.

Truth is, I’m sold on every one of the songs on Brain Famine, The EP is a solid mix of tech-death, grind, thrash, and even a prog tendency every now and then. I’m sold on the band, too. There’s some serious talent on display here. Fans of Napalm Death, Magrudergrind, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and Pig Destroyer, this is an EP you’ll want to grab while the grabbin’ is good. Get your drool cup handy and check out a couple of the tunes after the jump. You can stream all of them at Bandcamp.

DEUS INVICTUS: “STAGED IN AWAITING”

Album Reviews 6 Responses »

Oct 162011

(TheMadIsraeli returns to Deus Invictus with a review of their most recent album, Staged in Awaiting.)

Featured in a random music post I did fairly recently, Deus Invictus are an Atlanta band I stumbled upon in one of the downloading sprees I go on every so often to see if I strike gold. When I found out they were Christian I was even more intrigued, since I’m a Christian who thinks Christian music SUCKS THE BIG ONE IN SPADES, including most so-called Christian metal. Yes, I know, there is Extol, Mortification, Living Sacrifice; all three of them are excellent and legends in what they’ve done, especially for the more religiously inclined who love metal as much as any non-believer, but we need more bands like those.

Deus Invictus impress me with their combination of Cynic-like experimentation, Pestilence-like songwriting, and Death-like riffing and mood. A rather ambitious debut awaits hearing in Staged In Awaiting (2010), bringing torrential hailstorms of riffs of almost every sort within a progressive death metal framework. You won’t hear many albums this well put-together and well thought-out these days that are this diverse and this jarring.

Opener “Alas, The Anvil” starts out with a jazzy, clean intro that then drops like an atom bomb straight into an assault of Cynic-style dual guitar interplay and counterpoint. The rest of the song, like the rest of the album, is a total blur of awesome. My head is still spinning from it, but I think there was, like, a shitload of tempo changes or something. Lots of distorted-to-clean transitions and uh, tasteful use of sparingly utilized clean vocals, but mostly a pretty set-in-stone death growl with some serious power behind it. There are even some Opeth-ish-like-esque sections on this album that change the mood up nicely. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

KARTIKEYA: MORE NEW SONGS SURFACE

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 22 Responses »

Oct 162011

In late September, we reported that on October 1, a label called Grailight Productions would be releasing a new limited edition “single” from the amazing Russian ethnic-metal band Kartikeya titled Durga Puja, which would include the amazing artwork of Mstibog once again. Up above is the cover, depicting the ten-handed war goddess Durga. When we made that report, we had one track available for streaming — a sick Kartikeya cover of “Triangular Tattvic Fire” by Melechesh.

In my usual back-assward fashion, I let October 1 come and go, and then more days came and went, and I totally missed the fact that the single is not only out, but also that additional tracks from it have surfaced on the interhole. Thanks to TheMadIsraeli, I’m now better informed. So, what I can now stream for you are two additional songs: The title track from Durga Puja, which is a new original song from the band that was mixed/mastered by producer Logan Mader (Soulfly, Gojira, Divine Heresy, W.A.S.P., DevilDriver, etc.), and a cover of “Arise”, which may be my favorite Sepultura song ever (and is certainly one of TheMadIsraeli’s favorites). If you’d enjoy having all the hair singed off your head, then stay with us past the jump and give these scorched babies a listen.

The new single also includes re-recorded and re-arranged versions of songs from Kartikeya’s first album The Battle Begins, plus a live version of a song called “The Path”. As for how to get a copy of the EP, I’ve searched that Grailight Productions site to which I linked above, and as best I can figure out, you would need to e-mail the label to request a copy — which I’ve now done. The address shown on the site is: demether@yandex.ru

This single is a limited release, so I’m not even sure physical copies are still available, and I haven’t found the single in digital distribution yet. If I get more info, I’ll update this post. Now, do jump past the jump and check this shit out. You’ll be glad you did. Continue reading »

FINNTROLL UNDER THE COVERS

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 12 Responses »

Oct 162011

A month ago I posted a news item about Finntroll that intrigued me: In conjunction with the launch of a European tour called Heidenfest (which is still going on), they released a “tour edition” of their excellent 2010 album Nifelvind that included covers of three songs that I had a tough time imagining them playing: “Insect” by Oingo Boingo, “Can You Forgive Her?” by The Pet Shop Boys, and “The God That Failed” by Metallica. This last Finntroll cover was previously included in a 20th anniversary tribute to The Black Album that Metal Hammer compiled and released this past summer, but the song included on the tour edition has an alternate ending.

Of course, as a died-in-the-wool Finntroll fan, I had to get this tour edition, (a) because as cool as I wish I were, in reality I’m just an embarrassingly obsessive metal nerd, and (b) because I’m a died-in-the-wool Finntroll fan. It arrived in the mail on Friday. It features new artwork by the band’s guitarist Skrymer (which you can see above) and an extra CD that included those three cover songs. It’s being sold at CMDistro. If you’ve already got Nifelvind, you’d really have to fall into Category (a) or (b) like me to get this, because all you’ll be getting for the money that you don’t already have is the nice new digipack cover art and those three songs.

To help you make up your mind, I’m going to stream all three of the covers after the jump. My favorite is the Metallica cover, maybe because it was a metal song to begin with, but the other two are more appealing than I thought they’d be. As I should have known from listening to Nifelvind and Nattfödd, this band is capable of performing well in a wide variety of musical styles, and as groverXIII pointed out in a comment on the earlier post, I should have been able to imagine the Pet Shop Boys cover from listening to “Hel Vete” on the Trollhammaren EP (2004). Continue reading »

MY NIGHT WITH FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

Concert Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 32 Responses »

Oct 152011

Last night NCS co-founder Alexis and I went out to Seattle’s Studio Seven and met up there with our friend Travis for a bit of vigorous headbanging. There were massive attractions on the bill, starting with one of our favorite combines of local dudes, Blood and Thunder (whose new album we’ll be reviewing shortly). In talking with them after their set, we learned they’re recording a new song and we got a look at a new piece of artwork that will likely appear on future merch — it’s a huge eye-catcher, and I hope to splash it all over NCS soon.

And then we got the chance to see another Seattle band who I’ve heard good things about — black metallists Funeral Age. Their set was killer and I’ve now got their latest album, which I’m looking forward to ingesting. More likely, it will ingest me.

After that was a surprise — Rings of Saturn from California’s Bay Area. I didn’t know these maniacs were part of this show (they weren’t listed on the Studio Seven web site), but man, I’m glad they were. They’ve now got a new 7-string bass player and a new man-mountain of a drummer, and they delivered a high-energy blast of technical death metal. The calculatingly dead-pan stage banter of their frontman Peter Pawlak was also funny as shit.

And then came the band Alexis and I really were there to see — Fleshgod Apocalypse, who were making their second Seattle appearance of the year, after their all-too-brief set on the SUMMER SLAUGHTER tour stop. We moved up close to the stage for this one and just got completely mind-blown. We weren’t the only ones. The floor crowd was clearly eager for this set and exploded at the same time as the band’s first song exploded. So, in addition to getting mind-blown, we got treated to non-stop body slamming until the set ended. It was fucking spectacular. I didn’t think it was possible for me to become any more enthusiastic about FA than I already was, but yeah, it happened.

And then, we sort of lost the rest of the night’s music, missing out on Decrepit Birth and Decapitated, because we got engrossed in conversation at the tour bus with FA guitarist Cristiano Trionfera, later joined by Francesco Ferrini (keyboards), frontman Tommaso Riccardi, and drummer extraordinaire Francesco Paoli. More about that after the jump, plus another jaw-dropping Francesco Paoli drum-cam video that SickDrummer released yesterday from FA’s performance on October 11 in San Francisco. Continue reading »

BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR: DEMISERY

Album Reviews 6 Responses »

Oct 152011

(TheMadIsraeli provides a quick alert about a two-man, old-school death metal project that includes Keith Merrow.)

Keith Merrow has been slowly working his way up the ranks of metal supremacy. You’ll know him for his unique style of instrumental groove metal, and if not… well… get on checking that shit out.

Demisery is Keith’s first venture (that any of us will have heard) into a different style of music, old school death metal. Teaming up with his friend and vocalist Gord Olson, this two-man project is set to take the world by storm with their coming debut Hive Of Mutation”. I’ll let the band’s mission statement speak for itself.

“This collaboration is extremely fun, and the music is in the traditional Death Metal vein. It’s pretty much a blatant tribute to old (and some newer) Death Metal tunes. Fans of bands like Grave, Death, Obituary, Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Monstrosity, etc… will find a familiar sound and traditional DM feel. We’re currently in pre-production of our first full-length album at the moment. It’s packed full of blast beats, trem picking, guitar solos and guttural vocals. There’s no core, no prog, no “djent”, this is a 100% Death Metal album.”

Sound good to you? Does to me. Demisery have released two songs thus far called “Thralldom” and “The Enlightener”, included after the jump, as well as a trailer of Keith Merrow recording various chunks of the album. Definitely expect a review of this down the line when it’s out. Continue reading »

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