MISCELLANY NO. 33: ILLUMINATUS, ARKONA, AND SATEVIS

 MISCELLANY  44 Responses »
Aug 212011
 

Here we are with another edition of MISCELLANY, in which I listen to bands I’ve never heard before and report the results, whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. The ground rules:  We keep a running list of bands who contact us, or who are recommended to us, or who seem interesting based on things we read. When time permits, I grab a handful of names off the list, I listen to at least one song per band, and I write about my reactions. Then, I let you listen to what I heard so you can make up your own minds.

Them’s the rules, and I usually (though not always) stick to them. For today’s post, I picked two bands who were recommended and one who contacted us: Illuminatus (UK), Arkona (Russia), and Satevis (US).

These bands turned out to be significantly different from each other, and the musical variety was a good reminder of the diversity that metal has to offer. The music also turned out to be quite good, though given my own tastes, I did have a favorite. So, with that preamble, follow along after the jump and please do let us know what you thought of this music after you’ve heard it. Continue reading »

ARKHUM UPDATE (INCLUDING A PREMIERE OF NEW MUSIC)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 202011
 

There’s a happy symmetry about this post. Exactly one year ago today we posted our review of Anno Universum, the debut album from Oregon’s Arkhum, along with an interview of brothers Stephen and Kenneth Parker. On that day, we were thrilled to report that Arkhum had signed with Vendlus Records, who released Anno Universum last fall. We were “early adopters” of Arkhum’s music, but over the last year they’ve racked up a slew of positive reviews worldwide and enthusiastic fan response to Anno Universum.

The band are now working on songs for their second album for Vendlus, with the goal of releasing it in 2012, and on this one-year anniversary of those previous posts, we have a few tastes of what’s to come. First, we have the premiere of a pre-production version of a brand new song called “Cenancestor”, which will appear on the next album. The vocals and instrumentals are scratch tracks and the recording reflects a rough mixing and mastering, but this is still a sweet song, and you’ll be able to download it.

Second, we’ve also got some icing on this cake — we’re also premiering video of the band’s excellent guitarist Stephen Parker playing along to “Cenancestor”.

Today also marks the official digital release of a new, three-song Arkhum EP called Olalain Linal Tutulu. It features a reimagined version of the song “Bloodgutter Encircling” from Anno, a remix of the song by electronic artist Beta Project, and a remixed, remastered version of the “Bloodgutter” track as it appeared on the album. We’ll give you a link for a free download of this EP. Stay with us after the jump for all this fine shit. Continue reading »

CARTHAGE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Aug 202011
 

(TheMadeIsraeli has an urgent message for you . . .)

My friend Tre Watson finally got the EP of his band Carthage put out today.  Progressive deathcore that brings in a lot of interesting influences and is worth checking out for sure.  Head over to their bandcamp before midnight tonight; until then, this EP is “pay what you want,” meaning yes, you can get it for free.  Once it hits midnight, it goes back to 5 dollars.  Expect a review of this soon.

http://carthageband.bandcamp.com/album/carthage-ep

Follow Carthage on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Carthageband

EXONERATION WEEK

 Metal News  10 Responses »
Aug 202011
 

Here at NCS, we avoid the daily news like the plague (unless it involves metal), because it offers constant reminders that human beings are fucking nuts, and not in a good way. For every small step of advancement toward civilization, there seem to be about 10 steps in regression as the self-centered and the arrogant persist in reenacting acts of gob-smacking idiocy that have been a feature of the human landscape for millenia and inflicting their prejudices on people who don’t think or act as they do.

But there are just enough, just barely enough, episodes of rationality to keep hope alive that a day will come when most people will act like the higher-order creatures they are supposed to be, instead of just bigger-brained versions of water buffalo and warthogs.

This week we had news about the lifting of legal clouds in two criminal cases that most metalheads have come to know quite well — the murder case against the West Memphis 3 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and the prosecution of Adam Darski (a/k/a Nergal) of Behemoth for giving offense to religion in Poland.

According to this story, a Polish judge found Nergal innocent of offending religious feeling when he ripped up a Bible during a 2007 Behemoth concert, called the Bible “a deceitful book”, and branded the church a “criminal sect.” The judge held that Nergal’s actions were “a form of artistic expression consistent with the style of his band.” Duh. He added that the court had no intention of limiting freedom of expression or the right to criticize religion. That’s an encouraging pronouncement.

Nergal can now go about the business of continuing to recover from leukemia and practicing for Behemoth’s next live performances this fall. No doubt, his detractors in Poland are seething over this turn of events, still stubbornly refusing to understand that trying to jail people who speak ill of churches, no matter how “offensively,” or who tear up “holy books,” won’t silence criticism of churches or religion. If people aren’t secure enough in their own faith to ignore what people like Nergal do in performances for their own fans, then enforcing laws against religious offense won’t save them. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

TRVE NORWEGIAN BUTT-KICKING

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Aug 202011
 

Byfrost

Bloodstock Festival, Walton-upon-Trent, England

August 10, 2011

“Horns To the [Fucking] Sky”

Looks like it’s going to be a beer-for-breakfast kind of day at the NCS Island.

P.S. I’ve decided I need to gaze at Byfrost’s album art while I savor my breakfast beer and contemplate the primal appeal of black battle metal, Byfrost-style: Continue reading »

LANDMINE MARATHON: “GALLOWS”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 192011
 

(Andy Synn reviews Gallows, the forthcoming album by Landmine Marathon.)

To start with, let me confess that Landmine Marathon’s last album, Sovereign Descent didn’t thrill me as much as I expected it to. It was a good record, no doubt, possessing some particularly great songs with which to bludgeon the listener into submission. Yet the production seemed too… cold… lifeless even, robbing the songs of the fire and vibrancy the band display live. It was neither one thing nor the other, neither larger than life nor clinically precise, leaving the band adrift in a void of directionless sound and fury – through no fault of their own!

In truth, it remains their debut album Wounded that I love best out of Landmine Marathon’s discography, thanks partially to its massive guitar tone and chaotic, cacophonous drum sound, accented by some incisive, scalpel-sharp melodies, whose presence makes the devastating display of focussed violence all the more effective by contrast. However Gallows may be the album to change all that.

The group’s latest album sees a return to the more monolithic tone of Wounded, resulting in a thicker and more muscular sound married to a sleek and supple series of sinuous song structures, all claws and teeth and broken bones. Capturing a more propulsive form of energy, much of the album recalls Maryland natives Misery Index, albeit with a dirtier overall vibe, expressing urban blight and sprawl in all its decadent, decaying glory. Eschewing the overtly politicised polemic of their Baltimore brethren, the sandpapered vocal chords of Ms Grace Perry vomit forth a virulent stream of putrid bile and hateful invective over a plethora of gut-wrenching, street-level death metal riffs and sharpened knife-fight guitar melodies, which flicker and stab without warning. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

VOICE OF THE SOUL: “INTO OBLIVION”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Aug 192011
 

I’ve been looking forward to Voice of the Soul’s new EP (the band’s third release) since hearing one of the songs from it that was included on a compilation released in July (discussed here). The new EP is now available. It’s called Into Oblivion, and VOTS is offering it for download at a “name your price” option on the handy Bandcamp platform at this location.

I was impressed with the band’s last EP, 2010’s Eyes of Deceit, and I said so. But honestly, Into Oblivion represents a large leap forward, or more like a stretching of wings. What was once a fledgling predator is now a rapidly maturing raptor, with big claws that can do some damage, and an even more impressive ability to take flight on the wings of some very memorable melodies. That’s what solid melodic death metal should do, and it’s what VOTS achieves on Into Oblivion — a combining of sharp-edged aggression and streams of melody that swirl in your head.

The first two songs on the EP, “Immolation” (with its beautiful piano-and-strings intro) and “Guardians of Genocide”, establish the fundamental elements of the band’s sound. Up-tempo, thumping rhythms and rolling, distorted riffs provide the foundation, but what makes the songs memorable are the reverberating guitar solos.

I was explaining in one of yesterday’s posts that after years of listening to metal, even whiz-bang bursts of shred, standing alone, aren’t enough to carry the day for me any more. For a guitar solo to impress, it needs to be an organic part of the song as a whole and it needs a lot of soul behind it; that’s more important than rampant speed and even technical brilliance. The soloing in these songs (as on all the rest) meets those tests. The solos aren’t usually pyrotechnical, but they’re beautifully done, with a warm, clean tone and a strong emotional core. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE POWER OF THE RIFF

 Concert Reviews  4 Responses »
Aug 192011
 

I’ve decided that the best time to write a concert review is as soon after the show as possible, when the experience is fresh, when the emotions are immediate, when the music is still ringing in my head. The only downsides I can see are (a) I’m half-baked as I write this, and (b) I’m really fuckin’ tired. On the other hand, I’ve convinced myself that these may be pluses.

I saw THE POWER OF THE RIFF tour at a club called Neumos in Seattle tonight with some friends. The driving force behind this tour, which I think only has four West Coast stops (and somewhat different line-ups at each stop), is LA-based Southern Lord Records. It was a long night, and I didn’t see every band. Among other things, because tomorrow is a work-day, I couldn’t stay to see the headlining band, Winter, because they weren’t scheduled to start until well after midnight. But of the bands I saw, these made the strongest impression, in this order: All Pigs Must Die, Noothgrush, and Pelican.

ALL PIGS MUST DIE

Superior armageddon grindcore. Overheated and smoking, but even at their fastest, absolutely pulverizing with a compulsive groove. And it ain’t all speed. They downshift into lower gear in almost every song, and your throat seizes up, gasping for air, as they detonate sludge-bombs and then light things up again with grind rocketry. The band is as tight as a vacuum seal in outer space, and their vocalist is a magnetic presence, wielding the mic stand like a baton. I thought for sure he would cave in someone’s head before they finished their set. As one of my friends said, “it isn’t metal until someone gets hurt.”  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

HULL TAKES US BEYOND THE LIGHTLESS SKY

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Aug 182011
 

“Sludgy, southern-post-rock-minded Brooklyn quartet Hull offer this sprawling, psychedelic title track as an early taste of their forthcoming sophomore collection, Beyond the Lightless Sky, due October 11 on the End.” That’s the introduction that Pitchfork gave earlier today when they premiered the band’s newest song, the title track from that forthcoming second album.

I fucken love Hull. I fucken loved their 2009 debut album, Sole Lord. Judging from this new song, their second album is going to be a must-listen. The song is both crushingly heavy and flesh-rending in its dark extremity. The uber-low, fuzzed out bass line and down-tuned guitar parts are voraciously soul-sucking. The combo-vocals (part harrowing shrieking, part bestial roaring) cast up images of clawing and then eating. And yes, there are elements of psychedelia in the song, too, along with elements of psychosis.

I wouldn’t call this post-rock, though. More like post-apocalypse. If you want to get your sludge on, go visit Pitchfork, or listen after the jump. Continue reading »

TEXTURES PREMIERES A NEW SONG: IS IT ROCK? IS IT METAL? IS IT BOTH?

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Aug 182011
 

On August 3, Dutch metal band Textures released the first song from their new album (“Singularity”), which we declared to be fucking good pancake. Now the band have premiered yet another new song called “Reaching Home”. Like the first one, it comes from the forthcoming Dualism album.

I have mixed feelings about this song. On the one hand, the instrumental part of the song is cool, anchored by the complex Meshuggah-connected rhythms that are a large part of Textures’ signature sound. And you won’t be surprised to hear that the song has an infectious melody, too, because that’s also a big part of this band’s style.

On the other hand, there are no harsh vocals in the song at all, and there’s not much of a metal edge to it either. As drummer Stef Broks candidly told REVOLVER magazine, it “sounds like a direct assault to the rock charts,” and may remind people of Tool, Depeche Mode, and U2. Perhaps that’s why the song is premiering on the REVOLVER web site (cuz, seriously, REVOLVER hasn’t been metal in a long time).

On the third hand, as Brok also said, it may also remind people of Devin Townsend, and I get that connection, too. There’s a dreamy ambience to the song that is appealing, and the appeal may grow if I listen to it more. If you’d like to listen, GO HERE (I can’t yet embed the song).

Dualism will come out on September 23 in Europe, South America, Australia and Asia, and on September 27 in North America.

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