Oh Shit, It’s The nWo! Tr00 Nate’s Top 30 Albums of 2011

 Listmania  14 Responses »
Dec 252011
 

(It may be Christmas Day, but we’re still open for business, and today we’re happy to welcome a visitor from another site.)

Hello NCS readers. I am Tr00 Nate, master of all that is tr00 and kvlt. You might be familiar with me. You might not. It makes no difference to me. I write for NCS’s sister/rival site The Number of the Blog. If you visit that site, you might have noticed that it is currently down due to technical difficulties. Seeing as how I have a perfectly good year-end list, it would be a shame if it never got posted. So I contacted Islander to see if he would let me post my list on his esteemed website. He graciously agreed, and now here we are.

What follows are the 30 albums that had the biggest impact upon me this past year. The ones that stuck with me the most. My favorite albums one could say. This list was made while taking everything that I have listened to this year into consideration. So consider yourself warned if you see something unexpected. If you wish to sample one of these fine albums, all you have to do is click on the album art, and it should take you to a youtube video (as that is how we do things over at TNOTB). Continue reading »

SEAN GOLYER’S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2011

 Listmania  4 Responses »
Dec 242011
 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Oak Pantheon is a Minneapolis-based band who we wrote about a couple of times earlier this year (most recently here), singing the praises of their EP called The Void. As a gross generalization, it’s folk-influenced black metal with memorable acoustic and electric melodies, infectious rhythms, and a scarifying dose of Nordic vocals. Sean Golyer is a “behind the scenes” member of the band, and he sent us the following list of his favorite albums from the past year. By coincidence, it includes three bands who made their first appearance on our the year-end lists from Stephen and Kenneth Parker that we posted yesterday.

There have no doubt been a lot of great music releases that I’ve listened to this year — countless more than this list indicates (Absu, Disma, and Wolves in the Throne Room are a few of the bands whose albums are great, but not listed below). However, I decided to take a new approach to my choices this year and compiled a short list of releases that have permanently made it into my collection of music that I listen to regularly, or simply releases that were so stand-out fantastic I couldn’t help but mention them.

I have to admit, the big metal releases this year were not quite as stellar as the past few years (at least not ones from the big names or labels). But that allowed me to open myself up further to bands outside of the genre, or bands that really pushed its boundaries. 2011 will certainly be known as the year that the underground really shined and surpassed anything the big labels put out.

Melancholy is a theme I always enjoy searching for and listening to. I discovered a lot of new bands and I’m also developing a newfound taste in crust, but not a lot of releases stood out enough that they stuck in my playlists regularly.  I’m a man who likes to let the music speak for itself, so instead of me babbling on about my opinions for each band, I’d rather you just listen and take in the music to form your own opinion. Continue reading »

MORE NEW MUSIC – ELUVEITIE’S “MEET THE ENEMY”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Dec 242011
 

As we reported previously, Switzerland’s Eluveitie have a new album coming on Nuclear Blast in February. Called Helvetios, it’s a concept album about a time long ago when a Celtic tribe called the Helvetii occupied part of Eluveitie’s homeland. Today, the band released the first song from the album for streaming — “Meet the Enemy”.

Unsurprisingly, it includes a variety of folk instruments and a bit of folk melody — but these contributions are brief. The song is mainly a galloping dash of familiar Scandinavian melodic death metal, albeit with a female warrior playing the hurdy-gurdy with the reins clenched in her teeth. The apparently studious Chrigel Glanzmann (who belts out the lyrics on the new song in full-on harsh mode) had this to say about the track on Eluveitie’s blog:

“We’re happy and proud to already present you “Meet The Enemy” – track 7 off our upcoming album “Helvetios”!

It tells you about the ‘encounter’ the Helvetians had with the roman legions in the year 58 BC – one of the crucial points in their history, for it was basically when the gaulish wars erupted.

So the song is pretty much filled with wrath and rage – upholding the furious spirit you might know from tracks such as “Kingdom Come Undone”, “Bloodstained Ground” or “Lament”.
Furthermore the song’s substantial instrumentation (including fiddle, hurdy gurdy, whistles and uilleann pipes) is also enriched by one of the guest musicians, we had the honour to work with – Fredy Schnyder (from Nucleus Torn) who contributed some amazing parts on the hammered dulcimer.

Hope you enjoy!”

Continue reading »

NAGLFAR FINALLY RELEASE A NEW SONG: “PALE HORSE”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Dec 242011
 

The Friday before Christmas is probably not an ideal day for releasing important news. In fact, as eagle-eyed as I am, I nearly missed this item. I’m so glad I didn’t. When I saw it last night, I became nearly giddy with excitement. Not actually giddy, because giddy is not metal, but nearly giddy. Here are the key elements of this story:

Sweden’s Naglfar has finished recording their new album — the first one since Harvest was released in 2007. It will be called Téras. It will be released by Century Media in March of next year. Sometime between now and then, the band will put out a limited-edition 7″ single that will include one track from Téras and a second song that will be exclusive to the single.

The band’s new line-up is down to vocalist Kristoffer W. Olivius (the band’s original bass player, who become Naglfar’s lead vocalist prior to the recording of Pariah (2005) after the departure of Jens Rydén), guitarist Andreas Nilsson (who has been with the band since its inception), and guitarist Marcus E. Norman (who joined in 2000). The drums for Téras were recorded by Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork, Scarve).

Last but certainly not least, yesterday Century Media made at song from the new album available for streaming. It’s called “Pale Horse”, and you can listen after the jump. If the quality of Naglfar’s previous albums weren’t enough to put Téras on your radar screen, this song should do it. Continue reading »

FUCK CHRISTMAS?

 Mosh Pit  28 Responses »
Dec 242011
 

Last year, I vented about Christmas — at length — in a post creatively titled FUCK CHRISTMAS. It seems to be getting a renewed surge of web hits this month, which I suppose proves that the sour taste I have in my mouth this time of year needs to be spit out by other people, too. Except this year I don’t seem to be feeling so bloated with hostility that I need to vent. I’ve been questioning myself, trying to understand what has changed.

ME:  So what’s going on with you this year? Are you feeling more charitable, more filled with love for your fellow men and women, more kindly and gushy and huggy?

MYSELF:  Fuck no.  Also, fuck you.

ME:  Well, that wasn’t a very nice answer. Let’s try this again: Have you changed your mind about all those nasty things you said last year about Big Business using Christmas as an excuse to guilt-trip people into spending money they don’t have on presents people don’t need?

MYSELF:  Nope, not at all. This year, like last year, retailers are still acting like a horde of vampire squid, sticking their blood funnels up your bunghole and trying to suck out all the cash you’ve got while pretending everything is happy and jolly. It’s tough to remember the event that Christmas is supposed to commemorate when you’ve got a groping blood funnel up your ass. Also, fuck you.

ME: Okay. Well, are you enjoying the Christmas season music more this year? Is it putting you in a cheerier mood?

MYSELF:  Surely you jest. Did you see this? Continue reading »

AMORPHIS DEATHMATCH Round 2: “TALES FROM THE THOUSAND LAKES”

 Album Reviews  24 Responses »
Dec 232011
 

(Here’s Round Two of Trollfiend’s head-to-head, no-holes-barred cage fight with Amorphis, and the blood is starting to flow in rivers. To catch up on what’s going on here, read this post.)

It is with heavy heart that I don my armoured codpiece today, knowing that the beast I face in the ring will rip off my head and shit down my neck.  Still, none shall be satisfied until my blood stains the sands and my genitals are thrown to the crowd as a token of my defeat, so… onward to battle.

Ah…we open with an instrumental track.  The arena master has called for lions; being thrown to starving lions is a gimme.  I just have to run fast and hope I can get….Into Hiding.

Shit.  It’s lions with bears strapped to their backs wielding axes made of flint and sodomy.  I’m doomed! Doomed I say! Wait, what’s with the weird clean vocals? Ha ha! Once more I escape death!

Unfortunately the ass-fucking flint-axe lion-bears were just a distraction so I wouldn’t notice the next entrant into the ring: The Castaway.  Metal-plated to the tits, it comes lumbering out of the gate to crush me flat with stomping boots of stompery. Continue reading »

UNDERGROUND METAL FOR THE TRVE CURMUDGEON (Best of 2011 Edition)

 Listmania  23 Responses »
Dec 232011
 

(NCS guest contributor and avid commenter SurgicalBrute provides a Best of 2011 for all trve curmudgeons out there, and I threw in a handful of song clips at the end. Listening to all these albums in a row would be like having a grenade detonate inside your belly while a napalm canister goes off inside your skull.)

I know it’s been a hell of a year for metal, because my credit card statement keeps reminding me. So when I first started writing this, I wasn’t entirely sure what would make it onto my list. While some of my choices were pretty obvious, even from the very beginning, several of my mid-year favorites ended up getting bumped because of some last-minute discoveries. After a little thought, a little time, and a little alcohol (okay maybe more than a little), I finally settled on 15 albums I would call my “must haves” for this year.  There are a few honorable mentions as well, just to round things out.

Most of the stuff I really like tends to fall on the death metal side of things, but there’s a mix of black and even a little doom as well. No, there is no Tech, ‘Core, or Machine Head on here. Yes, I like Disma. No, it did not make my list. Yes, I actually have a very good reason for that.

So, in no particular order, here’s my list…enjoy…\m/ Continue reading »

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2011: STEPHEN AND KENNETH PARKER (ARKHUM) GIVE US THEIR LISTS

 Listmania  13 Responses »
Dec 232011
 

EDITOR’S FORWARD: I’m a big fan of Portland-based Arkhum and have written about them multiple times at NCS, including this fairly recent post. The band includes two brothers — lead vocalist/lyricist Kenneth Parker and guitarist/vocalist Stephen Parker. Recently, each of them has provided NCS with guest interviews — Stephen interviewing Jason William Walton (Agalloch, Self Spiller) and Kenneth interviewing Izedis of apocalyptic black noize merchants Enbilulugugal.

As part of our year-end Listmania series, I asked each of them if they would let me publish their personal lists of the year’s best albums, and they agreed. Both lists include albums I’ve never heard before — which is a big part of why this Listmania thing is fun — and so at the end of this post I’ve randomly included some music from the albums that were new to me. Here we go:

STEPHEN PARKER’S TOP 11

1. Light Bearer – Lapsus

If anyone out there is a fan of the sludge/neocrust titans Fall of Efrafa, you know who Light Bearer are. The first track I heard was ‘Prelapsus’, and it was amazing. The track starts with the signature vocal magic from Alex CF. His harsh but emotional vocals really set the tone for this entire track. After a lengthy but necessary buildup, the track busts into an orgasmic display of bassist Tom Watson’s vocal range. When you hear Watson and Alex sing/scream the lines “We are the sons of fire, we are the daughters of light”, prepare to have chills from your head to your toes. Continue reading »

OKULAR: “PROBIOTIC”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Dec 232011
 

Okular don’t fuck around. When they contacted us asking if we would consider reviewing their debut album, Probiotic, I said yes and suggested they could just give me a download link rather than going to the expense of mailing a physical copy from Norway. They sent me the physical copy anyway. When it arrived, I understood why.

The jewel case includes a 20-page booklet. You’re looking at the front cover above, which by itself is strikingly cool. You open the booklet, and what unfolds are a series of two-page panels of equally eye-catching artwork, with green being the dominant chromatic tone throughout. The first two-page foldout includes band photos and detailed album credits. Each of the remaining two-page panels is devoted to a single song, with lyrics.

I read the lyrics and stared at the accompanying art before listening to a single song. The artwork for each song is symbolically connected to the lyrics, which are a kind of very personal poetry that chart a journey of self-realization and that provide a description of beauty and strength (the kind that matter, not the superficial), both within the self and outside the self in the world. When I use the word “poetry”, I don’t mean to suggest that the words are pretentious or “precious” — they aren’t. But the words are still deeply considered and deeply felt and eloquent.

The very personal nature of the lyrics, the consistency of thought among them from song to song, and the connection between the lyrics and the art are the result of the creative work of a dude named Andreas Aubert, who composed the music, wrote the lyrics, and was involved in developing the design and illustration concepts for the album booklet. And he also sings backing vocals on the songs. And he has an interesting personal blog you can find via this link.

Ah yes, the songs — the music. It’s time to write about that. I’m just taking this in the order of my own experience — I read the lyrics and looked carefully at the booklet first, and then I pressed play. And what I heard was nothing like what I expected. Continue reading »

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