NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: CEREMONY OF SILENCE — “PRIMAEVAL SACRIFICE”

Jun 192024

On July 19th Willowtip Records will release Hálios, the second album from the Slovakian death/black metal band Ceremony of Silence. The label’s introduction of it is very intriguing:

Hálios represents the unborn luminous radiance, the all-pervading immutable light of the Universe, and our fundamental inherent nature. It is the thousand-rayed Sun, always in motion, but unchangeable, the axis mundi manifesting the sacred within our temporal world and serving as a bridge to the mythical time. The album sets forth on an eerie journey to this sacred dimension, reenacting the old stories inspired by the essence of the ancient Indo-European mythology, entwined in the obscure visions and dreams.

This introduction suggests that the music will be even deeper in its development of profound, soul-stirring atmosphere than this band’s first full-length, 2019’s Oútis (reviewed here), and that is indeed true. But it’s also true that Ceremony of Silence are still capable (indeed more so) of mounting head-spinning shock-and-awe assaults on the senses. Both the first single from the album and a second one we’re premiering today with a lyric video are proof of all that. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ADELON — “RESURGENCE”

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET 1 Response »

Jun 192024

Metaphorically speaking, most metal bands have a core stylistic foundation around which they might then add other embellishments — or not. To switch up the metaphor, they might have a fundamental DNA, then spliced with other genetic strands to create a hybrid of sound — or not.

In the case of the Swiss band Adelon, whose four-song debut EP Resurgence we’re premiering today in advance of its June 21 release, they point to the strong influence on their music of Gojira and Decapitated, suggesting that their own foundations are themselves a multi-faceted structure of death-metal groove and technicality, even before they add additional embellishments and hybridized strands (which indeed they do, in abundance).

By the time all the hybridizing is in place, it becomes considerably more difficult to separate foundation from everything else that goes into the final edifice, which is in fact much less of an edifice than a constantly morphing dreamscape, in which prog-metal and even elements of jazz play significant roles, along with all the obliterating grooves and the tech-death fireworks. Continue reading »

CONSTRUCT OF LETHE – A KINDNESS DEALT IN VENOM

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jun 192024

(Andy Synn has some kind, and some unkind, words for the new album from Construct of Lethe, out Friday on Transcending Obscurity)

There’s an argument to be made – in fact, I’m going to make it now – that Construct of Lethe‘s second album, 2018’s Exiler, is one of the best Death Metal albums of the last ten (and probably twenty) years.

But, after releasing such a milestone album (one which you might even be tempted to call a “masterpiece”, at least in the original sense of that word) what exactly was the band to do?

And the answer, it turns out, is to throw caution to the wind and construct an ambitiously flawed, yet absolutely fascinating (not to mention utterly ferocious) autobiographical concept album about the devastating doldrums of depression and suicidal ideation, split into 12 “chapters” (not all of which could be called “songs”), that is intended to be experienced as a singular, uninterrupted sequence.

So, without further interruption or delay… let’s dive in.

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CELESTIAL SEASON

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Jun 192024

(Last month Burning World Records (an affiliate of Roadburn Records) released Mysterium III, the newest album by the Dutch band Celestial Season, and a box set of all three Mysterium albums under the name Orbis Mysterium. Long in advance of the release Comrade Aleks conducted an interview with vocalist Stefan Ruiters which we finally present today.)

Celestial Season from the Netherlands was one of the really successful death-doom bands in the early ’90s. They didn’t reach the status of the UK Three, but the debut album Forever Scarlet Passion (1993) and, more importantly, the sophomore full-length Solar Lovers (1995) made their reputation with some interesting out-of-the-genre experiments. Blurred videos for ‘Decamerone’ and ‘Solar Child’ were a blast!

But the guys chose to change the direction dramatically towards stoner/doom stuff, and that led Celestial Season to lose their positions and disband in 2001. The band was brought back to life in 2011, but after a few efforts they didn’t release anything new until 2020, when the first album in twenty years, The Secret Teachings, saw the light of day. Since then, the band has regenerated almost entirely to the full original lineup and released two more albums in the vein of their early material – Mysterium I and Mysterium II. These albums embody beautiful and deep melancholic death-doom metal with growls, cello, and violin.

But what I need to tell you is that the band has Mysterium III on their schedule. Stefan Ruiters has growled in Celestial Season since 1991 to 1995, and rejoined the band in 2020. He answered our questions tonight.

Well… tonight… That “tonight” happened somewhere in November 2023, as the Mysterium III release date was scheduled for December 2023. But as far as I know, Roadburn Records had problems with the vinyl plant, so the release was delayed, and the album will see the light of day on May 17th, 2024. Okay, it was worth waiting for anyway. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CAILLEACH BHEUR — “CAILLEACH BHEUR”

Album Reviews, Premieres 1 Response »

Jun 182024

On June 28th Fiadh Productions will release the self-titled debut album of an unorthodox black metal band named Cailleach Bheur. They prefer to remain anonymous, but as their Scottish Gaelic name suggests (more about the name later), we’re told that all the members were based in Scotland 15 years ago, and one or more still are.

The themes of the album were also inspired by Scottish mythology and folklore, and the music has been in development for quite a long time – more than 10 years. Before we get to the music itself, in all its many eye-popping permutations, we’ll share with you a little more background about the album that we’ve been provided: Continue reading »

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME VI: DEATHFEST AND OTHER MADNESS

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Jun 182024

(After a slight delay following the expiration of May, Dan Barkasi rejoins us with reviews and streams of eight selected albums released during that month.)

To begin, a brief recap of Maryland Deathfest. If you attended, we can only hope it was as close to cathartic for you as it was for yours truly.

Having attended a ton of MDF’s in the past – I’ve lost count – this was unequivocally one of my favorite editions. The variety and top-tier quality of the musical performances was profound. Sinmara, Spectral Wound, Fossilization, Altars, Spectral Voice, and Imperialist were all acts witnessed for the first time, and each left a permanent impression. Heavy hitters such as Dismember, Ahab, Agalloch, Sodom, and Primordial each brought an undeniable presence to each of their shows that were wholly different, yet left the same elated feeling.

The biggest highlight, however, is this festival representing a gathering of lifelong friends that haven’t been seen in much too long of a time period, as well as making new friends, all of which we hope to see again very soon. Continue reading »

VALE OF PNATH: “BETWEEN THE WORLDS OF LIFE AND DEATH”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jun 182024

(On May 24th Willowtip Records released a new album by the U.S. metal band Veil of Pnath. As is usually the case, DGR didn’t rush to prepare an early review but allowed the music to linger a while. Now his review is finished and available below.)

Vale Of Pnath are of a class of tech-death groups that never seemed to fully get their due. The Denver-based crew made themselves known at the right time, had the right scratchy logo, and had the right high-speed playing style to prominently place themselves in the world of the initial tech-death explosion as it quickly codified into its own subgenre rather than just a way to describe a much more complicated style of death metal that is more well-known for caveman slamming into the ground repeatedly.

Guitarist Vance Valenzuela is the only long-time member of the group still standing at this point, having been surrounded by a legion of incredibly talented musicians over the years. Maybe it was the ever-shifting nature of the group that was to blame? Maybe the revolving-door list of who would be in the lineup at any album? Maybe it was the sense that Vale Of Pnath was a machine, not just in the precision of their playing but in ‘parts’ changing themselves out, or maybe it was just the tad too long gaps between releases?

Regardless, it never seemed like Vale Of Pnath were fully able to achieve the relentless touring and constant social media renown as well as many of their fellow classmates did, despite having the body of material to back that up. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BLACK HOLE DEITY — “SWARM ATTACK”

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Jun 172024

For those of you who may be colliding with Black Hole Deity for the first time today, the band was formed in Alabama by Cam Pinkerton and Chris White, who were co-founders of the cult death metal band Chaos Inception. Cam then recruited Alec Cordero from the death metal bands Cruelty Exalted and Calcemia for lead-guitar duties and finally got none other than Mike Heller of Malignancy, Fear Factory, and Raven to handle the drumwork.

We had our first collision with them back in 2020, when they released their second single, “Railgun Combat” (writing about it here), and then had the pleasure of premiering their debut EP Lair of Xenolich the next year. As we wrote then, that EP (which was released by Everlasting Spew Records) was “an explosive assault that’s a pure adrenaline rush, as well as one that inflicts megaton levels of stunning destructiveness”:

“Listening to the EP, it’s very easy to imagine that you’ve been teleported straight into an alien war zone where advanced technologies are being deployed with both machine-like precision and breathtaking ferocity.”

Lair of Xenolich was such a breathtaking spectacle (and even more enjoyable for sci-fi nerds like us) that it was terrifically good news to learn that Everlasting Spew would at last be bringing us a Black Hole Deity full-length. Its name is Profane Geometry, and today you’ll have a chance to be assaulted by three of its tracks, one of which (“Swarm Attack“) we’re now premiering. Continue reading »

CRYPT SERMON -THE STYGIAN ROSE

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Jun 172024

(Andy Synn goes on an epic journey with the new album from Crypt Sermon, out now)

I know what some of you are thinking – “but there’s clean singing in this!”

I know this because, without fail, someone will make some version of this comment on our social media without thinking, a) perhaps they’re fully aware of that, or b) maybe this suggests that the site’s name shouldn’t be taken entirely seriously?

Sure, we’re partly to blame (actually, it’s Islander who’s mostly to blame, as he’s the one who came up with the damn name as a response to the early 2000s trend of bands shoehorning in big clean-sung choruses in a desperate attempt to appeal to the mainstream) but… c’mon folks, if you’ve spent more than five minutes with us here at NCS you must have noticed that we cover a lot of bands who don’t just use harsh vocals.

And one of those bands, whom we’ve covered numerous times, is Crypt Sermon, who just released what might be the best album of their career so far.

AN NCS PREMIERE: INTOLERANCE — “RITE OF PASSAGE”

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Jun 172024

The ongoing revival of “old school death metal”, which in fact is the refurbishing of many schools, continues apace with the impending release of the second album by the Spanish band Intolerance.

Intolerance are a Zaragoza-based group who have already proven their ability to breath new life into the hideous old genre, building their own throne of putrefying skulls with a 2016 demo, a 2020 EP, their first album Dark Paths of Humanity (2022), and now a new full-length monstrosity aptly named Waking Nightmares of an Endless Void which will be co-released on July 22nd by Memento Mori and Godz Ov War Productions.

For more concrete reference points, the PR materials for the album refer to a solid foundation influenced by early Bolt Thrower, Grave, Asphyx, Morgoth, Entombed, Convulse, Obituary, and Unleashed, but now embellished with “ever-darker hues and an almost-evil melodicism” that “puts them closer to the likes of classic Unanimated, Dismember, Hypocrisy, Desultory, and earliest Necrophobic“.

But as concrete reference points go, nothing beats the music itself, and we have some of that for you today as we premiere the new album’s fourth track, “Rite of Passage“. Continue reading »

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