LEVIATHAN: “HER CIRCLE IS THE NOOSE”

 Metal News  7 Responses »
Sep 022011
 

Leviathan is a one-man American black-metal project whose alter ego is Jef Whitehead (a/k/a Wrest). Whitehead has been making Leviathan music since at least 1998, including 15 demo’s, 7 splits, two EPs, and four full-length albums, the last of which was 2008’s Massive Conspiracy Against All Life. Whitehead also collaborated with Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd and the multi-talented Sanford Parker in a project called Twilight that created a highly regarded 2010 album entitled Monument To Time End. Despite my continuing efforts to become better educated about black metal, my exploration of Leviathan has been limited (by time) to just a few tracks from the last album, but it’s clear that the name is one to conjure with in circles of the black metal intelligentsia.

Over the last year, Whitehead has gained notoriety for reasons other than his prowess as a creator of distinctive music: He is facing criminal charges for assault on his former girlfriend. You can read about the details here or here. In an interview of Blake Judd conducted earlier this year by our own BadWolf, Blake Judd questioned the accuser’s credibility, and he doesn’t appear to be the only person who’s doing that, but the charges are still pending.

Today, Pitchfork published an interview of Whitehead, the first time he’s given an interview in close to a decade. In addition, Pitchfork premiered a new song from Leviathan’s next album, True Traitor, True Whore, which is scheduled for release by Profound Lore on November 8. Pitchfork’s Brandon Stosuy, who conducted the interview, has heard the album and calls it “one of the best metal albums of the year.” In a different interview, Chris Bruni, the head of Profound Lore, called it “very creepy, dark, eerie, and quite disturbing and unnerving” and “different than anything Leviathan has done.” I haven’t heard the album, but I did listen to the new song.

It’s called “Her Circle Is the Noose”. It’s a harrowing piece of music, clattering with off-kilter drumming, shrouded in a haze of melodic tremolo chords punctured by electronic pulses, and charged with Whitehead’s visceral, hair-raising vocals. Worth hearing — which you can do by following this link.

MINAS MORGUL

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Sep 022011
 

(Our cup runneth over — NCS reader/commenter Trollfiend, who clearly knows how to write a review that will cause you to brown your underoos with laughter, rejoins us for the second time this week with an immensely entertaining retrospective on the music of Minas Morgul. Allow me to say, “Pure blackity blackness with a side of black. Also, wolves.”)

Germans are good at a lot of things: making chocolate, designing cars, and brewing beer, for example.  I bet you thought I was going to make some sort of crass WWII reference, like “they’re also good at invading Poland” or something inappropriate about the Holocaust.  I would never do such a thing.  I abhor stereotypes as much as I abhor lederhosen swamp-ass, and I don’t make jokes about horrific tragedies unless they’re really fucking funny.

So, in the interest of good fellowship with our jackbooted fascist friends over in good olde Deutschland, I am going to share with you one of their little musical gems, largely unknown outside the land of biergartens and polka.  My German is not great, pretty much limited to what I’ve learned from repeat plays of Castle Wolfenstein, but as any true soldier of the Fatherland would do, I’m going to struggle manfully through this review without the use of Google Translate. So here we go: Minas Morgul.

If you’re thinking, ‘hey, I’ve heard that name before’, you’re either a big fan of pagan/black metal or a monstrous shaggy nerd-ape (the two aren’t mutually exclusive).  Minas Morgul, for you folks who don’t know, is the name of the city of the Nazgul in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.  It’s also the name of a black metal band from Frankfurt.  Now I’m not sure if Minas Morgul (the band… not to be confused with Minas Morgul, the Summoning album) counts as Tolkien metal per se – with songs like “AK-47 – Kalaschnikov-Standgericht”, it’s probably safe to say they deviate from the oeuvre just a little – but for the most part you can call them black metal pretty accurately.  That is assuming you don’t count the occasional Rammsteinesque clean bridges that pepper their songs like hairy vestigial nipples on a child-devouring witch. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE LINDGREN DIET: DAY THREE

 IQ Subtraction  3 Responses »
Sep 022011
 

Am I overdoing this? I know that some metal bloggers harp so incessantly on a particularly subject that it has an effect that’s the reverse of what’s intended: It drives readers in the opposite direction. I think this is the result of a deep-seated acculturation process that begins in childhood. Your parents yammer at you ceaselessly to stand up straight, chew with your mouth closed, stop snorting, brush your teeth, etc., etc., and so the first chance you get you slump like a knuckle-dragging caveman, show the food in your mouth to everyone while eating, snort and swallow your snot like it’s a five-star dessert, and let your teeth turn into bacterial hives that produce immediate sensations of nausea to anyone within a five-yard radius.

And then on top of that kind of reflexive behavior, you add the natural contrariness of the species metalheadus-erectus, and you get the kind of reactions I’m talking about. As a metal writer, you say something more than once, and readers call “Bullshit!” and go the other way.

But look, let me be up front about this. I am NOT getting royalties from Ola Lindgren for promoting The Lindgren Diet. I am NOT making money preparing pre-packaged meals of Spicy Elmo wraps and blow to fulfill diet-meal orders that are surely rolling in at “Lindgren’s Health Blog 666″. I am speaking from the heart about a fabulous total-health regimen that will change your life.

Okay, to be brutally honest, which is the only kind of honest we know how to be at NCS, I have been trying to convince Ola to let me ghost-write the future bestseller The Lindgren Diet: How To Snort, Drink, and Gorge Your Way To A New You. But that has nothing to do — nothing, I tell you — with this series of posts about the diet. I’m just trying to share with you the phenomenal benefits, which I have yet to personally experience, of this revolutionary body-mind health plan created by the long-time guitarist and frontman of Sweden’s Grave. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

PATHOLOGY: NEW SLAMMING SICKNESS, OR SICK NEW SLAMNESS, PART 2

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Sep 012011
 

Well sir, yesterday’s post about the new song premiere from those brutal-death-slam carnivores in San Diego’s Condemned, attracted more interest than anticipated, so here we go again — because San Diego is home to more than one brutal death band with a fondness for slams.

We’ve got more than a passing interest in Pathology, (i) because their current vocalist is a Seattle-area dude named Jonathan Huber, who used to gutturalize for local-band-made-good, I Declare War, and (ii) because the awesome Pär Olofsson is responsible for the cover art on the new album, Awaken To the Suffering. So, when I got an e-mail from NCS reader Utmu last week about a new Pathology song that had premiered on Lambgoat, I perked right up.

I listened to the new song, vowed to post about it at NCS, and then something distracted me. I think it was a passing fly; it doesn’t take much. Fortunately, I was reminded about the song from a mention of Pathology in a comment by Homelessviking (cool name, that one) on yesterday’s post about Condemned. So, finally, we have the new song for you.

It’s called “Media Consumption” and it includes: Big, concrete-hard, slamming riffs; full-auto drumming; gruesome gutturals; and the squealing of a gutted pig. This sounds fairly standard, no? Well, the song also has an unexpected guitar solo that almost sounds jazzy, except it also sounds diseased. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

ALL PIGS MUST DIE CURATES A FREE MIXTAPE

 Metal News  10 Responses »
Sep 012011
 

All Pigs Must Die is a band I discovered for the first time watching them kick the holy bejesus out of an audience at a Seattle club on August 18. They were taking part in Southern Lord’s The Power of the Riff tour. I mainly went to see Pelican, but discovered a lot of other awesome bands in the process, APMD being one of them (see our partial review of that show here). Southern Lord has just recently released the band’s debut album, God Is War, and it’s a hard-to-define amalgam of punk, hardcore, crust, black metal, and death metal that’s beastly.

But God Is War isn’t the main reason for this post. The main reason is that APMD was persuaded by CVLT NATION to select songs for a mixtape that the site released for free download yesterday. The band explained what they did: “This is a selection of songs from bands that have have influenced us as a whole and as individual players. Our goal was to put together a range of music that has contributed to our musical output as a band, rather than compiling a list of more obscure songs we may each be listening to at the moment. So while you may have heard much of this before, we hope you enjoy hearing it all at once.”

Perhaps reflecting the eclectic mix of styles you can hear in APMD’s own music, the mixtape is a wide-ranging compilation, and a fucking good one to boot. In toto, it’s an hour and a half of music, and includes songs by 27 bands. Just a few examples: Electric Wizard, Amebix, Leviathan, Neurosis, Blue Oyster Cult, Pentagram, Hawkwind, Entombed, The Secret, Dismember, Trap Them, Black Sabbath, and Nick Cave. To stream all the music and to download the mixtape, visit the CVLT NATION page via this link. We’ve also included the full track list after the jump. Continue reading »

THE LINDGREN DIET: DAY TWO

 IQ Subtraction, Metal News  8 Responses »
Sep 012011
 

Earlier this week, we introduced you to a revolutionary new holistic health regimen for metalheads that we’ve dubbed “The Lindgren Diet”. This isn’t just a formula for shedding unwanted pounds. It’s a magical recipe for mental well-being and overall physical health that will produce a “new you”. Developed by Ola Lindgren, the frontman and guitarist for Grave, the legendary Swedish death metal band, it’s taking the world by storm — and rightly so.

Eating right has never been easier — and it won’t leave you feeling hungry or deprived. There’s no need to count calories, carbs, portion sizes — or anything else. It’s just that easy! Ola Lindgren shows you how. Drawing on his own experience maintaining the physique of an Olympic swimmer despite the demands of the extreme metal lifestyle, he has crafted an easy-to-follow diet program that doesn’t require hard-to-find ingredients or long hours in the kitchen. Let other people do the preparation for you! All you have to do is consume — and then watch yourself be transformed.

I’ve been on the diet since Monday, and I can tell you that I’m already feeling the burn! I’m sleeping better, feeling more energetic during the day, and experiencing greater mental acuity. And that’s just from following the first daily intake regimen that Ola rolled out when he launched his blog, “Lindgren’s Health Blog 666”. But now Ola has given us the next installment in his recipe for whole-body perfection. I can’t wait to work this meal plan into my daily routine! Check it out after the jump. Continue reading »

ABSU: “ABZU”

 Album Reviews  15 Responses »
Sep 012011
 

(NCS writer BadWolf returns to our fold with his take on the forthcoming sixth album from Texas-based Absu.)

Absu’s 2011 pseudo-self-titled album, Abzu sends a message: “We are back, baby!” But wait, you may say, didn’t they already release a comeback album in 2009? With a near-identical title? And a similar cover? And the same funky wyvern mascot? Correct on all counts. But where ­Absu was overweight and boring, Abzu is sleek and stimulating—it is the sound of a band dedicated to constant improvement 20 years after its formation. If only more veterans shared their vitriol and dedication.

While Absu may have the lyrical and vocal aesthetic of black metal, at heart they want to be Slayer. At this point, aping LA’s finest is more than cliché, it’s juvenile. Bands trying to be Slayer (or Exodus for that matter—I’m looking at you, Heavy Artillery records) ceased to be interesting or innovative years ago. Props to Absu, then for doing their heroes justice and only cherry-picking those elements that work: They embrace their little beauty marks (the Araya-worship screams that punctuate “Earth Ripper”), not their most-xeroxed techniques (no trem-bar solos here).

Love of thrash keeps Abzu from inducing black metal fatigue, unlike some of their older records. New guitarist Vis Crom has elegance in his riffs that Shaftiel and Aethyris lacked, and his aptitude for middle-eastern-style solo melodies finally feels at home in Absu, not shoehorned in. Band leader Proscriptor McGovern works his hardest to out-fill Dave Lombardo, but has a style of his own. Nobody strings together tom hits the way he does.

Concordantly, Abzu feels at once familiar and unique. The production mirrors this: The instruments are dry and crunchy, but register with modern digital clarity. And god damn do those drums pop nicely.  I felt a click when I heard this record, like when I try on a jacket in a store and it instantly registers as *the* article of clothing I was seeking. For the first time since Tara, the band is painting by magic, not numbers.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

MELODEATH WEEK: BEFORE THE DAWN

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Sep 012011
 

(After a one-day hiatus, TheMadIsraeli returns with the next installment in this Melodeath Week series, and today’s focus is on a Finnish favorite here at NCS — Before the Dawn.)

Before The Dawn might be a hard sell to some of you as a candidate for melodeath week. I was surprised when Islander reviewed Soundscape Of Silence (here) that people didn’t react in the way I’ve experienced when talking about this band. What’s that? Argue that Before The Dawn has been pioneering some obtuse form of metalcore. I suppose I can kinda understand the logic. They have the metalcore energy, and something of the poppy sensibilities that metalcore can have. However, if you ask me, this is an unfair characterization. Before The Dawn use these elements to create a very somber, very melancholic atmosphere.

If you’re at all familiar with the sound of this band, then you’re familiar with everything they do.  The sound is very consistent. Trying to pick any one album as the band’s best is kind of pointless. For example, the album I’m focusing on here (2007’s Deadlight) and the one that preceded it (The Ghost, from 2006) are almost interchangeable, with VERY similar melodies. Even with the strong similarities, though, Deadlight, out of all this band’s albums, is the one that sticks with me the most. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

CONDEMNED: NEW SLAMMING SICKNESS, OR SICKENING NEW SLAMNESS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Aug 312011
 

I’ve visited San Diego a couple of times. It seems like a nice town. You visit Balboa Park, and you see carefree people enjoying the beautiful surroundings and (when the fog isn’t insinuating itself) the sunshine. Fun-loving folks are out having fun at eateries and watering holes in the Gaslamp Quarter. There are beautiful beaches and ocean vistas, and you can catch a ballgame at Petco Park (as long as you don’t mind watching the Padres lose). But . . . there’s also a vile, dark, underside to this superficially pleasant city, and its name is Condemned.

Condemned is a brutal death metal band with a penchant for creating songs that slam. I don’t claim to be an expert in the subgenre of death metal called slam, but I can claim to have suffered brain damage listening to Condemned’s 2007 debut album, Desecrate the Vile. This was a tragic occurrence, because I have so little brain to damage that damaging any of it is a serious loss. However, I have managed to soldier on.

Unfortunately, I suffered further brain damage this afternoon listening to the first song to debut from the new album by Condemned, Realms of the Ungodly, which will be released by Unique Leader on November 9. Fortunately, November 9 is a long way off. I’m on a waiting list at a Seattle hospital for a brain donor, and I’m hoping I’ll be a lucky recipient before November 9. It would be nice to have a whole new brain before I listen to a whole album’s worth of songs like this one. Otherwise, I could be in some real trouble.

The new song is called “The Divine Order of Babylon”, and it’s decimating. The music is ugly, scary, and horrific — but it’s got groove, too. What’s left of my brain, while mourning the part that was killed off, remembers enjoying the song while it lasted. It’s enjoying the awesome album cover by Jon Zig, too. You can listen to the new song after the jump. Maybe your brain is too large and you’d like to reduce it to normal size. Continue reading »

MAURO MERCURIO AT WORK

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  30 Responses »
Aug 312011
 

Three days ago we reviewed the new EP from Italian face-melters Eyeconoclast, Sharpening Our Blades On the Mainstream. Eyeconoclast’s drummer is Mauro Mercurio, and his participation on the EP is one of the things that drew us to Eyeconoclast in the first place. Mercurio was the drummer for a phenomenal Roman death-metal band called Hour of Penance from about 1999 until 2010 and he’s been involved in other projects, as well as doing session work (e.g., he was the session drummer on Oracles (2009), the debut full-length by Fleshgod Apocalypse).

I’ve said before that I don’t know enough about the art of drumming to be a sophisticated critic of drum performances in extreme metal bands. I know what I enjoy hearing and I know when drumming makes an impression on me as I listen to a song and when it doesn’t particularly stand out, but my understanding isn’t much deeper than that. I’m also susceptible to a feeling of awe at sheer, unadulterated speed, especially when the performer is making use of the whole kit at a blazing pace.

Mercurio is one of those drummers who leaves my mouth hanging open, drooling slightly, with a cretinous glazed look in my eyes. I got that gap-mouthed, glazed look this morning when I saw a video that Mercurio put up on YouTube yesterday. It shows him laying down the drum track — in one take — for the title song on that Eyeconoclast EP. According to Mercurio’s note accompanying the video, the tempo of the whole song is 300 beats per minute (bpm). If my math is right, that’s 5 beats per second. This seems very fast to me. The normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Can the human heart beat at 300 bpm without exploding?

Mercurio also notes that in this recording, there were no triggers on the snares or toms and no studio editing on the drum track. Watch this shit after the jump, and in case you missed the song itself when we reviewed the EP a few days ago, you can hear that after the jump, too. Continue reading »

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