BYFROST SPEAKS OF DEATH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
May 182011
 

As we were reminded by the new THOR movie, in Norse mythology, Bifröst is the name of the burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (the world) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. The phonetically identical word BYFROST is the name of a Norwegian metal band that has become one of our supreme favorites, providing a burning bridge between our humble reality and an under-realm of primal, massive, blackened death metal ruled by the almighty riff.

When we reviewed their debut album Black Earth last July, we explained that listening produces “the sensation of being shaken like a rag doll by giant, clawed hands in time to a hellish beat.” Not only was Black Earth one of our favorite albums of 2010, we also named a track from the album (“Desire”) as the first entry on our list of 2010’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs (here).

We knew the band was at work on a follow-up album for release at some point this year, but this morning we got details from the awesome publicist/manager Patricia Thomas that lit up our faces like those of children in a candy store. For example, we now know the album title — Of Death — and we now have the awesome cover art by Christian Sloan Hall (above), and we now know that the album was co-produced by Herbrand Larsen and Ice Dale of Enslaved (Larsen also makes a guest appearance on two tracks). And even better, we got the actual candy, too: The sound of two new tracks from that forthcoming album — “Of Death” and “Buried Alive”.

Stay with us after the jump for more details about the album plus a first listen to those two new songs (which, by the way, will send horns to the fucking sky). Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 11: THE AXIS OF PERDITION

 THE SYNN REPORT  24 Responses »
May 182011
 

(NCS writer Andy Synn turns in his latest SYNN REPORT. It’s safe to say this is the most unclean of Andy’s reports yet.)

Decadent filth-mongers The Axis Of Perdition have been on an unholy mission for many years now, spreading their terrible gospel of sickness and depravity to all those disturbed or lost enough to listen to their ravings. Over the course of 3 albums and 1 EP (with a new record, Tenements, imminent) they have mutated and corrupted the minds and souls of their listeners, displaying a nauseating growth and spread which is as fascinating as it is disgusting.

Comparison to fellow British urban blackened grinders Anaal Nathrakh is inevitable (particularly comparing early AN and early Axis…) but whereas Anaal Nathrakh epitomise the superiority of the urban predator, perfectly evolved for maximum carnage, The Axis Of Perdition occupy the opposite end of the spectrum, the imperfection of urban decay, the collapse of progress into inevitable decline and pestilent rot.

The band also dabble and delve into occult themes and sickening blasphemies, stealing widely from Lovecraftian lore and the modern day computerised horror of the Silent Hill mythos to express their deep-seated antipathy towards the surface of things, beneath which lies another world of indescribable repugnance and shit-covered, drooling madness. (more after the jump, including disgusting songs from each of the band’s albums . . .) Continue reading »

THE EMPIRE OF AUGUST BURNS RED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 172011
 

August Burns Red has a mega-sized fan base. Let’s just take their Facebook “likes” as an indicator of that: 807,942 “likes” as of this writing. That’s a shitload. Now, I don’t mean to suggest we’re in awe or anything — we’re closing in on that number ourselves. With just 807,651 more likes, our NCS Facebook page will tie August Burns Red’s. So, we’re not in awe, we’re just stating the fact: For a metal band with a hardcore edge of extremity to their sound, they’ve built an unusually large empire of fandom.

The three of us who originally founded this site are among those fans, and we’ve posted about them a lot since we started NCS. They’re not as extreme as most bands we write about here, but they’re smart, creative songwriters, they play with passion, and their musical output shows they’re not standing still. Oh yeah, their songs are also distinctive and really memorable — so much so that we named ABR’s song “Meridian” (from the Constellations album) to our inaugural list of The Ten Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs of 2009.

ABR has a follow-up to Constellations due for release on June 21, called Leveler. It features that interesting cover art above (by Jordan Crane) showing a house that’s been leveled (see what they did there?) by a tornado or hurricane or some kind of disaster, but with life going on anyway. Or at least chicken life. It’s not your typical metal cover, but we still thought it was eye-catching.

With the album release fast approaching, ABR has begun the process of fan titillation by uploading the first song from the album for streaming. It’s called, naturally enough, “Empire”, and it’s a metalcore bruiser. After the jump, we’ve got that song for you plus some additional details about the album. Continue reading »

KLONE YOURSELF

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
May 172011
 

Too infrequently, we write about music that we pick out for listening based solely on the album cover art, not knowing anything about the music itself. Last July we did that for an album called Black Days by a French band called Klone. To crib from what we wrote about the album back then:

Well, it’s not my usual cuppa tea, which tends toward the more skull-pulping leaves grown on the jagged crags of Tartarus. For one thing, there’s a lot of more-or-less clean singing. . . . But, unexpectedly, I’m really diggin Klone. At a very high level (like, from space), the music straddles a line between the darker side of progressive metal and Chevelle-style hard rock. The instrumentalists are sharp and technically impressive, and even when his vocals are clean, Yann Ligner has an invigorating edge to his voice. The songs cover a wide range, from crosses between doom and prog, to melodic headbanging anthems, to dark dreams of hypnotic ambiance.

Today, we have some news to report about Klone: First, they’ve released a brand new two-part single called The Eye of the Needle that’s available for free download — and it’s absolutely worth hearing. Second, we came across a recent official video for one of the songs from Black Days, and it’s absolutely worth seeing. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: DECONSTRUCTION

 Album Reviews  25 Responses »
May 162011
 

(NCS writer Andy Synn has many things to say about Deconstruction, one of two forthcoming albums from The Devin Townsend Project. Both albums will be released on June 21 (one day earlier internationally) by InsideOut Music and Century Media. We got very enthusiastic listening to “Sumeria” when it leaked on YouTube, but now that we’ve received our review copy and listened to the whole thing, brevity is the last thing on our minds. )

Settle in people, this is going to be a long one.

And deservedly so, as there’s simply so MUCH to digest here, often TOO much in fact. As an exploration of one man’s psyche, this record is one to immerse oneself in, swimming deep and letting the currents pull one to and fro, absorbing what feels most natural to each listener. Some have already grandly stated that they “got” this release from the off, or that everything makes sense to them – which of course is fine –yet I feel that perhaps this is a record only Devin himself will ever “get” fully, as the record IS him, and he IS the record.

I also question whether or not the record is even designed to make sense; more and more it seems to follow a linear (yet at times disjointed) story arc that speaks of the man finally letting his inner child out to play, finally and fully expressing itself, be it through raging tantrums or wistful, child-like wonder.

My advice to listeners is this: trying to swallow the whole mechanical carnival of musical themes, rapidly swinging moods and sheer gamut of emotions on display is an almost impossible task, liable to overwhelm the individual and leave them feeling over-stuffed and unable to enjoy the delectable morsels offered to them.

Instead. put the record on and allow it to capture your attention naturally, piece by piece. Dive in with your senses open, but don’t stuff yourself trying to grasp everything at once. It’s a record designed to be enjoyed and examined over a long period of time, and is clearly going to fuel endless debate and discussion. You will enjoy it far more if you focus on making calm connections with what bits of the music most suit you, rather than trying to mould yourself to fit a record whose identity is synonymous with its creator and not with its listeners.

A full track-by-track breakdown follows the jump… Continue reading »

ISIS TO RELEASE FIVE LIVE ALBUMS; BADWOLF SAYS HE CAME

 Metal News  No Responses »
May 152011
 

We just got an e-mail from NCS writer BadWolf about the news that’s the subject of this post. This may be too much information, but he says he got so excited that it made him come. I suspect there are other Isis fans who visit this site. If this news also makes any of you ladies and gents come, too, then I’d say our work here is done for the day. I myself did not come. I did get some wood, but it may have been because the cat picked that moment to rearrange his sleeping position in my lap.

Where was I? Oh yeah, five live albums from Isis. Here’s the deal: Isis has been disbanded for just under a year, but they’re saying good-bye in grand fashion by announcing that five live recordings from their back-catalogue will be released digitally this summer. Four are of single shows and a fifth is a compilation. They will be released every two weeks between May 31 and July 26.

Individually the albums are priced at $5.99, while the whole set is $20. Pre-order packages are supposed to start selling soon at this location.

As for what the former members of Isis are up to these days, we’ve got a bit more news after the jump. Continue reading »

SHORT, BUT SWEET: PRISTINA AND PANDEMONIUM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  20 Responses »
May 152011
 

Since the end of last week we’ve accumulated some small collections of new music that we think are very sweet. In a way, they’re all teasers for longer and grander things to come from some very good bands. Consider us well and truly teased. But this isn’t like getting all hot and bothered with a chick in the backseat of your car and then being denied the payoff. No, this is a good kind of tease.

Late last week we featured the first of these brief releases — a three-song EP from Swedish black-metal behemoths, Marduk. Today, we’ve got two more: New music from Pristina (U.S.) and Pandemonium (Poland).

PRISTINA

We were bowled over by this Connectuicut band’s 2010 debut album, The Drought (Ov Salt and Sorrow), and we weren’t the only ones. It has received plenty of attention and critical praise.  You can see our review of the album here, and our revealing interview of Pristina mainman Brendan Duff by using this link.

We heard from Brendan a few days ago with some very welcome news. First, Pristina has recorded three new songs that will only be made available as a limited edition EP at the band’s live shows, though one of them is available for streaming now (we’ll get to that).  Second, Pristina have finished writing their next album and plan to begin recording it shortly.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

SUPPORT

 Concert Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 142011
 

Last night I went to see and hear live metal with NCS co-founder IntoTheDarkness and another friend. The main reason for going was to catch King Conquer and Idols, but we had tunsa fun listening to other bands on the bill, too. Especially for a Friday night, the crowd at Studio Seven was stunningly sparse. Fortunately, that didn’t stop the bands from raging as if the venue were packed to no-breathing-room capacity.

My fucking day job is compelling me to work today, so I don’t have time for a proper review of the concert. But I thought it would be, well — ungrateful — for me to say nothing at all. So, what do you do when you think a band has killed it on stage? What do you do when you get some fucking joy out of listening to a band’s music? What you should do (and I’m really lecturing myself here, not you) is to show some respect, to show some support, and not to be bashful about it even when you’re in the company of people who frown on the genre.

And yes, the genre in this instance happens to be deathcore. We don’t write about bands in that genre very often at this site, though last November we did review King Conquer’s debut album in glowing terms (here) and we also included one of their tracks on our list of  2010’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs (here). I also think most of our readers aren’t into this kind of metal. But it’s like any other genre — there’s bad music in it and there’s good. Particularly when you hear the good bands throw themselves into a live performance heart and soul, then what you should do — what I’m doing — is to be honest about your admiration and show some fucking support. (more after the jump, including music . . .) Continue reading »

THE APOCRYPHAL ORDER

 Album Reviews  12 Responses »
May 142011
 


NCS contributor Israel Flanders is back with another review — a new EP from a band of islanders (I like them already).

Ever heard of the Faroe Islands?  Neither had I, but now I want to know what they’re all about.  The band in question is a Death/Thrash band from these Faroe Islands called The Apocryphal Order and I’m reviewing their debut self-titled EP.

These guys have been eating their meat and potatoes because this album is full of furious thrash and death metal riffing, every drum beat you could possibly imagine, tempo changes, brutal hoarse vocals, but the thing that stands out about this band is their songwriting prowess.  The song structures are very progressive in nature, yet never feel like they are being forced or done for the sake of doing so.  I can’t compare these guys to anything because I honestly think they have their own sound working in their favor, though if I had to try: imagine a love child of Death, Testament, Forbidden, and Deicide.  Crazy combo right?

The highlight of this album for sure is the riffing.  The guitar work is just all over the place, stylistically speaking, as well as never short-handed on the technical end.  Every single one of these songs is full of riffs that induce headbanging fury, not only because of the technical intricacies at work here, but also because these dudes play their music with the kind of utterly indisputable conviction that beats you into submission repeatedly. (more after the jump, including some songs to hear . . . ) Continue reading »

PORTAL ON NPR (?!?!)

 Uncategorized  12 Responses »
May 132011
 

NPR (formerly known as National Public Radio) is a non-profit media organization that syndicates radio programming to almost 800 radio stations around the U.S. It gets about 10% of its funding from the U.S. government through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which makes it a perennial whipping boy for conservative politicians who want to cut or eliminate its government funding — or simply compel NPR to become as bland as possible.

NPR has a web presence, too, and today they just did something that undoubtedly will stir its opponents into a fine froth: They posted a video of the Australian band Portal playing a song at last year’s Maryland Deathfest. The clip comes from a limited edition version of the Maryland Deathfest:The Movie II DVD, which is now available for pre-order from Handshake Inc. with a larger release planned for August.

Portal is a band about which I have mixed feelings. Like the NPR writer who posted about the video, I found the Portal’s 2009 album Swarth to be a horrifying, but perversely riveting listening experience. I like extreme music quite a bit, as you can possibly tell, but Swarth isn’t an album I’ve listened to repeatedly. I’m glad it exists, I dig it, but it’s punishing to hear.

Now, as for that video clip, it’s fucking awesome — the music is still horrifying, but watching these hooded and masked ghouls inflicting it live was cool.  Or, at least I thought so. I have a feeling NPR’s political opponents won’t be so fucking appreciative.  (more after the jump, including that video . . .) Continue reading »

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