AN NCS PREMIERE: FEED THEM DEATH — “DELETERIOUS”

 Premieres  No Responses »
May 162024
 

As you can see, we’re premiering a song from a new album by Feed Them Death. There is so much we would like to say about it that it’s hard to know where to begin. But we decided to begin with the lyrics.

To be honest, lyrics are often an afterthought in extreme metal of all stripes, put to paper after the music has been created and not worth much attention even in the rare cases when you can make out the words. Not so in the case of Feed Them Death. The lyrics on all the songs in their new album The Malady are poetic, politically charged, and thought-provoking, well worth reading and pondering (though they’re expelled with such super-heated fury in the songs that reading them is what most people will need to do).

Here are the words to “Deleterious“, the song we’re premiering, written by the band’s founder and principal musician Void: Continue reading »

PARTY CANNON: “INJURIES ARE INEVITABLE”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
May 162024
 

(DGR fires off the following review of the latest discharge from the Scottish band Party Cannon, which is out now on the Unique Leader label.)

The thing to keep in mind when listening to Party Cannon and their newest release Injuries Are Inevitable is that it is a supremely stupid collection of music. This has been the band’s M.O for the course of their career; the logo proclaims it, the album art proclaims it, and their album titles and song titltes spell it out for those of us denser than the band.

Granted, proclaiming yourself as being massively moronic does not make yourself critic-proof and portraying your music as being the cranial equivalent of an empty, infinite void doesn’t excuse endless braindead riffage – but it does soften the blow quite a bit.

You know upon entrance that Party Cannon‘s music will not be a high-minded exercise in philosophy. It is not something you’ll be sitting down to with a nice glass of sipping whiskey and a pipe full of fine tobacco and ‘appreciating’. Unless, your idea of this exercise involves putting all those things in a bowl, smashing it with a rock, and eating the shards and splinters.

Injuries Are Inevitable is an exercise in ‘dumb’ and just the group’s latest exploration in how far they can push that particular label without morphing into something completely different. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: YAKOR

 Interviews  No Responses »
May 152024
 

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Vadim Baev, guitarist from the Russian doom/death metal band Yakor (Яkорь).)

Onega is a town in the northwest of Russia, situated not far away from the White Sea. And Yakor / Якорь (translated as “the anchor”) is probably the only doom metal band in this entire region. The band was formed in 2016 with the following lineup: Vadim Baev (guitar), Vitaly Rudy (guitar), Sergei Belov (vocals, bass), Sergei Kostin (drums). Evgeniy Zhuravsky from the Trawler band took the second guitarist’s position when Vitaly left, but that’s not the point of this interview. It’s just that from the very beginning, Yakor was strongly inspired by the melodic doom influenced KYPCK, and these men didn’t hide this influence.

However, with the release of the third album under the ambiguous name Russkaya gotika / Russian Gothic (and that’s not about gothic metal or whatever) through Soundage Productions, the rules of the game seriously changed, and the band’s individuality looks clearer and sharper.

This short interview with Vadim Baev will answer some questions that arose while listening to the new songs. Continue reading »

RIVERS OF NIHIL: “CRIMINALS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 152024
 

(We present DGR‘s review of a new EP by Pennsylvania-based Rivers of Nihil, which is out now on Metal Blade Records.)

Strangely enough, writing about Rivers Of Nihil‘s newest EP Criminals feels like a little bit of a ‘gimme’. The three songs on Criminals – none of which is a cover of the titular Katatonia song – were all ostensibly recorded during the same experimental session for the band, one which saw the newly restructured lineup of the group getting together to see just what they could do and where they might be headed post-The Work.

They were then slowly drip-fed to listeners over the course of a little under a year, so listeners will have an immediate familiarity with prog-rock minded “The Sub-Orbital Blues” and the slightly more recent stomper in “Hellbirds”, which means the big draw for most people will be the unveiling of “Criminals” as a song, as well as the ability to take in all three in one go, providing an intriguing glimpse at Rivers Of Nihil‘s current headspace and lyrical inspirations, as well as peek through a smudged lense of where their future paths may take them. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): COROZA — “AS WITHIN”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
May 152024
 

None of us here were formally trained as “music critics,” or even as “music writers.” It’s always been a case of learning by doing. One thing we’ve learned is that it’s usually best to begin a review in a way that grabs attention quickly and/or places the record in some broader context before diving into details.

With that in mind, let’s begin by saying that the Irish band Coroza‘s new album As Within sounds heavier than granite, hits harder than sledgehammers; burns like the immolation of sanity; and seems laced with the kind of psychotropics that trigger seductive but frightening visions.

Or, to place it in genre context, it’s a changing amalgam of sludge, stoner-doom, post-metal, and psychedelia that’s capable of swallowing a listener whole like some leviathan of old.

Details to follow…. Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH (AND IRISH): TEN TON SLUG / URZAH / VULGARIS

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
May 152024
 

(Andy Synn has three more artists/albums from his neck of the woods for you to check out)

Depending on when you read these words – as well as when I get it finished, and when we have space to post it – I’ll either be on my way home from Northwest Terror Fest, or have just about made it back and collapsed on my couch.

And what better way to celebrate my return than with another triptych of terrific recent and upcoming releases from my particular corner of the globe courtesy of Ten Ton Slug (Galway), Urzah (Bristol), and Vulgaris (London)?

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ALTAR OF GORE — “LITANIES OF THE UNCEASING AGONIES”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
May 142024
 

Musical sensibilities and affinities vary, even among people like the denizens of this site for whom extreme metal is their bread and butter.

Depending on the time of day and the frame of mood, you might want to become engrossed in elaborate melodies, or have your brain twisted into knots by high-speed intricacy, or become scorched by malignant blackened conflagrations, or have your soul pulled into a chasm of gloom and despair.

But every now and then there’s a visceral need to just be bludgeoned senseless and viciously butchered in the most primitive, ruthless, and electrifying way possible. At those times, Altar of Gore‘s new album Litanies Of The Unceasing Agonies will be there to feed that need. Continue reading »

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME V: BLACK METAL IN BLOOM

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
May 142024
 

(We present another one of Dan Barkasi‘s monthly collections of reviews and recommended music, taking stock of 8 records that saw release in April 2024.)

April is in the rear view, but my allergies sure aren’t. Ah, yes, the time of year in Florida when the “winter” time of perfect temperatures has transitioned to sweltering heat and pollen so thick that it will layer upon vehicles left outside. It’d sure be nice to breathe out of my nose again. Don’t get me started about the fucking lovebugs. Nothing like a ton of awesome new tunes to rattle oneself back into the groove.

Maryland Deathfest is also coming up very fast, and while we have tickets for all of the days this year, it’s questionable if we’ll be able to make it. Hopefully the stars align and it happens – just look at that loaded lineup. Bands like Dismember, Fossilization, Altars, Sodom, Crypt Sermon, Ahab, Esoteric, Spectral Voice, Spirit Possession, Imperialist, Severe Torture… well, you get the idea. Here’s to hoping we see a few of you fine folks there! If you can attend, do yourself a favor and make it happen. One of the best fests on this side of the globe.

While I’m sure that the (hopefully) three of you left came to hear me drone on about my problems like our pal George, let us get to the music. It was the most difficult month thus far to narrow my choices down to eight, with a few that were especially painful to cut. But, it’s my column, so the hell with it – Draugnim’s Verum Malum and Fierce Diety’s A Terrible Fate both represent dramatically different genres and characteristics, but each is executed with extreme proficiency, which should earn at least a spin. Now, onto the rest of this month’s selections. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: AGRICULTURE / ARTIFICIAL LANGUAGE / BA’AL / MALEVICH / REJECTER / VOGEL

 Exceptions to the Rule, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 142024
 

(In this column Andy Synn focuses on short-form releases that emerged in recent months.)

It seems like every year I make a promise – to myself, if no-one else – to stay more on top of covering all the various EPs and short-form releases that come out… and every year I fail miserably.

Well, here’s my chance to make up for that by digging back into the last six months and selecting a handful of heavy/harsh/heartfelt releases for you all to check out.

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WOUNDED FUNERAL — “THE WRECKING OF THE CRYPTS”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
May 132024
 

On May 25th, through the collaboration of Satanath Records (Georgia), Australis Records (Chile), and Futhark Records (Canada), the Canadian black metal band Wounded Funeral will release their third album, Skaalp. It is described as a musical recital of stories based on dark legends of the First Nations: “Expressing rage, hatred, psychological distress, combat… The typical emblem of the project revolves around the world of the great Wendigo.”

As a vivid sign of what they album brings us, today we’re premiering the fifth song in the album’s running order, a track called “The Wrecking Of The Crypts“. Continue reading »

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