THE TEN MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS OF 2009 (Part 9)

 Album Reviews, Listmania  No Responses »
Dec 242009
 

Here at NCS, we’re putting a different spin on year-end listmania. Ours isn’t a list of the best metal full-lengths of the year. It’s not even necessarily our list of the best individual extreme metal songs of the year. Ours is a list of the most infectious extreme metal songs we’ve heard this year. We’re talking about songs that produce involuntary physical movement and worm their way into your brain to such an extent you can’t get ’em out (and wouldn’t want to).

We’re not ranking our list from #10 to #1 because that would be too much fucking work (and your co-Authors would still be arguing about it this time next year). So, our list is in no particular order. We’re also dribbling the songs out one at a time because your lazy Authors are still debating what belongs in the remaining slots. (Yes, still.) Our list heretofore:

1. Asphyx: Sorbutics

2. Mastodon: Crack the Skye

3. Amorphis: Silver Bride

4. Goatwhore: Apocalyptic Havoc

5. August Burns Red: Meridian

6. Pelican: Ephemeral

7. Scale the Summit: Age of the Tide

8. Daath:  Wilting On the Vine

And to see our ninth entry on the list, continue reading after the jump. Continue reading »

BRUTAL TRUTH UPDATE

 Metal News  No Responses »
Dec 242009
 

On December 23, in an act of complete randomness, we posted a piece on Brutal Truth and its 2009 release Evolution Through Revolution. It was completely random because the album came out in April, and we were only getting around to saying how much we dug it here in December. But it turns out there was some actual hot-off-the-presses Brutal Truth news we could have used as an excuse to blog about the band — except we didn’t hear about it until today. We’re clearly just a bunch of fucking slackers.

Anyway, the news is this:  on December 22 (the day before our post), Brutal Truth released Evolution In One Take: For Grindfreaks Only! Volume 2. Evolution In One Take…is the band playing Evolution Through Revolution from start to finish, in one live take at Mark It Zero studios with engineer Dan O’Hare. Per the band’s label (Relapse),  Evolution In One Take… comes with a limited edition patch and is strictly limited to 2,000 copies worldwide. Additional release details can be found here.

Not sure there’s a point to this — an album that consists of the band playing the same songs released 8 months ago, except in one take instead of with engineering. But we’re so hot for Brutal Truth (in a strictly Platonic way) that we’ll listen to it and let you know. In any event, we’re now up to date. So there.

LISTMANIA (Part 5,357)

 Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
Dec 242009
 

So you thought we had finally reached the end of year-end “best of” lists for 2009, right? Nope. Yesterday was metal mag day here at NCS. Not only did we find the new issue of Decibel in the mailbox (see the post before this one), but cuddled right next to it was the new issue of Revolver, which includes Revolver‘s list of “The Top 20 Albums of 2009.” Like the new issue of Decibel, this copy of Revolver boasts a cover date from the future (Jan/Feb 2010), which is further proof that Revolver has access to the same quantum wormhole used by the rest of the magazine industry to send copy back in time. If only they’d told me something potentially remunerative, like who won the Super Bowl.

Lots of bands on Revolver‘s list are exactly what you’d expect. But there are some peculiar choices too. For example: Rammstein.  Best of 2009? Really?

To see Revolver‘s list of “The Top 20 Albums of 2009,” continue reading after the jump. And because we had fun in the preceding post showing you the demographic data Decibel uses in selling ads, we might as well show you the same kind of data Revolver uses to describe its audience. Continue reading »

DECIBEL SEES THE FUTURE

 Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
Dec 242009
 

Those gun-jumpers at Decibel magazine are at it again. Not content to select their list of the Top 40 albums of 2009 in about October (see our previous post about that), the issue that just hit my mailbox (optimistically dated February 2010) includes a feature called “The Top 25 Most Anticipated Records of 2010.” At least Decibel‘s writers poke fun at themselves in the intro that precedes their many following pages of prognostications:

“Decibel‘s always been about more than more past and present: Our powers of clairvoyance increase exponentially with each new day.  Hell, our grip on the future is such that we’re thinking about covering the coming decade’s 100 best metal albums before summer, just to get them out of the way.  As for the list below, remember this: We’ve heard — and utterly endorse — everything on it . . . including the stuff not yet written.”

To be honest, we were thinking of putting together our own list of bands whose new albums we’re stoked to see in 2010.  Might still do that if holiday laziness doesn’t completely gobsmack us. And we really do enjoy reading Decibel every month. But still, just can’t resist poking a little fun.

And in the poking-fun vein, we also came across Decibel‘s 2010 Media Kit. This is the sales piece that the mag provides advertisers to convince them how much folding green metalheads have to spend (yeah, right) and how all you gotta do to collect it is advertise in Decibel. Lot’s of amusing stuff in there, which you can peruse here. There’s a page of demographic data about Decibel‘s audience that’s especially juicy.

So, after the jump, we’ll show you the bands that Decibel has pegged for the The Top 25 Most Anticipated Releases of 2010. We’ll highlight the ones that prompted us to say “Fuckin’ A!” Our reactions to the rest are some combination of “maybe,” “huh?”, and “Uh, no.” And just for kicks we’ll show you that page from Decibel‘s 2010 Media Kit that provides potential advertisers with demographic data about Decibel‘s readers. Enjoy. Continue reading »

THE TEN MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS OF 2009 (Part 8)

 Listmania  No Responses »
Dec 232009
 

Here at NCS, we’re putting a different spin on year-end listmania. Ours isn’t a list of the best metal full-lengths of the year. It’s not even necessarily our list of the best individual extreme metal songs of the year. Ours is a list of the most infectious extreme metal songs we’ve heard this year. We’re talking about songs that produce involuntary physical movement and worm their way into your brain to such an extent you can’t get ’em out (and wouldn’t want to).

We’re not ranking our list from #10 to #1 because that would be too much fucking work (and your co-Authors would still be arguing about it this time next year). So, our list is in no particular order. We’re also dribbling the songs out one at a time because your lazy Authors are still debating what belongs in the remaining slots. (Yes, still.) Our list heretofore:

1.  Asphyx:  Sorbutics

2.  Mastodon:  Crack the Skye

3.  Amorphis:  Silver Bride

4.  Goatwhore: Apocalyptic Havoc

5.  August Burns Red:  Meridian

6.  Pelican:  Ephemeral

7.  Scale the Summit: Age of the Tide

And to see our eighth entry on the list, continue reading after the jump. Continue reading »

MESHUGGAH

 Metal News  No Responses »
Dec 232009
 

This is turning into video day at NCS. Not like that was our purpose when we rolled out of bed this morning. Just happened. We saw the new video released yesterday by Living Sacrifice and put that up. We put up a piece on Brutal Truth and decided, what the hell, maybe some of you haven’t seen the vid of “Sugar Daddy,” so that’s up too. And then we saw that today the almighty Meshuggah had released a video trailer for their forthcoming DVD/CD combo, Live, which is set for U.S. release on February 9. And you know, as short teasers go, it does the trick — if you’re a Meshuggah fan (as we are) it will get you hot and bothered. So watch it after the jump, along with the other videos with which we’re filling up the page today, and then come back a little later and see our eighth entry on the Ten Most Infectious list. Continue reading »

GRIND TO THE MAX

 Album Reviews, Metal News  No Responses »
Dec 232009
 

brutal-truth-band-2008

grinder

Are you having one of those days when it seems like the whole world is made out of sharp edges? Where all the people you encounter just seem pointed and cutting? Where even the light feels like daggers in your eyes? Where you begin to think your skull itself is filled with razor blades? Well, my friends, what you need is a little industrial strength grind action.

No, no, no, we don’t mean that kind of grind action.  Get your nasty minds out of the gutter! We’re talking about something that will grind all those sharp edges down to a nice smooth finish that you can slide right over. We’re talking about the kind of grind that Brutal Truth delivers. (More after the jump.) Continue reading »

LIVING SACRIFICE UPDATE (No. 4)

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Dec 222009
 

Two weeks ago, influential death/thrash band Living Sacrifice released “Rules of Engagement,” the first song from its forthcoming new album The Infinite Order (scheduled for a January 26 release), and we slobbered over it.

One week ago, Living Sacrifice released a second song from the album, called “Nietzsche’s Madness.” More slobbering here at NCS.

This week: another new song? Not quite. But today the band premiered a video for “Rules of Engagement” at AOL’s Noisecreep site.  The video intersperses band performance with a story about a psychologically damaged young soldier dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. To read guitarist/singer Bruce Fitzhugh’s thoughts about the video and the making of it, go here.

To watch the video, simply look below:

THE TEN MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS OF 2009 (Part 7)

 Listmania  No Responses »
Dec 222009
 

Here at NCS, we’re putting a different spin on year-end listmania. Ours isn’t a list of the best metal full-lengths of the year. It’s not even necessarily our list of the best individual extreme metal songs of the year. Ours is a list of the most infectious extreme metal songs we’ve heard this year. We’re talking about songs that produce involuntary physical movement and worm their way into your brain to such an extent you can’t get ’em out (and wouldn’t want to).

We’re not ranking our list from #10 to #1 because that would be too much fucking work (and your co-Authors would still be arguing about it this time next year). So, our list is in no particular order. We’re also dribbling the songs out one at a time because your lazy Authors are still debating what belongs in the remaining slots. Our list heretofore:

1.  Asphyx:  Sorbutics

2.  Mastodon:  Crack the Skye

3.  Amorphis:  Silver Bride

4.  Goatwhore: Apocalyptic Havoc

5.  August Burns Red:  Meridian

6.  Pelican:  Ephemeral

And to see our seventh entry on the list, continue reading after the jump. Continue reading »

THE BINARY CODE (Part 2)

 Interviews, Metal News  No Responses »
Dec 212009
 

Yesterday we frothed at the mouth over The Binary Code, its just-released full-length Suspenson of Disbelief, and the kick-ass “Metal As Art” tour that The Binary Code is about to launch with Hypno5e and NCS favorites, Revocation. In the course of preparing that post, we put a few questions to the band’s guitarist and co-songwriter Jesper Zuretti, and the dude was good enough to indulge us. Yesterday’s post was so damn long that we didn’t want Jesper’s answers to get lost in the rest of our verbiage, so we deferred publication of the interview til today. If you’re already a Binary Code fan or just beginning to get curious about the band, there’s some interesting revelations in there. Read our interview of Jesper after the jump: Continue reading »

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