AN NCS INTERVIEW: BIZARREKULT

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Sep 022021
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us this fine interview with Roman, the man behind the once-Siberian and now-Norwegian black metal band Bizarrekult, whose debut album was just released this past July by Petrichor.)

“Progressive post Black Metal with angst-ridden lyrics from Oslo, Norway!”  When you read that one single line in Bizarrekult’s Bandcamp concerning the band’s new album Vi overlevde, I bet you have a right impression, as a Norwegian black metal band wouldn’t make that shit! But if you’ll read a bit more carefully you’ll easily find that Bizarrekult was founded in Barnaul, Siberia. So what would you say now? Which black metal is blacker?!

Dash it. This story of how a Siberian black metal band turned into a Norwegian one is set out by Roman, the man who has spearheaded the Kult since 2005. And you know, his black metal isn’t that “post” indeed. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: THE AMENTA, GADGET, RETALIATION, KONSENSUS

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Sep 012021
 

 

(DGR prepared the following trio of reviews for 2021 releases that don’t require a lot of your time but make a big impact nonetheless.)

It still feels strange when we get to use the “Short But Sweet” review tag for the purpose it was designed for instead of the usual ‘these reviews will be shorter than usual’ style that I favor, but when you combine the total time of the three releases we’re discussing here you wind up with a little under twenty-five minutes worth of music. Two are short because they’re the usual suspects – grindcore groups smashing out music with reckless abandon – and the other is brief because the whole release consists of only two songs, but serves as a fantastic addendum to an excellent album released earlier this year.

The Amenta – Solipschism EP

Solipschism is the newest release from Australia’s The Amenta, a two-song EP consisting of tracks that were initially part of the run for their earlier-in-the-year return album Revelator – in case the continued portmanteau in the song naming wasn’t enough to tip you off. It serves partially as an addendum to that previous release, unleashing one crushingly heavy almost song recorded during the Revelator sessions that seems to exist solely to ratchet up in intensity while at the same time burying vocalist Cain within an abrasive wall of sound, and one quieter experiment, both of which fall perfectly in line within that album’s current run.

As to specifically where? It’s hard to tell, but they currently do a great job stitching themselves right onto the end of an album that is already difficult to describe at times, given its tendency to murder its own momentum for the sheer fun of it and try to create haunting soundscapes out of the rubble left behind. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SEEDS OF PERDITION — “SUFFERING OF THE DEAD”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Sep 012021
 

 

On September 10th Horror Pain Gore Death Productions will release Suffering of the Dead, the second full-length by the death/thrashing barbarians in Philadelphia’s Seeds of Perdition. As the label accurately forecasts, it delivers a barrage of raw intensity yet also creates the kind of atmosphere that simultaneously makes it “a terror stricken journey into the darkness of mankind”. We have the pleasure of letting you experience this pulse-pounding trip for yourselves today as we premiere a full stream of the album.

Straddling a line between rough and ravaging and sharp and cutting, the fleet-fingered riffs are lividly savage and slashing. They’re anchored by viscerally thrilling work by the band’s rhythm section, who propel the songs with skull-snapping snare-work, war-zone double-kicks, and gut-slugging bass lines. And at the vehement vanguard of the attack are rabid (yet clearly intelligible) vocals that roar, bark, screech, and howl at the moon, occasionally doubled in ghastly duets; in all their ferocious manifestations they’re electrifying. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: OLHAVA

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Sep 012021
 

 

(Today we have an excellent discussion between two Russians — our interviewer-in-chief Comrade Aleks and Andrey Novozhilov, the principal figure behind Olhava and a participant in Trna as well.)

The number of bands performing atmospheric/post-black metal only grows, and even I, who hardly and rarely deal with bands faster than Ahab, cannot ignore it. A few weeks ago we did an interview with the Russian one-man band Rye / Рожь, and its head Vladimir Frith advised me to check his mates and neighbours Olhava. And so I did.

This band was formed five years ago by Andrey Novozhilov who has played all instruments and performed vocals since then, with the help of Timur Yusupov who joined him as a drummer in 2019. Today they have a contract with the Italian Avantgarde Music (that gives certain quality guaranties by default) and four albums, including the fresh one Frozen Bloom.

This truly atmospheric, almost meditative, music demands a predisposition, but if you ask, everyone needs a break to take a breath of relatively clean air. So that’s it. And recently we had a good conversation with Andrey about Olhava’s background and more. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CAVEMAN CULT — “INSTRUMENTO DE IRA”

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Aug 312021
 

 

You don’t come to the music of Caveman Cult for emotional nuance or involving melodies. No one searching for hope or inspiration will be welcomed with open arms. Even those who seek a catharsis for angst, anguish, or despair will find no therapy here. But if explosive typhoons of fury, violence, and destructive madness are what you’re after, perhaps as a way of getting all that out of your own system without landing in jail, or perhaps as a way of re-fueling for another charge ahead when you feel utterly spent, Caveman Cult have what you need — in spades.

I’ve been following and writing about the music of these Floridians since discovering their debut EP Rituals of Savagery six years ago. I admit that I’ve got a taste for no-holds-barred blackened death metal, and anyone who recoils at that brand of metallic extremity won’t suddenly change their minds upon listening to Caveman Cult‘s forthcoming second album, Blood and Extinction.

But on the other hand, contrary to what some less receptive listeners may think, war metal is not homogenous. There are gradations of quality even within a sub-genre so single-mindedly devoted to rage and ruination, and the grip of Caveman Cult has steadily strengthened over time because they’ve steadily honed their blades, avoiding the listener-numbness that can come from relentless saturation bombing.

Their new album, and their first on the NWN! Productions label, is yet another step up in that progress toward a pinnacle of primal barbarity. It includes the work of a new second guitarist, and was recorded by the band themselves, and we have a further sign of what it holds in store through our premiere of the new album track “Instrumento de Ira“. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 137): FLUISTERAARS

 THE SYNN REPORT  3 Responses »
Aug 312021
 

Recommended for fans of: Drudkh, Wolves In The Throne Room, Negură Bunget

While never as (in)famous or flush with accolades and acclaim as their more well-known peers (several of whom I’ve mentioned just above) Netherlands nomads Fluisteraars (“Whisperers”) are very much the connoisseur’s choice when it comes to atmospheric, naturalistic Black Metal which puts a premium on both mood and melody, yet doesn’t skimp on raw energy or riveting intensity in the process.

After producing two albums of immersive atmosphere and brooding fury in quick succession, the group reined in their activities for several years – producing just a short, two-track EP and a lengthy, single-track contribution to a split with Turia in this time – before blooming (pun intended) in their full glory once more with last year’s exceptional Bloem (easily one of the best albums of 2020).

Now operating as a duo, rather than a trio, but still clearly brimming with ideas and momentum, the band have wasted no time capitalising on the excitement and interest generated by their “comeback” (not that they ever entirely went away) and recently released their fourth album, Gegrepen door de Geest der Zielsontluiking, whose stark, simplistic artwork suggests a return to their roots might just be in the cards… but you’ll have to read the rest of the article to find out if that’s true or not.

Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: LOTAN — “INTERITUS”

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Aug 312021
 

 

The biblical sea monster Leviathan was pre-figured by the serpent creature Lotan in the Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Ba’al. Lotan is also the name chosen by a new-ish Danish black metal band, whose debut EP Nihil Sacrum was released in January of this year and whose second one, Angelus Pestis, is now set for release on September 3rd by UPRISING! Records.

Lotan may be relatively new to the scene, but its two members are not. Both guitarist/bassist Phillip Kaaber and vocalist Martin Rubini are also bandmates in Vanir (and they are joined in Lotan by live members Lasse Guldbæk (Abscission, Vanir), Christian Haystack (Fall of Pantheon), and Jon Schmidt (Northfall).

Lotan draw their lyrical inspiration from both satanic spiritualism and existential philosophy, and in their music they follow in the path of such bands as Marduk, Taake, and Satyricon.

Last fall we had the pleasure of premiering a song from the band’s first EP, and now we present a lyric video for a track from the new one — a song named “Interitus“. Continue reading »

BEER & LOUDNESS IN LAS VEGAS — THREE DAYS AT PSYCHO FEST (DAY 2)

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 312021
 

 

(Denver-based NCS contributor Gonzo was in Vegas two weekends ago for the 2021 edition of Psycho Fest, and has been sending us some great write-ups of what he witnessed. His journal for Day 1 is here, and this is his report on Day 2.)

Vegas is a devourer of good intentions.

Its only purpose in this existence is to rob you of your sobriety, your bank account, your dignity, and your sanity. It cares nothing for your early-morning lamentations of the bad decisions you made the night before. The endless air-conditioned hallways of cigarette-crusted casinos and overpriced restaurants and tourist traps will be there the next day, waiting for that inevitable moment when you’ve become inebriated enough to shrug and once again say “what the hell, why not.”

The likelihood of you succumbing to this seemingly innocent urge increases with each passing hour on any given point during a weekend in Vegas. I knew from the moment I rose out of bed on day 2 of Psycho Fest that this would be the case, and the day would soon stretch beyond an ordinary festival and into an endurance contest. The schedule of bands we had carefully crafted ahead of time would either prove untenable or test the limits of how hard we could party in one day. Or maybe both.

At around 11 a.m., we left the tranquility of our Excalibur hotel room and sauntered once more into the soulless void. Today’s main attractions? Cannibal Corpse, Poison the Well, Dying Fetus, Cult of Fire, and a whole helluva lot more. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ANTEDILUVIAN — “THE DIVINE PUNISHMENT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Aug 302021
 

 

Antediluvian‘s first album in more than eight years is a hydra-headed black/death monster. More than an hour in length, spread across 11 tracks, The Divine Punishment thematically explores ranging manifestations of carnal deviance and perversion, reveling in manifold forms of sexual blasphemy through sound. And what sounds these are!

The heads of this hydra writhe, changing places in your mind’s eye and also joining together to create visions of ultimate horror and depraved ecstasy. The music has an experimental quality, as if searching for the perfect potion of degradation and desire. Its contortions are unpredictable, its effects multifarious, its overarching impact both nightmarishly unnerving and wickedly seductive.

The album defiantly challenges attempts to describe it in conventional terms, though of course we’ll nevertheless throw caution to the winds and add further impressions. But thankfully we also have a full stream of the album just a few days before its September 1 release by Nuclear War Now! Productions. Continue reading »

BEER & LOUDNESS IN LAS VEGAS – THREE DAYS AT PSYCHO FEST 2021 (DAY 1)

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 302021
 

 

(Our pal Gonzo took in the 2021 edition of Psycho Fest in Las Vegas and returned to Denver fortunately symptom-free, other than what happened to his head over the three days of the fest, and he has provided a synopsis of the experiences, beginning with the following report on Day 1. We expect reports on the next two days as well)

DAY 1

There is no source of frustration quite like being forcibly stuck in an airport for any length of time longer than absolutely necessary.

I was reminded of this grim reality two Fridays ago when my arrival at Denver International Airport coincided with one of the airport’s underground trains catastrophically breaking down. Ensuing damage and delays had forced the airport to close all but one terminal. The scene was absolute chaos – security queues wrapped around entire terminals, people screaming at TSA agents, confusion, madness, panic… one woman ended up in handcuffs after going into a terrifying rage and sobbing. It was looking like the 10:15 a.m. landing at my final destination, Psycho Fest 2021 in Las Vegas, was slowly slipping out of my grasp.

By the grace of Thor, the one terminal that stayed open ended up being the one we were flying out of. The flight was delayed by an hour or two, but we were somehow able to board and land safely and without any further unexpected pandemonium. Vegas would have plenty of that in the days to come anyway. Continue reading »

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