VOIDCEREMONY: “AT THE PERIPHERY OF HUMAN REALMS”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Jan 192022
 

 

(Here’s Alex Atkinson‘s review of a new EP by California-based VoidCeremony that was recently fired into the void by 20 Buck Spin.)

California’s tech-death monstrosity VoidCeremony have given us a quaint dose of things to come with their three-track cassette release At the Periphery of Human Realms.  I usually steer away from tech-death, but something about these four members’ ability to navigate a song like a rabid Cujo always pulls me in.  Their all-star crew, pulling from such heavyweights as Incantation, Stargazer, and Atramentus to name a few, should be enough to get even the most annoying dingleberry a-twinkling.

For anyone who lives under a rock and has not heard VoidCeremony’s debut LP Entropic Reflections Continuum:  Dimensional Unravel, check out NCS’s review back in July of 2020 and listen to it as soon as possible.  It is like falling into a waking manic nightmare. Continue reading »

SWAMP LANTERN – THE LORD IS WITH US

 Album Reviews, Reviews  4 Responses »
Jan 192022
 

(Andy Synn would like to enlighten you about the new album from Washington’s Swamp Lantern)

One of the great joys involved in being a music writer – and I’m sure many, if not most, if not all, of my fellows would agree – is discovering a band and then watching them grow into their full potential.

Case in point, when I reviewed Swamp Lantern‘s debut back in 2020 I immediately felt that this was a band who had “it”, even if they didn’t quite have a handle on exactly what “it” was.

Their second album, however, takes that hard-to-define x-factor and improves on it in pretty much every single way, offering up an even more refined and robust version of what was already a pretty riveting sound, with a stronger sense of identity, a clearer creative vision, and a more instinctive grasp of flow and dynamic.

Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2021’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 10): THE CROWN, VEILBURNER, ALUSTRIUM

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2021  2 Responses »
Jan 182022
 


The Crown

As you can see, we’ve made it to 10 installments of this list, and this one brings the total number of songs identified so far to 30. If I’m able to continue at the current pace, revealing another 3 songs every weekday from now to the end of the month (when I’m going to try to force myself to stop), we’ll reach a grand total of 19 Parts and 57 songs, so we’ve now crossed the halfway mark. On the other hand, I might decide to throw in one more segment at some point so we have an even 20 Parts and 60 songs.

By the way, you’ll find the preceding Parts (and an explanation of what this list is all about) through THIS LINK. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PYRRHIC SALVATION — “REVELATIONS (OF AGONIES TO COME)”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 182022
 

 

Back in 2016 then-NCS writer Austin Weber (who later moved over to curate the “Tech-Death Tuesday” column for Metal Injection) unearthed a debut demo by a group named Pyrrhic Salvation which made a big favorable impression. As Austin wrote at that time, “This is some dense, eclectic, and multi-layered tech-death the likes of which few bands can conjure…. While I’m hardly jaded, it does take a lot to impress me, and the two songs on display here really have my jaw permanently dropped to the floor.”

Since then, Pyrrhic Salvation have expanded from an instrumental duo (guitarist Michael Altobello and drummer/fretless-bassist Sagar Nadgir) to a three-person unit that includes a vocalist (Chrisom Infernium of Veilburner). Though separated by geography, the trio have worked closely together to create a debut full-length that’s set for release on February 18th. The name of the album is Manifestum I, and today we’re helping spread the word through our premiere of an album track called “Revelations (of Agonies to Come)“. Continue reading »

ROUND SIX: NCS TAKES OVER GIMME METAL AGAIN ON JANUARY 25TH

 Metal News  No Responses »
Jan 182022
 

Way back on the 17th of August, 2020, three of the slaves who toil at NCS (Andy Synn, DGR, and Islander) appeared as guest DJs at GIMME METAL, curating a two-hour on-line radio show in which we spun tracks of our own demented choosing, interspersed with our own pre-recorded banter, and also engaged in live on-line chats with listeners. Since then we’ve done it four more times, and as you can see we’re going to show up again for a sixth episode on January 25, 2022.

The three of us have so much fun doing this that we start planning our next playlists almost immediately after one of our appearances ends, hoping that we haven’t screwed up so badly that Gimme Metal won’t invite us back. In fact, planning the playlists is more than half the fun. The rest of the fun comes when we gather through Zoom to record the interstitial banter (though it’s probably not so much fun for Andy when he goes through all of our blabbing to cut it down) and when we get on-line during the show to engage in discussions with listeners. Continue reading »

FRAGDA – DAMNATION IS INEVITABLE

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Jan 182022
 

(Andy Synn kicks off another week with a review of the new album from Hungarian hellions Fragda)

Conventional wisdom – if there is such a thing – would tell you that the two worst times to release a new album are the beginning and end of a year.

After all, December is usually dominated by lists and round-ups, and January often finds people desperately trying to catch up on what they missed in December… so no band in their right mind should be planning to release anything in these particular months, right?

Apparently a lot of artists didn’t get this particular memo however, as not only was the tail-end of 2021 absolutely packed with albums, but the start of 2022 has also been remarkably busy with new releases.

And, no, I’m not just talking about the new Wiegedood and Fit For An Autopsy albums.

So, for the rest of the week (and likely next week too) I’m going to endeavour to showcase some of you may have missed in what has, incredibly, already been an unexpectedly busy month, beginning with this spine-breaking slab of ultra heaviness from Hungary’s Fragda.

Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2021’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 9): CARCASS, ZAO, MOANHAND

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2021  3 Responses »
Jan 172022
 

Today we reach the eighth installment of this 2021 Most Infectious Song list. You’ll find the preceding Parts (and an explanation of what this list is all about) through THIS LINK.

I didn’t really have any organizing principle for grouping the following three tracks together, though I did think the transition from the first two tracks to the third one made for an eye-opening change. I should add that all three bands received a lot of support from the folks who contributed ideas for this list, although there wasn’t much consensus about which song from each album was the most deserving.

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HELLFROST AND FIRE — “ACROSS THE BRIDGE OF TYRANTS”

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Jan 172022
 

 

Today we have the sadistic pleasure of introducing the third single to be revealed so far from the debut album of Hellfrost and Fire, which is itself named Fire, Frost and Hell. It harnesses the talents of vocalist Dave Ingram (Benediction), guitarist/bassist Rick “Dennis” DeMusis, and drummer Travis Ruvo (Echelon, Cropsy Maniac) — with guest guitar solos performed by Scott Fairfax (Memoriam UK, As The World Dies).

If you’ve caught up with either of those previous singles you’ll already know that the band’s formulation of death metal gives primacy to skull-smashing, spine-fracturing grooves, and backs up those highly compulsive rhythmic tirades with paranormal melodic accents and of course Ingram‘s belly-deep and thoroughly ravenous growls. As we remarked after hearing those first two tracks, “no bones will be left unbroken” — and this newest song is no more merciful. Continue reading »

MIZMOR: “WIT’S END”

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Jan 172022
 

 

(New NCS contributor Alex Atkinson has brought us the following review of a recently released EP by the Oregonian band Mizmor.)

Wit’s End is the funeral doom/black metal band Mizmor’s (aka Liam Neighbors) follow-up EP to 2019’s widely acclaimed Cairn album.  Musically, Mizmor brings back the anguish they’ve become known for, offering up a cohesive half-hour of two tracks that demand focus.  This is not background music for your workday, trust me.

The initial track, “Wit’s End”, is introduced with a spoken-word clip in which vocalist A.L.N. sets the intent of the following 14-minute piece.  The hissing of the analogue tape recording is accented by a simple, melancholic guitar as feedback begins to erode, leading into the second movement of the track.  With a few massive chords and thoughtful drums, the vocals are introduced with chilling agony. Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS (PART 2)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jan 172022
 

 

As explained yesterday in Part 1 of this immense round-up, I made an initial cull of 23 songs and videos, most of which surfaced during the last week. I had intended to sift through those more carefully to reach a more manageable number, but due to lack of time I decided to just throw the whole boiling mass at your face. And I actually added another track last night to make the total an even two dozen.

I alphabetized the list by band name and then cut the mass in half, which might have made it a little easier on your senses and your time; we begin today with the letter “I”. Unlike most of my round-ups I also didn’t have time to include the usual links, artwork, or much commentary — mainly just small bits of info about the releases. Continue reading »

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