NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS PREMIERE: GORILLA WIZARD — “INFINITE WAVE”

Aug 272021

Today we again have an opportunity to revisit a band whose music we’ve premiered on a couple of previous occasions — Gorilla Wizard from Long Island, New York.

As we observed when we first encountered their music a couple of years ago, their outward trappings almost dare you not to take them seriously, perhaps most especially the white-bearded, wizard-capped gorilla costume in which guitarist Bertrum (the Gorilla Wizard himself) performs. But as we’ve also cautioned before, you shouldn’t be misled by all that, because although the music definitely is a raucous kick in the head, it’s no joke — and we’ve got further proof of that in the new song we’re premiering today off a forthcoming EP. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: KRISIUN, DOEDSVANGR, SERPENT COLUMN, NERVOCHAOS

Aug 272021

This round-up is a Brazilian death metal sandwich with some poisonous charred goods inside. I’m anticipating I’ll have time for a second round-up later today, which will be some other kind of tasty but toxic meal.

KRISIUN (Brazil)

Yesterday Century Media released a video for the title track from Krisiun‘s latest album, Scourge Of The Enthroned, which is has been out since September 2018.

This is such a good song — jagged and jolting, weird and wailing, menacing and mad. Moving mainly at turbocharged speed, it gives your skull a hard slugging and your guts a good gouging, blaring and boiling with maniacal ferocity but also packing a pulse-pounding punch and infiltrating bits of eerie melody. The soloing screams, the vocals are savage, and the drumming is lights-out. And it’s a blast to watch these veteran barbarians perform the song. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: GOAT TORMENT, MORTIFERUM, ANOMALY, TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE DISASTER

Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 4 Responses »

Aug 262021

As you can see, I found time to stitch together another round-up of new music today. As usual, it barely scratches the surface of new songs and videos I’ve spotted this week, but I thought the choices would collectively give our visitors whiplash, and it pleased me to think so.

The music I’ve chosen for today comes from three pre-established personal favorites and one newcomer that’s already made a very positive first impression.

GOAT TORMENT (Belgium)

We begin with a supercharged adrenaline rush, a track that delivers storming, Marduk-like sonic warfare which marries bullet-spitting and bomb-throwing drums, wild, incendiary riffing, dominating vocal savagery, and an exotic wailing solo with an Arabian flare. Continue reading »

NIGHTMARER – MONOLITH OF CORROSION

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC No Responses »

Aug 262021

(Andy Synn takes some time out of his busy schedule to lavish praise on the new EP from Nightmarer, out tomorrow via Total Dissonance Worship)

I must admit, I was late to the party with Nightmarer.

I totally missed their first EP, Chasm, and didn’t get a chance to check out their first album, Cacophony of Terror, until well after practically everyone else in the world had long-since done so (and moved on).

So I told myself that, given the chance, I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again… and although I almost ran out of time (this EP actually comes out tomorrow, so we’re down to the wire here) I’m glad that I kept my promise, even if only by the skin of my teeth, as Monolith of Corrosion is easily the band’s best work yet.

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: DEVOID OF THOUGHT — “OUTER WORLD GRAVES”

Premieres 1 Response »

Aug 262021

With the kind of genius planning and execution that built the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the “Iron Dam” in Zhumadian, China, and the tower in Pisa that subsequently leaned, we published our review of Devoid of Thought‘s new album yesterday, 24 hours before premiering a complete album stream today.

But truth be told, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A multiplicity of writings, even so closely juxtaposed, may catch more eyes and ears — and this album definitely deserves more eyes and ears. As yesterday’s reviewer Mr. Synn proclaimed:

“Outer World Graves is definitely a big step up from the band’s previous material, dealing in a blend of slithering muscle and otherworldly menace reminiscent of bands like Blood Incantation, Mithras, and Zealotry… a sort of ‘post-Demilich, post-Deeds of Flesh‘ approach that marries punchy, predatory riffs, gruesome, gut-churning grooves, and tormented technicality to an eerie, unsettling atmosphere of proto-cosmic dread”. Continue reading »

MISCELANY NO. 79: ASTHENIC SYN, CABINET, SCALD

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Aug 252021

In the early days of NCS I began a recurring series called MISCELLANY, which got up to 78 installments before it died away from neglect. The self-imposed rule for that series was that I would pick bands I’d never heard before and listen to one song (or maybe two) from something new they’d released, record my immediate impressions, and then leave it to readers to decide whether to explore further. That strategy allowed me to sample from albums and EPs that I didn’t have time to listen to completely or review in full, without knowing in advance how the music would strike me (or you).

As you can now see, I’ve decided to revisit this format today, as a way of highlighting some new discoveries I’ve made. In each case here, except for one, I didn’t have any idea how the music would strike me, but dipping my toes in these waters proved to be a good idea (I bought all three of these). So, start wriggling your own toes, and let’s begin.

ASTHENIC SYN (Russia)

This first album is the one out of today’s three that wasn’t a complete shot in the dark. It was recommended to me by Rennie (from starkweather), and I can’t think of any instance where he’s steered me wrong. As a further inducement to check out Asthenic Syn (from Stavropol, Russia), he mentioned that the music made him think of Kriegsmaschine, a reference which drew me like flies to honey. The fact that the individual behind this solo project has taken the name illwisher sealed the deal Continue reading »

FILTH IS ETERNAL: “LOVE IS A LIE, FILTH IS ETERNAL”

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Aug 252021

(Our old friend Justin C returns to NCS with the following review of the new album by the re-named Seattle band Filth Is Eternal, which will be released on August 27th by Quiet Panic.)

We’ve all been there. Grandma wants to hear some of the rock ‘n roll music the crazy kids are making these days, and Fucked and Bound is an obvious choice. Grandma needs a shot of adrenaline, not some droning doom, after all! But will the name be too off-putting? Especially after church?

Well, the band has made your life a little easier now with a new name, Filth Is Eternal. No, they haven’t changed the name in a craven attempt at Top 40 success, or probably even for Grandma. It just turns out that getting the word out about all your hard work during a pandemic, with no live shows plus social media platforms flagging you left and right for potentially being naughty content, your choice might come down to a name change or complete obscurity, as the band explained to Decibel last month. Continue reading »

FOR THE LOVE OF DEATH – DEVOID OF THOUGHT / GOSUDAR / TYPHONIAN

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 252021

(Andy Synn would like to remind you all that only Death (Metal) is real)

I was doing an interview recently where I was asked “what makes a good Death Metal band?”

And, you know, for a moment I was stumped.

You see, they weren’t just asking about tuning, or tempo. Nothing so prosaic as that. They wanted something fundamental, something that transcended styles and sub-genres, something beyond technicality or brutality or melody.

But, eventually… it hit me.

It’s not about how fast you can blast, how low you can go, how huge you can groove… it’s all about love.

You heard me right. Underneath it all Death Metal is driven by love. Specifically the love of Death Metal.

And it’s the ability to convey and communicate that love, no matter what forms it takes, how technical or brutal, how melodic or symphonic, how dissonant or discordant or slam-tastic, which makes – or breaks – a band.

So let it be written, and let it be known… these three bands really love Death Metal.

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VEIL OF CONSPIRACY — “ECHOES OF WINTER”

Album Reviews, Premieres 4 Responses »

Aug 252021

The seasons trace a cycle of death and re-birth in the natural world. Winter is commonly regarded as the season of death, the descent of bitter cold and stricken leaves, of creatures in hiding and comforts lost. These days, of course, death seems more ever-present than ever, with no regard for seasons, even as we think of baking heat and burning landscapes rather than frigid domains. Sometimes it seems that we’re in the midst of an endless winter of the soul.

Winter is the main protagonist of the forthcoming second album by the Italian band Veil of Conspiracy, and when you hear the band’s mesmerizing amalgam of doom, death, and black metal, you can easily understand it as a transfixing portrait not only of the season but of the darkness of our own freezing journeys through grief, despair, and solitude.

Echoes of Winter is the album’s name, and today we have a full stream of it for you in advance of its release this coming Friday by BadMoodMan Music. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): RUIN — “SPREAD PLAGUE DEATH”

Album Reviews, Premieres No Responses »

Aug 242021

For those familiar with the previous recordings of the California death metal band Ruin, it will come as no surprise that their new album Spread Plague Death is ruinous — ruthlessly unapologetically ruinous, in multiple ways. It’s titanically crushing, subhuman in its savagery, grotesquely filthy in its sound, and unrelenting in its devotion to building a macabre atmosphere of mutilating depravity and horror. It also happens to be perversely contagious and neck-wrecking as well as sadistically grotesque.

The band’s success in creating such tremendously obliterating destructiveness coupled with so many blood-congealing terrors, and doing so over the course of more than 44 minutes without overpowering a listener’s endurance isn’t a matter of happenstance but of calculation. It’s a testament to the band’s songcraft and an attention to detail that might not be expected, given how steadfastly brutal, morbid, and maniacal their strategies are.

You’ll have a chance to discover this for yourselves, assuming you’re not faint of heart, because we have a full stream of the album for you, just a few days away from its August 27 release by Nameless Grave Records and other allied labels. Continue reading »

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