AN NCS INTERVIEW: MENTAL TORMENT

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Aug 242021
 

(Here, Comrade Aleks presents his interview of members of the Ukrainian band Mental Torment, whose new album Ego:genesis will be released on September 29, 2021.)

Mental Torment (Kyiv, Ukraine) was born 12 years ago. Back then the doom/death scene in the ex-USSR territories had already started to grow and develop, yet the guys took their time. Thus Mental Torment’s debut album On the Verge… saw the light of day in 2013. They pointed in the direction they wanted to follow, and though such a doom/death piece couldn’t offer any innovative ideas, it was ok. The band was silent for a few years playing occasional gigs and announcing a rotation in the lineup but out of nowhere Metallurg Music proclaimed the release of Mental Torment’s sophomore work, ego:genesis.

The official press kit sounds curious: “The album will bring a fresh view of the traditional Doom Metal genre. From acoustic ballads and funeral vibes to sludgy and modern progressive music.”  As you know “traditional doom” is associated with clean-singing bands whose names are known to any doom-cultists, and at the end of the day I tell you that the second part of this official statement is correct, as Mental Torment really add the afore-mentioned sludge and post elements to a classic doom death fundament.

So, ego:genesis turns to be absolutely another new chapter in the band’s discography, and Mental Torment‘s collective mind is ready to give us some clues about how all of this happened. Continue reading »

NECRONAUTICAL: “SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 242021
 

 

(Here’s DGR’s review of the latest album by the UK extreme metal band Necronautical, recently released by Candlelight/Spinefarm.)

Necronautical are a band we’ve been lucky enough to cover since their first record. They’re a somewhat familiar name around these parts since all of their releases have been here and they’ve been the subject of a Waxing Lyrical piece too. In fact, the group’s newest record – and second for Candlelight Records – Slain In The Spirit is now my own third go for a review with this group. So there’s something of a written record of the band here as they’ve grown and evolved into the creature they are today.

We’ve watched as they’ve shifted in terms of both subject matter and the meaning of their name, expanding the group’s lyrical and philosophical reach into explorations of the mind. What was initially a sea-inspired voyage started to become journeys into deeper recesses of spirituality — still nautical, but less literally than before and, given the creeping influences of symphonic black metal on the group’s sound, increasingly ‘necro’ with every release.

Slain In The Spirit is the latest expansion of that, as it works as a natural evolution of what the band started on Apotheosis. The songs presented here are about as expansive as they were on the previous release but this time around, Necronautical have become a little bit more focused in the two years since Slain’s predecessor. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GOLDEN GOD — “FLESH”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Aug 232021
 

 

We’ve written repeatedly about the genre-splicing metal band Witchtrip from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, premiering music from all three of the EPs they’ve released so far, including 2021’s Sledmetal. But it’s not Witchtrip that’s the subject of today’s premiere, so why are we mentioning them?

Well, it’s because today’s band, Golden God, is a Witchtrip side project that includes three of that band’s five members — Sean Kaye (guitar/vocals), Josh Buors (bass/vocals), and Adrian Meijn (drums). Golden God will soon be announcing their debut EP, and what we’ve got today is a track from it named “Flesh“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MALIGNAMENT — “CALL TO ARMS”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 232021
 

 

In November 2019 I came across the debut demo of the Finnish black metal band Malignament (reviewed here) that halted me in my tracks and sent my heart racing. It combined ferocious strength, a sense of panoramic scale, and intoxicating melodies of unbridled emotional power that penetrated deeply.

It was thus terrifically good news to learn that Malignament had completed work on a debut album. Entitled Hypocrisis Absolution, it’s an eight-track pageant of war and woe that builds upon the promise of the demo and really is breathtaking from beginning to end. And thus we’re thrilled to premiere an album track named “Call of Arms” today, in the lead-up to the album’s September 24 release by Primitive Reaction. Continue reading »

MOEROR / HUMAN SERPENT / KVADRAT: A NEW SPLIT RELEASE

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Aug 232021
 

 

Three excellent Greek black metal bands — Moeror, Human Serpent, and Kvadrat — have just released a split in support of a charitable endeavor which they describe as follows:

“All funds gathered through this split release are donated to help and support animals that were affected in the recent Greek wildfires. The consequences of which are going to heavily affect the hurt areas for the years to come. We witnessed the death of an ecosystem and we are facing a new reality that needs every bit of our help. Our goal is to gather funds that will cover the cost of medical care, food and the financial support for the early costs of an adoption”.

By now, many of us are painfully aware of the devastation that out-of-control fires have inflicted throughout Greece, a catastrophe that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has described as a “natural disaster of unprecedented proportions”. It has forced the evacuation of dozens of villages and spawned rage against the government’s handling of the fires, but evacuations have not helped the animals caught up in the conflagrations. And thus the cause supported by this release is a worthy one.

As you’ll discover from our complete stream of the split at the end of this review, the music is also tremendously good, making the purchase of this release a true win-win situation. (The entire split is available now on each band’s Bandcamp page.) Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: LIGHT OF THE MORNING STAR, BEASTIAL MAJESTY, THUNRAZ, CULT OF EIBON, SUN DESCENDS BLACK, NUUMMITE

 Exceptions to the Rule, SHADES OF BLACK  1 Response »
Aug 222021
 

 

I’m going to dispense with an introduction to today’s column, other than to say that what I’ve chosen is going to give you a strange trip from beginning to end.

LIGHT OF THE MORNING STAR (UK)

I was quite taken by both of this band’s first two releases, a 2016 EP named Cemetery Glow, and a 2017 debut full-length named Nocta, both of which were released by Iron Bonehead. Now there’s another album headed our way, via the band’s new label Debemur Morti Productions. DMP describes the new one in these words:

“Potently blending cinematic Deathrock, ghoulish Doom, heavy Post-Punk and atmospheric Black Metal, Charnel Noir is a hook-ridden exploration of the necromantic Undead which captures the restraint, tension and dark romanticism present in the great canonical Gothic works”. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY (TOO MANY NAMES TO PUT IN THIS TITLE, AGAIN)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 212021
 

 

The usual torrent of new music continued this past week, culminating in the expected high tide on Friday. Harried by my day job, I couldn’t keep up with what happened yesterday, though my compatriot DGR did, and he again funneled a lot of the new stuff my way. Five of the selections you’ll find below came from him, though I did manage to add eight more advance tracks that I scoped out this morning, to create a lucky 13.

As in other instances of gigantic round-ups such as this one, it includes a lot of bigger names, but I’ve infiltrated some lesser-knowns. It’s like putting out honey to attract flies, and then hoping something they weren’t expecting bites them. Welcome aboard flies! Here we go in alphabetical order:

1914 (Ukraine)

It’s exciting to see an underground favorite such as 1914 (whom we’ve been writing about since their early days) getting picked up by a big label such as Napalm, for the simple reason that it will expose their prodigious talents to a wider audience. The fact that Nick Holmes makes a guest appearance on the song/video that leads off this collection will help as well. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SERMON OF FLAMES — “VEHEMENCE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 202021
 

 

For all those loyal to I, Voidhanger Records (and I’m definitely a confirmed loyalist), it takes nothing more to become interested in a band than simply knowing that I, Voidhanger has chosen to release their music. Having said that, the range of the label’s musical interests is quote broad. The choices will always appeal to adventurous listeners, but may not always hit everyone’s bullseye, given variations in individual tastes. Hence, even for ardent fans of the label, there is still a place for premieres such as the one we’re presenting today.

The song we present today is a demonstration of the label’s range. It is out on the most violent and mind-defiling end of the roster spectrum. But like so many I, Voidhanger releases, it’s nevertheless out of the ordinary, though in this case its mercurial permutations are twisted and tyrannical, catastrophic and crippling. The music’s morbid and maniacal maneuvers still manage to involve the higher faculties, in addition to being viscerally unnerving.

The song is “Vehemence“. The album is I Have Seen The Light, And It Was Repulsive. And the band is a diabolical duo from Ireland named Sermon of Flames. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MALOKARPATAN

 Interviews  No Responses »
Aug 202021
 

 

(The subject of this very extensive and engaging new interview by Comrade Aleks is Adam S., the lyricist and chief songwriter of the distinctive Slovak metal band Malokarpatan, though he also discusses another personal project with an album in the works.)

If you haven’t heard any of Malokarpatan’s albums, I bet you know about them anyway – no one could skip over the eye-catching artworks of Stridžie dni (2015), Nordkarpatenland (2017), and Krupinské ohne (2020). Slovakian pagan traditions shine through these authentic covers, and as you might surmise, the guys write their lyrics in their mother tongue. You’ll find translations easily enough, for example at Metal-Archives, and should find them if you’re searching for new poetic discoveries.

But probably we should start with the curious fact that Malokarpatan perform an authentic (again authentic!) mix of reckless yet tricky, non-trivial, heavy and black metal. Heathen energy, the pounding pulse of the wild, and a haunted atmosphere complete a sonic canvases filled with details and nuances…

I’ve found Malokarpatan in my “need-to-interview” list, and though their last record Krupinské ohne saw the light of day nearly one year ago, I believe you don’t need to wait for another official release to talk with a band you like and respect. I’m grateful to Malokarpatan ideologist and chief song-writer Adam S. for this deep and entertaining interview. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: INFILTRATED MANKIND — “WORLD WIDE DEICIDE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 202021
 

 

As a long-time fan of Russian artist Anton Semenov (aka Gloom82), his “Horsemen of the Apocalypse” cover art for Infiltrated Mankind‘s forthcoming debut album Inside the Apelike caught my eye before hearing a single note. As it turns out, the band’s music is also apocalyptic and freakishly good, as you’ll discover through our premiere of a track from the album today.

“World Wide Deicide” is crushing and crazed. It generally moves fast, which makes the overflowing abundance of technical acrobatics even more mind-boggling. With fingers flying at centrifugal speed, the guitarist (and yes, there appears to be just one) executes savage blaring eruptions, deliriously shrieking and blurting frenzies, bursts of rapidly veering angularity, and unnerving spasms of boiling mania. Continue reading »

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