AN NCS INTERVIEW: OAKMORD

 Interviews  No Responses »
Feb 102021
 

 

(In this new interview Comrade Aleks spoke with Sami Rautio and Jürgen Fröhling, former collaborators in My Shameful and current collaborators again in Oakmord, whose debut record will be released on February 15th.)

Sami Rautio (Finland) and Jürgen Fröhling (Germany) collaborated successfully for years running the bleak and painful doom/death project My Shameful. My Shameful was no more since 2015, so Jürgen was able to focus on his doom/sludge band Absent/Minded, and Sami… it seems Sami was occupied with his solo project Kadotettu. However, both of them reunited in order to channel a mix of creativity and negativity through a new collaboration – Oakmord.

As Sami confesses, it is on a different range of emotions, and as musicians they have naturally changed over the years, “grown if that term fits here…” I agree with that, and you can make sure yourself while reading this interview — quite a good interview. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CAEDES CRUENTA — “OF RITUAL NECROPHAGIA AND MYSTERIOUS GHOUL CULTS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Feb 102021
 

 

For their third album, and their first one in six years, the Greek black metal band Caedes Cruenta have gone BIG, one might even say Olympian. In the most objective (and mundane) of terms, it is roughly 62 minutes long. But the scale of the album is vast in other, more consequential, ways.

Unmistakably, Caedes Cruenta uphold the finest traditions of classic Greek black metal — the foundational works of Rotting Christ, Varathron, and Necromantia — by melding ferocious aggression and heavyweight punch with ringing heavy metal leads and judiciously deployed synths, as well as a vocal tandem of throat-slitting shrieks and horror-spawning growls. But they do this in ways that create a wide range of atmospheres and emotional sensations — as you shall discover through our premiere stream of the entire album in advance of its February 12 release by Helter Skelter Productions. Continue reading »

HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH: “VÄLDE”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Feb 102021
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the heavy Swedish band Humanity’s Last Breath, which is set for release by Unique Leader on February 12th.)

In the life cycle of every genre there comes a moment of… let’s call it apotheosis… when the build-up of artistic and creative pressures can no longer be contained, resulting in a sudden evolutionary leap, a genetic divergence, when something new is born.

This does not mean, of course, that the original genre dies out, or ceases to evolve either (the very fact that the most traditional, “old school”, forms of Death, Black, and Thrash continue to exist, create, and proliferate, is proof enough of that), nor is it limited to just one time. But, no matter how long it takes or how hard people try to deny it, delay it, or defeat it, it is always… always… inevitable.

And it seems like, for Deathcore, that moment may almost be upon us. As while Välde may not be the album destined to finally redefine the genre (in all its various forms) for a new generation, the steps it takes to refine it, to distil it into its most essential, elemental form, have no doubt planted the seeds for the next stage of its evolution. Continue reading »

MOTHER OF GRAVES: “IN SOMBER DREAMS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Feb 102021
 

 

(We present Todd Manning‘s review of the debut EP by the Indiana band Mother of Graves, which was released on January 8th by Wise Blood Records.)

Mother of Graves are not the first band to rise up from tragedy, but the pain and sadness on display on their debut EP, In Somber Dreams, is palpable. The formation of this band came in the wake of the death of a friend and former bandmate, and as founding guitarist Chris Morrison explains, Katatonia’s EP Sounds of Decay became a focal point for channeling his sorrow.

Mother of Graves take their moniker from a Latvian entity that functions as a protector of graves, but much of their inspiration comes from Britain, Katatonia notwithstanding. We are of course referring to the Peaceville 3, i.e., Paradise Lost, Anathema, and My Dying Bride. The early work of these three bands laid the groundwork for the marriage of the violence of Death Metal and the depressive strains of Gothic Rock, and Mother of Graves have learned their lessons well. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2020’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 17): MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY, REBEL WIZARD, SIELUNVIHOLLINEN

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2020  2 Responses »
Feb 092021
 

 

There’s not much rhyme or reason as to why I grouped these three songs together. Other than the fact that each of them includes some really nasty ear-shredding vocals, they’re very different from each other musically. I guess it’s a matter of me realizing that I’m running out of time to finish this list (though it’s more a matter of making myself stop than really finishing), and I just want to pack in as many of the songs that really grabbed me last year as I can. Hope you like them too.

MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY

This slasher-film side-project of Anaal Nathrakh’s Mick Kenney, Fukpig’s The Void,  and perhaps other members of those bands, certainly struck a chord with listeners last year. Make Them Die Slowly released not one but two albums in 2020 (Ferox and The Bodycount Continues…), plus a hell of a good Christmas single (“Silent Night, Murder Night“), and as far as I can tell, people loved the shit out of all of it. I sure as hell did. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ABYTHIC — “DOMINION OF THE WICKED”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Feb 092021
 

 

Iron Bonehead Productions has recently pushed back the release date of Abythic‘s third album to February 19th, but the more prolonged wait will be easier for fans to bear because today we are presenting a full stream of this momentous new record, the name of which is Dominion of the Wicked.

Informed by mid-period Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Grave, and Pentacle, the album represents a more thorough-going embrace of crushing doom than this German band (now stripped down to a power trio) might have previously achieved, and certainly a more powerful (and sophisticated) rendering of haunted and harrowing atmosphere. All of the songs flow together, and as the band maneuver you through them you experience the dynamism of the band’s songcraft and their capacity to create a lasting spell, notwithstanding how frequently oppressive and horrifying the sensations often become. Continue reading »

AN NCS “PREMIERE” (AND AN INTERVIEW): ANARKHON — “FAR BEYOND BLOOD AND DEATH”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Feb 092021
 

 

The Brazilian band Anarkhon took shape in the underground during 1999, initially devoting themselves to brutal death metal under the influence of such bands as Cannibal Corpse. But after releasing a number of well-received demos, splits, and full-lengths between 2002 and 2013, a hiatus of six years ensued. When the band revived and began working on their next album, they pursued a different path, one in which they embraced the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft, not only in their lyrical themes but in the contours of their music.

That path led them to their latest album, Phantasmagorical Personification Of The Death Temple, which was released on CD last September by Soul Erazer Records. It seized the attention of Debemur Morti Productions, and their collaboration with Anarkhon has begun with the label’s decision to release Phantasmagorical Personification… on vinyl this coming March 26th. To help spread the word, we are today presenting a stream of that album’s second track in the running order, “Far Beyond Blood and Death“, along with an interview of Anarkhon vocalist/guitarist Aron Romero. Continue reading »

HYSTERORRHEXIS: “MAGGOTS INFEST THE LIMB”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Feb 092021
 

 

(Here’s Vonlughlio’s review of the debut album by the Indonesian brutal death metal band Hysterorrhexis, which was recently released by Dismembered Records.)

Hello dear readers, I hope you are all well and staying safe in this 2021. I have not been able to do reviews recently due to my family and myself having COVID-19 (we are well, with no major consequences in our health). Self-quarantine, medicine, and a lot of Death Metal in my household.

In this period I was able to listen to some BDM releases that, if I had heard them before doing my year-end list, would have been included, and to some new projects that are releasing music this year. Which is the case of the Indonesian band Hysterorrhexis who have just dropped their debut album Maggots Infest the Limb via Dismembered Records. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2020’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 16): DAUGHTER CHAOS AND FAWN LIMBS

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2020  1 Response »
Feb 082021
 


Daughter Chaos

 

Well, this is embarrassing. After a previous gap in the daily rollout of this list I resumed, with promises to steadily continue, and then my day job and personal obligations fucked those plans (again). So now here we are, launching Part 16 a full week after launching Part 15. Honestly, knowing what lies ahead of me this week in my day job, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to add installments every day this week either. But I’d still like to forge ahead a little bit more before giving up altogether.

In case you’re coming here for the first time, all the previous installments for this list can be found here.

DAUGHTER CHAOS

This is kind of a “Chosen by DGR” segment of the list. Both songs were on the set of recommendations he sent me, and on top of that Andy Synn reviewed (with praise) the records that included them. So, I paid extra attention to them and found them to be worthy additions. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DEMON KING — “THE FINAL TYRANNY”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Feb 082021
 

 

What can you do with an 18-minute block of time today? Wash those dishes that have been in the sink since January? Ponder whether you should start showering more than once a week? Beat your head against the wall for wasting four hours watching that dull-as-dishwater Super Bowl? Rush through sex like you’ve got somewhere else to be?

We’ve got a better idea: Listen to Demon King‘s debut EP The Final Tyranny. Though to be fair, the odds are high you won’t stop with just the one listen. Continue reading »

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