SEEN AND HEARD: THE CORONA LANTERN, WOUNDVAC, OLDBLOOD

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Nov 272020
 


The Corona Lantern – photo by Tom Šrejber

 

I had plans for a “Thanks Giving” post yesterday, ruminating on why the holiday still means something to me, even though as a godless heathen the only spirit in the sky I’m thankful to is this one. It was going to include observations based on this fascinating article about how the science of the brain helps understand why this time of year can be so melancholy, why the stresses of the pandemic have made the sadness (and the anger) even worse, and why we could all get some good out of not using our prefrontal cortex so much.

I was even going to explain what I had just learned, based on this absurdly detailed article and this video, about how toilet paper is made, and in particular about how the hell they perforate such fragile sheets of soluble cellulose. I even had a way of connecting that subject to the others, which will now remain a mystery, because I obviously ran out of time yesterday before I could write it.

Now that we’re on the other side of Thanksgiving Day I don’t feel up to writing the post I had conceived of, and will just say that somewhere along the way I intended to thank all of you who make NCS possible and all who support it, as well as all the bands — though I already did that when celebrating our 11th birthday not so long ago. But it can’t hurt to renew expressions of gratitude, and it might actually be therapeutic, so thanks again.

And now here’s a bit of music, a very tiny bit compared to my usual round-ups, but time is again about to run out. More coming this weekend. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CARCINOMA — “BLOATED PARASITES”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Nov 272020
 

 

Among the many thrills that serious fans of heavy music can experience, if we’re lucky, is to be seized by the music of a new band at their inception and then watch as they progress from strength to further strength with each new release. That has certainly been the case with the black/death band Carcinoma from Plymouth, UK.

They made their debut with a self-titled demo in 2015, about which we wrote here: “The music is hard to pin down, which is one reason it is so interesting. In part it’s ugly, grinding, tearing noise, the kind of rancid death metal that wants to cut the legs out from under you and then put the remains through a meat tenderizer. In part it’s pounding, bleak, sludgy doom. In part it’s a tornado of black thrashing mayhem. And in part it’s a transmission of disorienting signals from space (or an interdimensional void, take your pick). However you want to sum it up, it’s full of venom and fury, and like a pit of vipers with you teetering on the edge, it gets the adrenaline flowing.”

And then came Apanthropinization, their 2018 split with Abyssal, released by Goatprayer Records. On that album-length record (reviewed here), they contributed four truly harrowing tracks, braiding together strands of black, death, and doom metal to achieve sensations of fracturing sanity and apocalyptic destructiveness. Dissonance reigned supreme, fueling the music’s atmosphere of murderous, inhuman lunacy. Chaos also reigned supreme, although Carcinoma wisely chose not to make their four songs simply 20 minutes of non-stop nuclear vulcanism.

And now we’re delighted to announce that Carcinoma will be releasing a debut album named Labascation on February 5, 2021, from which we’re presenting a track called “Bloated Parasites”. It’s evidence that as powerfully good as Carcinoma’s past releases have been, the new one will be the best yet. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: FRACTAL GENERATOR — “AEON”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Nov 272020
 

 

More than six years have passed since Fractal Generator launched their debut album Apotheosynthesis, a significant span of days to be sure, but not nearly long enough to dim the eye-popping, jaw-dropping impressions of that debut, all of which came roaring back when I learned that Fractal Generator would be returning with a sophomore full-length, the name of which is Macrocosmos. It will be released by Everlasting Spew Records on January 15th.

However, six years is long enough that some of you might only now be encountering this Canadian band for the first time. I looked back at what I wrote to accompany our three premieres for Apotheosynthesis (which included a stream of the album as a whole), and found this passage:

“Their music displays a lot of technically barn-burning fretwork and hyper-blasting drum technique, perhaps not completely machine-like but most definitely head-spinning — the kind of dizzying experience that simulates giving your brain a ride in a high-speed centrifuge. And the music also includes some cold, eerie melodic elements that, when coupled with the instrumental exuberance, conjure images of alien technicians either constructing or dismantling some massive device or edifice beyond our understanding”. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: HOLY DEATH

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 272020
 

 

(We present Andy Synn‘s combined reviews of the three EPs released this year by the Nevada band Holy Death.)

Today’s edition of “Short But Sweet” is a little different.

Rather than covering three EPs by three different bands, instead we’re going to be taking a look at three different EPs by the same band, Las Vegas-based Death/Doom disciples Holy Death, whose debut EP, Supreme Metaphysical Violence, came out back in February, and was followed soon after by June’s Celestial Throne ov Grief.

Then, right at the end of last month, they dropped Deus Mortis, which is around about the time I jumped on the bandwagon… which brings us right up to date.

Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE: CELL PRESS — “CELL PRESS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Nov 262020
 

 

We’re premiering the self-titled debut EP of the Montreal band Cell Press on the eve of its release. If we could see your faces when you listen to it, there would be a great temptation to write nothing about the music and just watch your expressions change as all the surprises hit you like battering rams, expressions that might range from joy to panic to spine-tingling fear, and perhaps revulsion too. But since we can’t see you, on we go….

By way of background, Cell Press are a relatively new outfit, coming together only last year, though their members have played in a myriad of punk, metal, and hardcore bands such as The Great Sabatini, Biipiigwan, I Hate Sally, The Chariot, Animal Ethics, Architect, Swarm Of Spheres, and Angles. They took their name from the 2001 Russian prison documentary The Mark Of Cain. If you know that movie, the choice will make some sense when you hear the songs. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SOL DE SANGRE — “DISMAL BLASPHEMIES”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 262020
 

 

Going back to September 2017, this is the seventh time we’ve written about the Colombian death metal band Sol De Sangre and the fifth time we’ve happily hosted the premiere of their music, including their self-titled debut album in 2018 and the Sol De Sangre‘s tracks on La Senda De La Muerte, a split EP with Pánico Al Miedo in which both bands covered songs by giants of the death metal pantheon. Basically, Sol De Sangre‘s music hooked me early, and obviously they haven’t let go.

The subject of our latest celebration of their music is a video for a new song called “Dismal Blasphemies“, which is one of three on an EP entitled Despair Distiller that will be released in 2021. I’m happy to report that the EP is a prelude to the band’s sophomore album. I’m also delighted to report that the EP is hellaciously good. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BRETWALDAS OF HEATHEN DOOM

 Interviews  No Responses »
Nov 262020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns to NCS with a new interview, and this time his conversation partner is Sceot Acwealde of the fascinating British band Bretwaldas Of Heathen Doom.)

Bretwaldas Of Heathen Doom (England) has acted as a duet since 2001. Dagfari Wartooth performs bass and vocals, and Sceot Acwealde does drums, guitars and vocals as well. Blackened war pagan doom metal with a straight-in-your-face delivery – once that would have summed up their legacy, though the band’s sound has varied from their first album Droner (2003) ’til Seven Bloodied Ramparts (2010).

Bretwaldas literally disappeared from the radars after that latter release, and only the compilation Bones In The Ground (2015) served as a reminder of their savage legacy. Some time ago I lost hope, stopped watching for the band, and naturally missed their EP Kingdom Of Killers released in May 2020. Well, all of us had a lot of things to care for in May 2020, right? But it’s time to put things right and we’re here to know everything that you wanted to learn about Bretwaldas Of Heathen Doom but were afraid to ask! Continue reading »

EXITIUM SUI: “AD PERSONAM”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Nov 252020
 

 

(We present Andy Synn‘s review of the first full-length by Exitium Sui, which will be released on November 27th by Naturmacht Productions.)

So from writing about an almost thirty-year-old band who just released their twelfth(!) album, now it’s time to pivot to a brand-new band who only came into existence earlier this year, and who are about to release their full-length debut.

As a certain modern-day TV star might say… this is the (NCS) way.

Now, despite being such a “new” band, Exitium Sui actually have a significant musical pedigree already, as mainman/multi-instrumentalist ES was previously a member of several notable Australian bands (including NCS faves Earth Rot and Deadspace) and is currently also a part of several underground European acts, most notably Lebenssucht and Humanitas Error Est (both of whom we’ve written about here before).

As a result you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Ad Personam is a highly professional, highly polished, and extremely confident debut that deftly straddles the dividing line between Black Metal and Doom, drawing on, and drawing out, the best bits of both genres. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SOOTHSAYER — “OUTER FRINGE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 252020
 

 

A soothsayer is a seer, a speaker of truths enabled by visions, an oracle enabled by magic, but perhaps just as likely to be ignored as to be believed. Soothsayer is also the name chosen by an Irish quintet whose visions are very much rooted in the desperate reality of the here and now, but who defiantly refuse to succumb. Their music, as represented in what we’ve heard so far from their forthcoming debut album, is harrowing in the extreme, and also transportive. It’s not “easy listening” by any stretch, but it makes such a transfixing and mind-bending impact that it’s very hard to forget, no matter how unreal and disturbing it can become.

This debut full-length, which follows a small handful of excellent short releases (for which we’ve done premieres in the past), is named Echoes of the Earth. It will be forthcoming from Transcending Obscurity Records. The first two tracks bear the names “Fringe” and “Outer Fringe“, and we’re presenting them to you today for the first time, accompanied by a video prepared by Irish drone artist Ruairi O’Baoighill that enhances the mind-altering impact of the sounds. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MAESTITIUM — “TALE OF THE ENDLESS”

 Band Name Fodder, Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 252020
 

 

Even the best of times can become shadowed by dark days, but these are obviously among the worst of times for almost all of us, the kind of times when music that uplifts the spirits can be most welcome. But few of us are in search of cheep thrills, naivete, or shallow pandering. In rotten times, the most welcome uplift comes from genuine passion, and from music that doesn’t forget the darkness in our midst even as it soars.

These thoughts have come to mind thanks to the spectacular title song we’re premiering from the debut EP by the Swedish band Maestitium, which will be released on February 5, 2021, by Black Lion Records. Maestitium is a studio project started by guitarist, vocalist and composer Elias Westrin (Tomb Dweller, ex-Voices of Vengeance) in the fall of 2019. The idea for the EP was born while Westrin was attending a music production course at Hola Folkhögskola outside of Kramfors, Sweden, and drew inspiration from the music of such bands as Insomnium, Sentenced, Wintersun, Hinayana, and Wolfheart. Continue reading »

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