AN NCS PREMIERE: NIBIRU — “ALKAEST” (AN EXCERPT)

 Premieres  1 Response »
Oct 302020
 

 

The music of the Italian trio Nibiru is nearly unclassifiable. You can find references to their impetuous and esoteric creations as Ritual Psychedelic Sludge or Blackened Sludge & Drone. The press materials for their new album Panspermia state that “the influences of Neurosis, Black Sabbath or MZ.412 have always been pretty clear”, but those materials also report that “in terms of an atmosphere, Nibiru relate themselves to the post-punk/darkwave scenes of the early ’80s (Fields Of The Nephilim, Virgin Prunes, early Christian Death, Joy Division) and to the pioneers of Depressive Black Metal, as well as bands such as Xasthur or Shining.”

Those are all useful clues, but they also underscore the point above — that the music is extremely difficult to capture through genre labels and other typical reference points. Their non-musical inspirations, which range from occultists and esotericists such as Aleister Crowley, Kenneth Grant, Austin Osman Spare and Julius Evola, to “psychiatric essays, a deep inner illness and a peculiar cult for the actor Klaus Kinski”, also provide clues, but they too are a bit bewildering.

Even the premiere we’re presenting today in advance of the new album’s November 13 release by Argonauta Records, doesn’t function as a summing up — not even close — but it does provide a tantalizing glimpse. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PNEUMA HAGION — “ANTICOSMIC INCANTATIONS”

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Oct 292020
 

 

For those not in the know, the death metal band Pneuma Hagion is one of the many projects of the prolific Texas-based vocalist/multi-instrumentalist known here as R., whose other bands include Intestinal Disgorge, The Howling Void, Endless Disease, and Excantation. Under the guise of Pneuma Hagion he has released a handful of demos, splits, and an EP since 2015, and on December 1st will at last release a debut album through Nuclear War Now! Productions. Its name is Voidgazer.

The album’s title reflects not only some of the music’s themes but also its creator’s grim and gloomy perspectives on existence. As he explained in a recent in-depth interview (here), at its core the album is about alienation, and through various symbolic expressions it grapples with the idea that humans are beings of spirit imprisoned in fleshly vessels in an earthly domain that too often make human existence feel pointless. “The world of flesh and matter is ruled by a cruel, tyrannical Demiurge, and we feel this universe to be cruel and evil because we are, at our core, alien to this place. We are from a place that is not a place, and is everything that this place is not.”

This perspective, it turns out, is mirrored in R.‘s own personal turmoils. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HERETIC RITUAL — “BLACK PERVERTED ABOMINATION”

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Oct 292020
 

 

Like just about every other metal genre descriptor that’s been in common usage for more than about ten years, “blackened death metal” (or “black/death”) no longer provides a specific compass point to guide listeners. At one time it was closely associated (at least in this writer’s mind) with “war metal”, but the term clearly encompasses an increasingly wide range of stylistic approaches, with greater and lesser degrees of melody and significant variations in the extent to which bands employ ingredients from the even the more expansive realms of black metal and death metal.

But the Mexican band Heretic Ritual are still pretty firmly positioned in the war metal sector of the blackened death metal soundscape. Yet they execute their assaults of iron-fisted genocidal savagery in a way that, while undeniably raw and vicious, doesn’t wallow in near-formless murky abrasion and relentless hammering, and the music is definitely not monotonous (let’s be honest, it’s not hard to think of many bands who are guilty of all those failings).

We will prove this to you through today’s exclusive premiere of “Black Perverted Abomination“, a song from this slaughtering trio’s new album War-Desecration-Genocide / Passages of Infinite Hatred, which is set for release on November 10th by Death In Pieces Records and Goatthrone Records. Continue reading »

BASIC TORTURE PROCEDURE: “DOMINATION THROUGH TORTURE”

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Oct 292020
 

 

(Vonlughlio has unearthed a blast of buzzsaw d-beat goregrind and gives it a hearty recommendation in this review.)

One of the best things for me is discovering music out of the blue, either by a recommendation from a friend, scrolling on the internet, Bandcamp, or seeing a FB post. That’s what happened in the case of Basic Torture Procedure, a goregrind act formed this year whose three members are spread across Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

They independently released  their debut album Domination Through Torture on May 17th, but of course yours truly only discovered them like a month ago and went on their Bandcamp to purchase the tape version (the only available physical format). This for me is one of the best music discoveries of 2020. I am somewhat picky in the goregrind department and their music captured me right away. Continue reading »

DEMONICAL: “WORLD DOMINATION”

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Oct 292020
 

 

(This is the third installment in a seven-album review orgy by our man DGR, who is attempting to free his mind for year-end season by clearing away a backlog of write-ups for albums he has enjoyed in 2020. Today’s subject is the newest album by the long-running Swedish death metal band Demonical, which was released on October 23rd by Agonia Records.)

Even though Demonical have been around for six albums and a swath of material in between, it’s been interesting to watch how the band have wound up unintentionally re-contextualized alongside bassist Martin Schulman‘s other works, like Centinex. The two groups share common DNA through Demonical’s initial founding around a core of former Centinex crew and the timing of their releases being so close to each other. It makes it seem as if the two are playing off of each other.

Whereas Centinex is rooted firmly in a classic Swede-death sound and all the rock-striking-boulder thump that is contained therein, Demonical are the other side of that death metal coin, a more modern-sounding project that sidles up perfectly alongside the distorted chainsaw riff and blasting drums of today. Both groups have also maintained very fluid lineups, with both gaining new vocalists in place of October Tide‘s multi-talented – and at one point very prolific – Alexander Högbom. Demonical have been a little more steady in comparison to Centinex’s full refresh, but the additions of Christofer Säterdal on vocals and returning drummer Ronnie Bergerstäl in the time between Chaos Manifesto and the group’s newest album World Domination has certainly kept things interesting. Continue reading »

SÓLSTAFIR: “ENDLESS TWILIGHT OF CODEPENDENT LOVE”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Oct 282020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn’s review of the new album by Iceland’s Sólfstafir, which is due for release on November 6 via Season of Mist.)

Once upon a time, in the distant town of Reykjavik, a group of Black Metal loving, cowboy hat wearing, Post-Rock playing urban vikings decided to form a band.

Calling themselves Sólfstafir and drawing from a broad spectrum of influences – ranging from Nirvana, Neurosis and U2 to Ulver, Enslaved, and Explosions in the Sky – the group soon began to make waves, both at home and abroad, but it wasn’t until the release of 2009’s sublime, spine-tingling Köld, which expanded the band’s sound into even grungier, proggier, and more atmospheric territory, that they truly came into their own.

Two years later they followed this up with what is widely considered to be their magnum opus (and one of the few modern double-albums where every song is is a winner), Svartir Sandar, cementing their status as one of the most unique, dynamic, and creative Rock/Metal bands on the planet.

But then… something changed. Slowly but surely they began to soften their edges and smooth out many of the rougher, more interesting textures which had defined their sound. And although the more sombre vibe of 2014’s Ótta still made for an emotive and engaging listening experience for the most part, by the time 2017’s Berdreyminn rolled around things had become, barring a few stand-out moments, pretty bland overall, even as the group’s fame and fortune continued to rise.

The thing is, it seems like even the band themselves must have been feeling like they’d lost their way a little, as the press materials and interviews for their new album explicitly refer to a desire to return to the style and spirit of their early days… which brings us to Endless Twilight of Codependent Love. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NOXIS — “EXPANSE OF HELLISH BLACK MIRE”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Oct 282020
 

 

Cleveland-based Noxis have only been active since 2019 but they have wasted no time in proving their fiendish talents. Setting their sites on a particular kind of death metal, they released the aptly named Necrotizing demo in the year of their birth and are now following that with the new four-track EP we’re premiering today, also aptly named: Expanse of Hellish Black Mire. Those fiendish talents quickly hooked the attention of both Pulverised Records and Rotted Life Records, who will jointly handle the release on October 30.

In formulating their approach, Noxis owe some debts to the great NYDM triumvirate of Incantation, Suffocation, and Immolation, as well as Finnish bands such as Demigod and Convulse, and they’ve paid those debts by creating music that’s thuggish in its bone-fracturing, organ-rupturing belligerence and disgustingly gruesome in its atmosphere, and yet also mind-boggling in its mad contortions and technical extravagances. Their music is thus thoroughly putrid and punishing but also a big adrenaline kick. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NEXION

 Interviews  1 Response »
Oct 282020
 


photo by Void Revelations

(Our Norway-based interviewer Karina Noctum brings us this discussion with Joshua Hróðgeir Rood, vocalist of the extreme metal band Nexion, whose debut album Seven Oracles was released by Avantgarde Music in June of this year.)

Nexion hail from Iceland, a country which has been in the metal spotlight for a while now. Earlier this year they released their first album which is recommended for people who appreciate a mix of Black and Death Metal with an eerie feeling to it.

I got to interview Joshua Hróðgeir Rood, the vocalist, who moved to Norway recently from Iceland. I found out more about their latest album Seven Oracles, including the lyrical themes and vocal approach, and of course thoughts about Black Metal and Norway. Continue reading »

INFERI: “OF SUNLESS REALMS”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Oct 282020
 

 

(This is the second installment in a seven-album review orgy by our man DGR, who is attempting to free his mind for year-end season by clearing away a backlog of write-ups for albums he has spent a lot of time with in 2020. Today’s subject is a new EP by Inferi, released on October 9th.)

As a rule of thumb, releases by the Tennessee-based tech-death crew Inferi tend to be a lot of fun. They made their name in the whirling maelstrom of everything-and-the-kitchen-sink, pyroclastic-flow-of-notes style of hyperspeed tech-death. As much as anything, it’s a blast to see just how far Inferi are going to push each song before they fully disintigrate. While they’ve certainly become one of the groups whose music serves as a snapshot of a scene at the time of each release, there’s purely reptilian amusement to be found in seeing how much a band can shred within a single song.

Of Sunless Realms is the newest EP from the band, weighing in at a compact – for them – twenty-two minutes and five songs. Every previous time when covering a band of their ilk – including those their current label The Artisan Era likes to traffic in – it has always felt justified to warn people to gird themselves a bit for a massive journey ahead, simply because such bands really, really like to pack as much as they possibly can into every song. Surprisingly, Of Sunless Realms works in their favor simply because of its compact length – about as no bullshit as Inferi can get – with five songs that provide a tantalizing snapshot of where the band are now. Continue reading »

NCS v. GIMME METAL (ROUND TWO)

 Metal News  1 Response »
Oct 272020
 

 

Way back on the 17th of August, 2020, three NCS writers — (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. We were truly grateful for the opportunity, and had a blast doing it. Astonishingly, it must not have been too terrible for GIMME METAL, because they invited us to do it again. And of course we eagerly hurried to say YES!

And so once again, on October 28th (tomorrow!), beginning at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:00 p.m. in the UK, and 10:00 p.m. in much of Europe, the same three NCS scribes will again become the hosts of a show at GIMME METAL devoted to extreme metal. We hope you will be there with us! Continue reading »

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