NO CLEAN SINGING

WRECHE: OUR PREMIERE OF “SCHERZO” AND A REVIEW OF “ALL MY DREAMS CAME TRUE”

Mar 182021

Almost four years ago we had the pleasure of premiering the self-titled debut album of Wreche, a now-Oakland-based project with a distinctive approach to black metal, in which John Steven Morgan‘s kaleidoscopic piano performances took the place of guitars. It was an inspirational album that twisted and expanded the genre’s musical antecedents in eye-popping ways, creating music that was adrenaline-triggering, mind-bending, and utterly fascinating.

And thus it was an exciting development to learn that Wreche had completed work on a second full-length, and equally exciting to be invited to premiere its first excerpt, which we’re now about to do. The name of the album is All my dreams came true, and it will be released on May 14th by Handsmade Records. The name of the song we’re presenting today is “Scherzo“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: OMINOUS SCRIPTURES — “THE CORPSES OF ARCHANGELS IN BONFIRE”

Premieres No Responses »

Mar 182021

In 2015 the Belarusian brutal death metal band Ominous Scriptures independently released their debut album Incarnation of the Unheavenly, which was followed the next year by a CD release through Permeated Records. The band went on to release their sophomore album The Fall of the Celestial Throne last year through Willowtip Records, which we reviewed here.

But now an Italian label named Lethal Scissor Records (founded by members of Bloodtruth, Instigate, and Vomit the Soul) have returned to Incarnation of the Unheavenly and will be reissuing the album on March 30th in two CD editions as well as digitally. To help pave the way for that release, a lyric video has been produced for a track from the album named “The Corpses of Archangels in Bonfire“, and we’re premiering it today. Prepare to be gutted and pulverised. Continue reading »

SHIT I SLEPT ON IN 2020 (A LATE LIST BY SEB PAINCHAUD)

Exceptions to the Rule, LISTMANIA 2020, Off Topic 3 Responses »

Mar 182021

Spanish Love Songs

(Seb Painchaud, the main man behind the Montréal band Tumbleweed Dealer, has very expansive and eclectic musical tastes, which is one reason why for five years in a row we’ve asked him to share a year-end list with us. He did that for 2020 (here), but as explained below he has found some other (mainly non-metal) 2020 releases he wants to recommend.)

As you might have noticed reading my year-end list, I wasn’t in a very good place mentally when I wrote it. Reflecting upon such a shitty year amidst attempts to make holiday plans around the pandemic and knowing the disappointment that was in store for my kid made what is usually the highlight of my year turn into a chore. Even the wife remarked that I’m usually in a great mood afterward and looking forward to it being published, when this year I seemed to power through it like a chore and be happy to just have it done with. I did, and I was.

Seasonal depression had met OCD-induced anxiety and they both basked in my negative outlook as I tried to find something good to say about anything that happened in the last twelve months.

The year itself, other than the plague-filled mess it became, was also a reaction to a 2019 spent scouring new releases where I honestly just wanted to jam some familiar classics. The year-end lists filled me with dread rather than glee, and that was just one more thing that COVID had taken away from me. I gotta admit, I didn’t put in the time I usually do to compile the list, and just didn’t listen to as much new music as I did in previous years.

After a beginning of 2021 spent ignoring all recent albums and basking in nostalgia, my passion for seeking out new stuff has returned, and I’m now realizing 2020 had some damn good releases I just plain slept on. Some I missed completely, some I passed on after too quick of a listen, and some just didn’t click at the time.

So here are 10 albums I slept on last year that you need to check out: Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEREK RODDY

Interviews No Responses »

Mar 172021

(We present Karina Noctum‘s new interview of drummer extraordinaire Derek Roddy.)

It was time to catch up with Derek Roddy (Serpents Rise, Nader Sadek, Malevolent Creation, Nile, Hate Eternal). We talked about drumming, but also more about his band Serpents Rise and the making of Nader Sadek’s latest EP The Serapeum (premiered in part and reviewed at NCS here), which was a collaboration with Karl Sanders (Nile) and Morean (Dark Fortress), among others — as well as other interesting endeavours. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): FECULENT — “THE GROTESQUE ARENA”

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET No Responses »

Mar 172021

The Brisbane-based band Feculent chose for their name an adjective that means “foul with impurities” and “saturated in waste”. That was obviously a carefully considered decision, because their brand of death metal is foul and disgusting, unhealthy and repugnant, devoid of hope and lethal in its objectives. But Feculent’s administration of audio murder is multi-faceted — they are as capable of delivering the most pulverizing of punishments as they are at radiating sensations of flesh-eating contagion.

And they are very, very good at doing all that, and more. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise, because although Feculent is a new name, the line-up includes members of Snorlax, Shackles, and Resin Tomb, who’ve already made horrifying names for themselves.

Feculent’s debut release is a six-track monstrosity named The Grotesque Arena, and it’s coming out very soon (March 19th) via Brilliant Emperor Records — but you need not wait a moment longer to experience it, because we present a full stream today. Continue reading »

THRONE: “PESTILENT DAWN”

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Mar 172021

(This is Nathan Ferreira‘s review of the new album by Michigan-based Throne, which is set for release by Redefining Darkness Records on April 9th.)

In my constant search for the most devastating, pulverizing sounds I can find, what sometimes gets lost in the journey, at least in the more abstract and fuzzed-out realms of death metal, is emotion. Amidst the hyperspeed tempos, atonal and warped guitarwork, and reverb-slathered vocals meant to sound as inhuman as possible… well, I don’t really feel it. Sometimes you just want music that hits you right in the gut, that lets you channel that sense of pure rage where nothing makes sense except for turning whatever is in front of you into a pile of rubble.

It would appear that around the turn of the century a lot of death metal musicians had the same feeling I did, and attempted to alleviate the issue by mixing the calculated chaos of death metal with the raw, unhinged emotion of another heavy genre, the ever-present companion influencing metal’s development – hardcore. In many ways, though, it was a wonky transition, with many metalcore and even deathcore bands turning to the wretched scream/sing formula, and the scorn from collective metaldom was prominent enough to inspire the name for this very site. But what if there was another way? Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: HALVEKSIA — “MIASMA I & II”

Premieres No Responses »

Mar 162021

“Formed in 2016 while on the night shift”, the British band Halveksia took their initial inspirations from a mix of doom, gothic rock, and melodeath, but have evolved in a direction of death/doom — albeit with an interweaving of stylistic ingredients not often heard in the genre. Their music is undeniably heavy and head-moving, but also haunting, and capable of channeling harrowing emotions in ways that aren’t easily forgotten.

Halveksia’s debut EP is named Miasma, and it’s now set for release on March 26th by Infernum Records. The EP’s opening track, “The Rift“, emerged first, and today we’re premiering a video for the EP’s title track. That track is divided into two parts on the EP, but those are combined in the video, and the effect of them together is a changing experience that is as captivating as it is disturbing. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PALUS SOMNI — “SIDUS LUDOVICIANA”

Premieres 1 Response »

Mar 162021

Different formulations of extreme metal provoke thrills (and chills) in different ways, but if we’re honest, thrill-seeking explains a lot of the genre’s attraction among fans. We want the jolt to the nerves, the punch to our pulse-rate, the feeling of wild freedom — experiences that are harder to find in other kinds of music.

It’s often difficult to explain these attractions to people who are unfamiliar with metallic extremity — especially when the excitement is provoked by sensations of unearthly, blood-freezing terror. And that is the kind of experience that the trans-Atlantic band Palus Somni excel at creating. Their music is electrifying, and it creates a sense of wonder, but it seems to draw its power from hideous dimensions that exist elsewhere from our earthly domain. Continue reading »

UNFLESH: “INHUMATION”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Mar 162021

(Here we have Nathan Ferreira‘s review of the forthcoming second album by New Hampshire’s Unflesh, which is set for release on April 2nd.)

I can’t remember where I first heard it, but use of the term “bread and butter listening” to refer to a certain type of album is an expression that’s always stuck with me. You know, the kind of thing that doesn’t do anything new, it just rules and you listen to it a lot. The stuff that scratches your most frequent musical itches, that album that you can just throw on at any time and you know it’s going to give you exactly what you need. Mood music? Who needs that?

Inhumation, the new album by tech-heads Unflesh, is exactly that type of snack for a tech-head like myself. Ever since Necrophagist burst onto the scene with their melodic, almost neoclassical angle on death metal and Obscura took extra steps in making it into a full-fledged substyle, this type of music has been by no means groundbreaking, but man is it ever tasty.

It’s hard to find new bands that can execute it properly, and if you do, they’re already snapped up by The Artisan Era as soon as they get noticed. That’s why I’m extra-intrigued that Unflesh has decided to go the independent route in releasing Inhumation – the album blew my mind halfway through the first proper track and there’s no way somebody from a label heard this and wasn’t similarly astonished. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VARMIA

Interviews 1 Response »

Mar 152021

(We present DJ Jet‘s fascinating interview of Lasota, vocalist and guitarist of the Polish pagan metal band Varmia, whose new album bal Lada (recorded under very unusual conditions, as you will learn) was released on March 12th by M-Theory Audio.)

When forming the band in 2016 what was your mission or vision for this band?

Hi. Well the goal at the time was very simple. I had the album written and it had to be recorded. The concept was to do it live in a makeshift studio to avoid the “usual studio” vibe. So we ended up in an old barn that we rented for two weeks. After that I started to think how to release the album and that it would be great to play these songs live. Everything went together smoothly and people seemed to like it. So we put it out, settled as a band, and started to play the shows.

I always felt that this would be far more than just a single shot “project” (hate this term). Varmia appeared to me as a beast that needs to be fed. So we have been feeding it since 2016 now. Continue reading »

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