AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): KNEEL — “AILMENT”

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Oct 082020
 

 

Bewildering and distressing times we live in, where the unstopped global migration of a microscopic organism has exposed a multitude of fissures in human societies that have been accumulating for countless generations, and turned them into gaping fractures. The scale of these terrible consequences is vast, a devastation writ large, but in some ways a reflection of what happens in so many solitary lives, where the accretion of seemingly minor problems over time can lead, and often does lead, to tragic and unmanageable outcomes.

The persistent failure of both individuals and societies to deal with mounting flaws until it’s too late is a kind of seemingly incurable ailment in the human condition. And thus it’s fitting that Kneel‘s new album, which was inspired by such thoughts, is itself named Ailment.

As the solo project of Portuguese multi-instrumentalist and producer Pedro Mau (ex-Kneeldown, Wells Valley), Kneel released a debut album named Interstice seven years ago but at last is returning with this follow-up full-length, set for an October 16 release by Raging Planet and Planet K, with vocals and lyrics contributed by Mau’s Wells Valley bandmate and Concealment guitarist/vocalist Filipe Correia. What we have for you today is a full stream of Ailment, preceded by thoughts about what you will be hearing. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ULFVEN

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Oct 082020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns again to NCS with a new interview, talking with Jonathan Hultqvist, vocalist and bassist of the promising Swedish band Ulfven, whose music you can also explore within the conversation.)

New blood pours into the Pagan Cult veins with the appearance of the Swedish band Ulfven. They practice a bit blackened and melodic death-doom metal with lyrics written mostly in their mother’s tongue and a grim folklore concept behind it.

Born from biting cold and hostile forest shadows, their music carries on a dark message through their new EP Bland Aska Och Sten. Taking into account that Ulfven’s full-length Folklore was released just a year ago, I suppose that the heathen gods sped them on. Let’s learn how Jonathan Hultqvist, the band’s vocalist and bassist, sees it. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: WITHOUT MERCY — “DISINFECT THE SOUL”

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Oct 072020
 

 

We have for you today one of those uncommon music videos that both effectively interprets and amplifies the potential messages of the song and runs the risk of making it hard to concentrate on the music. This isn’t intended as a criticism. It’s just that the video is so explosively wild and so surprisingly unnerving that you probably need a second chance to really pay attention to what you’re hearing. Fortunately, that’s an easy thing to do because the song is such a ravager on multiple levels.

That song, “Disinfect the Soul“, is a vicious and arresting track off an album named Seismic that’s set for release on November 20th by the band Without Mercy from British Columbia, who draw their inspirations from such groups as Cattle Decapitation, Meshuggah, Whitechapel, Pantera, and Decapitated. In addition to the talents of these four Canadians, the album also features guest appearances by Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, ex-Nevermore) and Chris Broderick (Act of Defiance, ex-Megadeth, ex-Jag Panzer), and “Disinfect the Soul” happens to be a song that features Broderick‘s eye-popping talents. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: REVOLTING — “CARNAGE WILL COME”

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Oct 072020
 

 

Somewhere, someday, an enterprising metal-head will devote a massive doctoral thesis to analyzing in meticulous detail the music of Rogga Johansson‘s numerous bands, attempting to compare and contrast them as they’ve popped in and out of existence over the last quarter century. Perhaps the work has already begun. Perhaps it will provide a nuanced roadmap to why this music went here and that music went there. Or maybe it will end in confusion and a re-thinking of careers, with the aspiring academic turning toward the relative simplicity of something like brain surgery.

Either way, a central subject in the analysis would have to be the band Revolting, a Johansson group whose releases have been exceeded in number only by the hallowed Paganizer. As a vehicle for the inspirations of the Bard of Gamleby, Revolting has clearly been a favored one, given that beginning in 2009 Revolting was on pace to release an album a year, until taking a three-year break between 2012’s Hymns of Ghastly Horror and 2015’s Visages of the Unspeakable. Another three-year break led to 2018’s Monolith of Madness, but we’ve only had to wait about two-and-three-quarter years for the next full-length, The Shadow At the World’s End, which will be discharged by Transcending Obscurity Records on November 27th. Continue reading »

PUTRESCENT SEEPAGE: “DEAD AND DEMENTED”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Oct 072020
 

 

(In this post Vonlughlio reviews and recommends the debut album from the Australian brutal death metaal band Putrescent Seepage, out now on New Standard Elite.)

The BDM band Putrescent Seepage from Adelaide, South Australia, was born in 2012.  From the beginning the guys behind this project were Cameron Smith (Drums/Vocals) and Brett Stoeckel (Guitars/Vocals) (recently joined by vocalist Simon Naulty). The following year they released a demo that was very limited and that I of course missed (shame on me).  After three years, a two-song demo saw the light and yours truly made it his mission to get one from the band, which came with an original sketch from their drummer (who also happens to be a painter, with amazing work).

That second demo just hit the BDM scene with a vengeance. I was living in the Dominican Republic then, and it was great to see all the fans around the globe just going nuts over this effort. It showcased the talent these musicians have and how as a team they were able to create one of those demos that should be or have been considered classic. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: ALTERI / MINUALA / MOROKH

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Oct 062020
 


Minuala

 

(Here’s a triptych of EP reviews by Andy Synn.)

One of the (many) great things about writing for this site is that, free from the concerns of having to sell ad space or keep to print deadlines, we’re basically free to write about what we want, when we want to.

So, for example, if I want to dedicate an article to reviewing three releases all situated somewhere along the Blackened Crust/Hardcore spectrum… then I can do!

And if those three releases all happen to be EPs, and not albums… it’s all good!

And then if one of them was, in fact, originally released back in February, even though I’m only just getting to writing about it now… well, that’s not a problem either! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WOMBRIPPER — “CHURCH OF REPULSION”

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Oct 062020
 

 

Quite by coincidence, one of my colleagues earlier today ventured the opinion here that a lot of music stands on the shoulders of giants. Really, it has always been that way. In the case of the Russian band Wombripper, the giants on whose shoulders they proudly stand include the likes of Grave, Entombed, and Dismember. From Russia they may come, but it’s iconic death metal from Sweden that fuels them. And what they’ve done with that inspirational fuel makes them sound like giants.

They’ve already made a fine name for themselves through a series of releases that began in 2014 and extended through their 2018 debut album From the Depths of Flesh. Now operating as a trio, they’re approaching the release of their second full-length, Macabre Melodies, which will happen on October 26th through the good graces of Memento Mori, a label with a refined taste in vintage death metal.

The new album reflects the increasing mastery that has come to Wombripper with time and devotion to their craft. It displays spine-shaking power, ravenous ferocity, dynamic songwriting, and a knack for conceiving melodic hooks that are just sharp enough to get stuck under the skin without detracting from the sensations of savagery and the supernatural that they’ve become so adept at creating. It’s hard to imagine any true fan of this style of death metal who won’t fall hard for Macabre Melodies (I sure have), and the song we’re premiering today is a great example of why that is. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THROANE — “UNE BALLE DANS LE PIED”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Oct 062020
 

 

For those of you who may only now be discovering Throane for the first time, it is the solo project of Dehn Sora, whose name will be familiar to many as the visual artist whose creations have adorned the covers of albums by a multitude of well-regarded bands. Because he is a graphic artist and designer, and a collector of vinyl records himself, the visual presentation of Throane’s music in its physical packaging is inseparable from the sound. And so the conception of Throane’s new EP Une Balle Dans Le Pied (which will be released on October 16th by Debemur Morti Productions) was as much rooted in an image as it was in an imagining of the sound, and thus there are multiple layers of meaning to be found here.

The EP’s title translates to “a bullet in the foot”, a French expression symbolizing the act of sabotaging oneself. The cover image depicts Sora’s sister, a choice that recalls previous releases in which Sora has featured individuals close to him, with a personal symbolism. He explains: “Working as a nurse in different services, her daily routine makes her face death, addicted personalities, terminally ill people. Walking through their homes, their souls. Walking on broken glass. But forced to get rid of it, at the end of every day. To stand still. And keep walking.”

But the image is ambiguous. Sora again explains: Continue reading »

CHOKE ME: “THE COUSIN OF DEATH”

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Oct 062020
 

 

(In this review DGR praises the new record by Los Angeles-based Choke Me, which was released in June by Riot Ready Records.)

Speaking of releases that have fallen firmly in the category of “have listened to a ton since its sliding across my proverbial desk”, L.A’s Choke Me and their album The Cousin Of Death – released  in late June via Riot Ready Records – is the latest candidate to build itself a very comfortable nest in that pile.

There’s a few reasons for this: One is that this disc is fast. The band dub themselves “fastcore”, so at the very least this should be an easily attainable goal, and The Cousin of Death clocks in at about twenty-five minutes over twelve songs. The second is that The Cousin Of Death is cathartic. It nails the feeling of lashing out within the first few songs and retains that sort of ferocity for the entirety of its run time, the dual vocal assault provided by its bassist and guitarist amplifying that effect.

Third, whether intentional or something that just popped up during the songwriting sessions, nearly every song here has some sort of flash point where the group shift from comfortable death and grind riffs into full on blasting hell, as if every song seeks to light itself on fire and be fully immolated by its ending. That moment where the tempo accelerates into full speed is so much fun that even though it happens over and over throughout The Cousin Of Death proves that Choke Me have really gripped on to something.

Finally, I have a soft spot for just about any release that contains as much bile within it as a song like “You Aren’t Special” does. Continue reading »

FAWN LIMBS: “SLEEPER VESSELS”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Oct 052020
 

 

(In this review Andy Synn catches up with the new album by Fawn Limbs, which was released on September 18th in various formats by Roman Numeral Records, Wolves And Vibrancy Records, Dark Trail Records, and Sludgelord Records.)

While many sites, zines, and publications (especially print publications) have already transitioned into “End of Year” mode, we here at NCS are still out there, scouring the interweb for new bands and new albums to bring to your attention.

And it’s a good thing too, because while the release of Sleeper Vessels (the second album from the trans-Atlantic Tech-Grind trio Fawn Limbs) may have flown a little bit under the radar, its bastardised blend of squalling metallic noise, unsettling ambience, and distorted electronic effluent has the potential to throw a major wrench into the works when it comes to deciding what/who belongs on this year’s many “Best of…” lists.

As discordant, as demanding, and as defiantly difficult to categorise as this record is, there are certain points of reference – from the mind-bending technicality of Car Bomb and the pneumatic angularity of Ion Dissonance to the abrasive intensity of The Red Chord or the experimental extremity of Pig Destroyer – which, superficially at least, might make it a little bit easier to take in.

But the truth is that Sleeper Vessels is an album that positively thrives on sowing chaos and confusion at every possible moment, and there’s no real way to fully prepare yourself for this record’s catastrophic, kaleidoscopic assault upon the senses.

But I’ll do what I can. Forewarned is forearmed, after all. Continue reading »

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