AN NCS PREMIERE: SKJULT — “THE SIGHT”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Feb 052020
 

 

Almost exactly two years ago we premiered a blood-freezing track from Progenies Ov Light, the second album by the Cuban black metal band Skjult, through which its lone member Conspirator channeled dark and devilish creative impulses. Now we have the good fortune of premiering a song from the band’s forthcoming third full-length, Lucifer Hominum Salvator, which is coming out on March 17th via Satanth Records.

While still driven by devotion to Luciferian anticosmic themes, Skjult has followed a path of musical progression, which was evident in the movement from the first album to the second, and is evident again through this third record, which Satanath correctly sums up as more melodic, less raw, impressively dynamic, and propelled more deeply into the depths of hell. The music raises memories of early Watain, Necrophobic, Valkyrja, and early Dark Funeral, and we have a prime example of these sensations in this new track, “The Sight“. Continue reading »

BLACKENED DEATHSTRAVAGANZA: GOD DETHRONED / HORRESQUE / SVART CROWN

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Feb 052020
 


God Dethroned

 

(In this post Andy Synn combines reviews of three forthcoming or just-released albums by God Dethroned (Netherlands), Horresque (Germany), and Svart Crown (France).)

Genre terms are funny things, aren’t they?

While I often find them very useful as a form of rough-and-ready heuristic shortcut, one which helps me, and my readers, quickly get into the right mindset and formulate our expectations accordingly, their misuse (or outright abuse) can be even more confusing than just saying nothing at all.

It’s even worse when we get down to the fine grain of things, as these terms and definitions become even more nebulous, and it gets harder and harder to tell precisely where Death Metal becomes Blackened Death Metal becomes Melodic Blackened Death Metal becomes Progressive Melodic Blackened Death Metal… and so on, and so forth.

The three albums you’re about to read about all fall somewhere in/along this spectrum (whereabouts exactly is sure to prompt some lively debate), and while all have their flaws (which I’ve not been shy about highlighting) I’m pretty sure many, if not most, of our audience will find something to appreciate from their myriad metallic delights. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: INNO — “PALE DEAD SKY”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  3 Responses »
Feb 052020
 

 

Undoubtedly, when metal fans first learn about the line-up of the Roman band INNO they will be attracted by the names of other bands on the members’ resumes — such names as Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hour of Penance, Coffin Birth, and Novembre. In addition to kindling interest, those other names will likely spawn certain expectations about INNO’s sound. And what fans will then discover upon exploring the music is that INNO’s veteran members have chosen to pursue different interests in this project, and have turned their music in different directions.

Led by the commanding voice of Elisabetta Marchetti (ex-Stormlord, ex-Riti Occulti), INNO characterize their music as “dark metal” — an amalgam that includes ingredients of doom, gothic, and progressive metal — and they make comparative references to the likes of Katatonia, The Gathering, Amorphis, and Porcupine Tree. Their debut album is named The Rain Under, and it’s set for worldwide release by Time To Kill Records on February 20th.

What we have for you today is the exclusive premiere of a music video for the album’s third track, “Pale Dead Sky“. Continue reading »

KVELERTAK: “SPLID”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Feb 052020
 

 

(This is Wil Cifer‘s review of the new album by the Norwegian band Kvelertak. The album will be released by Rise Records on February 14th.)

The third album from these Norwegian punks is not only more refined, it is also their first with new vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen. The youthful attitude in his snarl gives more weight to the punk slant of this album.

When punk is referred to here, think more of a ’90s European direction like Refused. Punk is also only one side of the equation, as they also offer a large dose of rock ‘n’ roll with guitar harmonies that have a warm Thin Lizzy-like tone. Not that any of these elements are coming out of left field. They have all been hinted at on the previous albums, but have now been brought further into center stage. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: SOLOTHUS, PERDITION TEMPLE, SYMBOLIK

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Feb 042020
 

 

I see that the last time I posted one of these new-music round-ups was on January 18th. After that the series became a casualty of my work on our Most Infectious Song list and our daily schedule of premieres, plus some other distractions. Now that I’ve finished the rollout of that song list I’m hoping to get back to a more regular featuring of newly revealed songs and videos, beginning with this post.

While SEEN AND HEARD was on hiatus, of course, a ton of new stuff surfaced, and catching up isn’t realistic. I haven’t even been very good about watching what has come out, though I did notice new songs from Vader (here), My Dying Bride (here), and The Black Dahlia Murder (here), among the bigger names out there. Please feel free to share your thoughts about those in the Comments, or about anything else I’ve overlooked, but I’m going to re-start this column with a few bands less-heralded than those.

SOLOTHUS

Last December we published an interview by Comrade Aleks with Kari Kankaanpää, vocalist of the Finnish doom-death band Solothus, that occurred just a few weeks after the band had finished their third album, which follows by four years their tremendous 2016 full-length No King Reigns Eternal. In that interview Kari summed up the essence of the band’s sound as “Candlemass meets Bolt Thrower“, and offered some hints about what the new album would present: “What you loved in No King Reigns Eternal is there, but with an even more refined and heavy sound! There is a lot more variation, but yet we keep the same recipe as always. I am very proud of how our upcoming third album sounds — it will be a blast when you hear it!” Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: OATH OF DAMNATION — “I CURSE THEE, O LORD!”

 Premieres  8 Responses »
Feb 042020
 

 

On March 13th the Australian blackened death metal devastators Oath of Damnation will return to the battlefield with their second album, the well-named Fury and Malevolence. Gore House Productions will be the bearer of these seven tracks of unchained ferocity and pitch-black darkness, and we’re in the fortunate position of presenting the first publicly revealed track from the album today through a lyric video.

Entitled “I Curse Thee, O Lord!“, it’s the song that ends the album. As the band tell us, and as you’ll discover through the video, the track delivers “unrelenting savagery paired with a twist on the classical biblical tale of Abraham commanded by his god to sacrifice unto him, his son, Isaac. Unlike in the classic tale, here, no angels come to stay his hand. Press play and destroy!” Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BEAST OF REVELATION — “LEGIONS”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Feb 042020
 

 

Last month I was induced to listen to the title track from the debut album of Beast Of Revelation (entitled The Ancient Ritual of Death) by the names in the line-up:  drummer Bob Bagchus (Hellehond, Infidel Reich, ex-Asphyx, Grand Supreme Blood Court, Soulburn, and more); guitarist/bassist A.J. van Drenth (Temple, Throne, ex-Beyond Belief), and vocalist John McEntee (Incantation).

On that title track McEntee‘s vocals are demented and disorienting, an expression of roaring and wailing wretchedness that raises goosebumps. And the music is absolutely crushing and authentically disturbing, heavy enough to pound your cranium into splinters and weird and woeful enough to fracture your sense of well-being too. Listening to it risks sore-neck syndrome and mental mutilation.

Given the resumes of the band’s members, none of this should come as a shock, even if the music itself creates shockwaves. And we have more of Beast of Revelation‘s merciless and morbid doom-death devastation for you today as we premiere the song “Legions” in advance of the album’s March 6 release by Iron Bonehead Productions. Continue reading »

PSALM ZERO: “SPARTA”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Feb 042020
 

 

(This is Todd Manning‘s review of the third album by Psalm Zero, which will be released by Last Things Records on February 24th.)

Like many of their NYC brethren, Psalm Zero walk a tightrope of genre-splicing madness, and their latest release Sparta  is another success spurred from that scene. Including such bands as Kayo Dot, Vaura, and Stern, these groups utilize an alchemy which pulls from Metal, ’80s Art Music, Jazz, and Avant Garde among others. While all these groups are excellent at what they do, Psalm Zero might be the most Metal sounding at this point in their career.

Sparta is their third album, their first without guitarist Andrew Hock, and also the first not to appear on Profound Lore. Instead, the record will come out on band leader Charlie Looker’s own Last Things Records. Looker now handles guitar, vocals, synths, and programming and is joined by Ron Varod on bass and the formidable Keith Abrams on drums. With a combined resume that includes work in pretty much all the aforementioned bands and more, Psalm Zero bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Sparta. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SCHATTENFALL — “TOTENTANZ”

 Premieres  5 Responses »
Feb 032020
 

 

Unlike many other metal sites, we didn’t try to assemble a list of “most anticipated” 2020 releases as a way to help turn the clock from the old year to the new. It might have been a good idea (and we’ve done it in the past), but shortness of time and an abundance of other distractions prevented that. However, if we had created such a list, I have no doubt that Schattenfall’s new EP Das Verderben would have been on it.

I first drawn to this Germany-based band’s 2017 debut album Schatten in Schwarz because their line-up included two former members of the fantastic White Ward, and that album turned out to make a stunning impression. Perhaps even more stunning was the band’s second album (which included new vocalist Stefan Traunmüller of Golden Dawn, Rauhnåcht, Selenite, The Negative Bias, and Wallachia). I gave significant attention to the preview tracks as they emerged, and Andy Synn acclaimed the album in his review as one of his favorite black metal albums of the year so far, and home to manifestations of “gloriously melodic misery” that were “second to none”.

No wonder, then, that we have been excited for this new three-track EP — and equally excited to present the first preview track today, in advance of the EP’s co-release on February 28th by Redefining Darkness Records (North America) and Wolfspell Records (Europe). But you had best steel yourself before listening to “Totentanz“, because its emotional intensity is absolutely ravaging. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: CARNOSUS — “DECEPTIVE AUTHORITY”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Feb 032020
 

 

The Swedish melodic death/thrash band Carnosus are both young in age and youthful in their career, but their rapid progress has been unusually impressive. Their first EP, 2016’s The Universal Culmination (which they recorded with Tomas Skogsberg at Stockholm’s famed Sunlight Studio) opened a lot of eyes and ears, earning them an accolade from Sweden’s Close-Up Magazine as “the best unsigned band in Sweden” in May 2016. But it’s clear that there was still a lot of untapped potential in this group, because their debut album Dogma of the Deceased is a big step up over the EP, in both its songwriting and its execution

This time Carnosus recorded the album at Studio Fredman with producers Fredrik Nordström and Robert Kukla, and the record features memorable cover art by Vojtěch “Moonroot” Doubek. The album will be co-released on March 13th by Satanath Records (Russia) and Shirley Road Records (U.S.), and today we’re bringing you the lyric video for a powerful new single from the album named “Deceptive Authority“. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries