COPENHELL 2019: DAY TWO

 Concert Reviews  11 Responses »
Jul 242019
 

 

(A Seattle-based writer who we’ll call Gonzo ventured to Denmark for the 2019 edition of the Copenhell festival, which ran from June 19th through June 22nd. Beginning yesterday (here), and continuing today and for the following two days, we’re sharing his entertaining stories from that adventure.)

I woke up and saw highlights from Katatonia’s much-hyped performance of Night is the New Day all the way through, and sure, it looked like a fun time. I also would’ve likely passed out and fallen over in a ditch somewhere in the harbor if I had gone, so I called it a win and cut my losses. Fuck it. The good news? It wasThursday morning, and three whole days of Copenhell were, at long last, only a few hours and a few kilometers away.

Jumping on the festival bus was easy enough for out-of-towners – the route number changed from its usual operating of “9A” to “666.” The quick ride to the harbor from the city center was full of death growls, beer, and very loud Danes. It was almost enough to make me pity the bus drivers in charge of this route, but they were dealing with the ruckus amazingly well. In fact, negativity just didn’t seem to be a thing in Denmark. You could really say everyone here was… hell-bent…on having a good time. (I also can’t promise that’ll be the last of my “hell” puns through the duration of this. No, I’m not even a little bit sorry.) Continue reading »

ALL OUT WAR – CRAWL AMONG THE FILTH

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Jul 242019
 

(Andy Synn gets filthy with the new album from seminal Metal/Hardcore band All Out War)

As some of you may know, All Out War easily rank among my favourite bands of all time.

And I know I say that a lot – look, when you listen to a lot of bands you have a lot of favourites – but in this case I really mean it, as it was bands like All Out War, Ringworm, and Earth Crisis (and many more) who played a seminal role in defining my taste in Metal/Hardcore in the early days.

Which is why it’s crazy to think that this is the first time I’m writing about them for the site.

I’ll grant you that by the time I actually started writing for NCS they were once again on hiatus, and in the years to follow would only release one EP (and you know how terrible I am at keeping tabs on those… though I’m trying to do better) and an album which, to be honest, I’m not a massive fan of.

But, still, it feels weird to think that this is my first time properly reviewing the band… so I’d better make it count, right?

Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: FRECUENCIA DE MUERTE (FDeM), KNEEL ON NAILS, PRIMOGENORUM, SICK SAD WORLD, BY THE SPIRITS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jul 232019
 

 

I’m happy within myself, and I can imagine few things that would kill that, but I’m deeply unsettled by just about everything I see in the world around me. I don’t enjoy indulging those feelings of depression, dread, and anger, but sometimes it happens. Sometimes I consciously do that in the music I choose to listen to, and sometimes I’m led down those pathways by chance encounters.

Last night in my listening I went down a rabbit hole that became an increasingly dark pathway through a warren, and it happened by chance, just checking out the most recent songs I found in our in-box, and one that came to me thanks to a friend. But it all fit together as a kind of journey. I can’t say the trip left me buoyant by the end; it mainly indulged those other feelings instead. I’m not egotistical enough to think that everyone who lands on this post will find the entire journey as meaningful as I did; I’m not humble enough to think that you won’t.

FRECUENCIA DE MUERTE

Sometimes powerful underground music would be lost to me, as for many others, if not for a striking piece of artwork or the appearance of a familiar name, or some other truly random signal. In the case of FDeM, what made me stop and listen was the name Brad Boatright. It’s a familiar name, of course, because his recording and mastering work at Audioiege is attached to so many great records, but in the case of FDeM (as in From Ashes Rise), he’s a performer. I had to hear what that would be like in this new band. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: IMPERIALIST — “BINARY COALESCENCE” (OFFICIAL PLAYTHROUGH)

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 232019
 

 

In introducing the music of Imperialist‘s new album Cipher last fall, Transcending Obscurity Records made reference to the traditions of such bands as Necrophobic, Dissection, and Sacramentum, with nods to the thrashier dynamics of Aura Noir and Vektor as well. And while harnessing such dark, savage, and melodically memorable sounds as those names might suggest, Imperialist also created a futuristic, sci-fi-themed concept for Cipher, which is evoked by Adam Burke‘s cover painting.

We had the pleasure of premiering a song from the album in advance of its release on October 20th, and today we get to present a premiere of a different kind — an official playthrough video performed by Imperialist‘s dual guitarists Sergio Soto and Bryant Quinones. For this performance, they chose one of Cipher‘s most electric tracks, “Binary Coalescence“. Continue reading »

COPENHELL 2019: DAY ONE

 Concert Reviews  3 Responses »
Jul 232019
 

 

(A Seattle-based writer who we’ll call Gonzo ventured to Denmark for the 2019 edition of the Copenhell festival, which ran from June 19th through June 22nd. Beginning today, and continuing for the next three consecutive days, we’re sharing his entertaining stories from that adventure — though as you’ll discover, the Day One coverage didn’t turn out as planned.)

Summers in the north are great, right up until you want to get some fucking sleep.

I pulled into Copenhagen at around noon, after the requisite transatlantic flight that forced me to stay awake for almost 24 consecutive hours because no way can I ever sleep in a pressurized fart tube at 35,000 feet. It’s been almost 7 years since I’ve been here – the last visit was basically a fly-by on the way to do completely stupid shit to my liver in Munich. So, my recollection of being here is admittedly not great.

Why have I returned, you ask? There’s a festival I’d been curious about for a while called Copenhell that happens every summer in Copenhagen, billing itself audaciously as “the wildest party in the north.” Admittedly, my partying days aren’t quite on the level they used to be, but like some kind of suicidal cat with a tendency to find itself haphazardly swinging from a chandelier after getting into the stash of catnip hidden on top of the fridge, curiosity gets the better of me a bit too often. And why not? I have long fantasized about going to a proper, full-on European festival, and the metal gods seemed to all but conspire this year to usher me to this magical place. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: HEX — “WHERE GODS SHALL NOT REIGN”

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Jul 222019
 

 

On July 5th Transcending Obscurity Records released the second album by the Spanish death/doom band Hex, the defiant title of which is God Has No Name. In June we presented the premiere of the album’s second advance track, “All Those Lies That Dwells…”, and today it’s our pleasure to present an official music video for the album’s fifth track in the running order, “Where Gods Shall Not Reign“.

At the time of our previous premiere we observed that the musical approach of Hex is different from many bands who have been branded with the death/doom label. Rather than craggy, lumbering, and crushing, the music of Hex tends to be more animated, more exotic, and more surprising. The gloominess of doom does rear its head, albeit in unexpected ways, but Hex are just as liable to attack with frightening ferocity. The song that’s today’s focus reveals many facets of the band’s variable style of extremity — and the dark, beautifully made video is just as sinister and supernatural as elements of the music. Continue reading »

SERPENT OF GNOSIS: “AS I DRINK FROM THE INFINITE WELL OF INEBRIATION”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Jul 222019
 

 

(Here’s Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Serpent of Gnosis, which was released by 1126 Records on June 14th.)

Let’s be honest, there’s considerably more stigma than stardust surrounding the concept of the “supergroup” these days, due to most bands of this sort suffering from such a painful lack of anything resembling chemistry or creativity that they inevitably end up producing something far less than the sum of their parts.

There are exceptions to this though, and while the various members of Serpent of Gnosis may not be quite famous (or infamous) enough to truly call themselves a “supergroup”, musically speaking they’re still miles ahead of most of those who do. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DEAD SHELL OF UNIVERSE — “EX NIHILO”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 222019
 

 

Dead Shell of Universe is a Serbian black metal project spawned more than a decade ago from the mind of V., whose other musical endeavors include All My Sins and Terrörhammer, as well as past participation in many other groups, including Kawir and Triumfall. The lone release by Dead Shell of Universe was a 2008, 34-minute EP named Tamo gde pupoljak vene… tamo je moje seme.

With All My Sins‘ debut album Pra sila – Vukov totem having been released last year, V. chose to reactivate Dead Shell of Universe after a decade of silence. Tamo gde pupoljak vene… tamo je moje seme has now been re-mastered, and it will be reissued on digipack CD by Death Knell Productions in the autumn of this year. This new edition will also include a brand new track recorded as a bonus for the new edition, with a five-man line-up that includes current or former members of such bands as Crimson Moon, Melechesh, and Obscured. The new track is “Ex Nihilo“, and it’s our pleasure to present it today. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): WITCH VOMIT, ANTICOSM, ENEMY OF CREATION, GROGUS, CAÏNA

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Jul 222019
 

 

As forecast in Part 1 of this round-up (here), Part 2 goes in very different directions from the four songs I chose for the opening installment yesterday. Hopefully, you will find the variety appealing. I’ll forewarn you (though it’s really intended as an enticement) that despite the variety, it’s all pretty damned destructive.

WITCH VOMIT

Just a few hours down the highway from the NCS headquarters in the Seattle area is Portland, Oregon, home to many sources of potent metallic extremity, including Witch Vomit. Originally a two-man operation, the band eventually expanded, and the current quartet includes people who are current or former members of other Portland death- and black-metal decimators. Witch Vomit‘s new album, Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave, will be released by 20 Buck Spin on August 30th. The great cover art is again the creation of Matt Stikker. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: FINSTERFORST, IN THE COURT OF A BROKEN FLESH, HÖGGVA, ATANAS, SILENCE THEREAFTER, LAANG, Заводь

 SHADES OF BLACK  2 Responses »
Jul 212019
 

 

I feel like I should apologize. I know that I’ve chosen a mountainous amount of music to recommend this week, more than any of you are likely to make time for today. Maybe (hopefully) you will bookmark  this page and return to it periodically as the week rolls on until you’ve at least sampled everything here. You might find something you’ll remember for months to come, and perhaps longer. And that, of course, is the reason why I stuffed this week’s column full to bursting, because I felt so strongly about all these releases that I couldn’t force myself to leave any of them on the cutting room floor.

I will also just get the credits out of the way in advance, because this is another collection of music I found as a result of recommendations by others. Most of those came from Rennie (starkweather), and one from Miloš; the two of them regularly complicate my choices for these columns, and other round-ups of new music as well. To justify my own existence I did find the first selection below on my own, and the last one (though I had help even there).

FINSTERFORST

I would have been thrilled by the prospect of a new Finsterforst album, but am even more thrilled because of the two song excerpts that are now out in the world. They’re just excerpts, I guess because the full tracks are lengthy. “Fluch des Seins” is 11 minutes long, and “Ecce Homo” is… wait for it… 36 1/2 minutes long. Continue reading »

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