EPICARDIECTOMY: “GROTESQUE MONUMENT OF PARAPERVERSIVE TRANSFIXION”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 242018
 

 

(We present Vonlughlio’s review of the new album by the Czech band Epicardiectomy, which will be released on the 30th of December by New Standard Elite.)

The following review is for Epicardiectomy’s third opus, Grotesque Monument of Paraperversive Transfixion, to be released December 30th via New Standard Elite.

This band was formed back in 2007 in the Czech Republic and their type of BDM/Slam has a huge fan base around the globe. Personally, I tend to be picky when it comes to bands that are in this sub-genre. When I first encountered them early in their career, I hated them with a vengeance, and talked ill things about their name. Now, you might wonder why, and might also wonder what brought about the change of mind? Well, to be honest, it’s because of “The Serge“, their guitar player, who used to play in a band called Fleshbomb.

I remember admitting to myself, “I’ve only heard two songs that I did not like, and this new guitarist used to play in this other band, so let’s give this a chance”. So I proceeded to the Coyote Records Bancamp to listen to their first and second albums with an open mind, and guess what? This fucker bought the two albums right there — and the songs I hated? Well that reaction has not changed. From this experience, I’ve learned that sometimes giving a second chance works, and this time it did, and I don’t give two shits what anyone else might think. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): DROTTNAR, ÖRMAGNA, SEVERE AGONY, LUCIFERA, DEATHFUCKER

 SHADES OF BLACK  5 Responses »
Dec 232018
 

 

In Part 1 of today’s regular black metal column I mentioned I had a plan. Since it’s now two-thirds complete, I’m safer in explaining it: In Part 1 I focused on two remarkable albums that came out last week, which I wanted to be sure I said something about before getting carried away by the rest of my life. The second part of the plan, now finished, was to assemble a collection of attractive advance tracks from albums scheduled for arrival in early 2019.

Part 3, as originally conceived but conceivably could still be left unfinished if life interferes, is intended to present a variety of other late-year full releases that shouldn’t be overlooked before the year ends. If fortune smiles upon me, I’ll have it finished in time to post tomorrow, in time to darken Christmas Eve.

DROTTNAR

The first song in this collection isn’t exactly new, since it previously appeared in the first of this Norwegian band’s three-part sequence of EPs entitled Monolith, which were released between November 2017 and May of this year, but now “Funeral of Funerals” has become the subject of a new video, which accompanied the news that an album collecting the music of the three EPs, and what seem to be three new tracks (which would make a fourth), will be released on February 8th. The album’s name is also Monolith. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): GENUNE AND AB IMO PECTORE

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Dec 232018
 

 

Mr. Synn‘s preparation of a very interesting interview for publication yesterday allowed me to spend parts of Friday and most of Saturday focusing on what I might do for today. Like a cat playing with a ball of rough black twine, I unraveled more and more threads of spiky music. Now I’m going to try to make sense of this morass of strands that has snarled my brain (and snarled at it).

I’ve decided to begin with short reviews of two very impressive albums released last week. I hesitate to mention the rest of the plan, since at this point it’s only partially completed and could go awry. But as you can see, I do intend to provide some further recommendations from the black realms before night falls.

GENUNE

Daniel Neagoe left his imprint on many 2018 records, including Clouds‘ album Dor (which made Andy Synn‘s list of the year’s 10 best albums), Eye of Solitude’s Slaves To Solitude (reviewed here), and Pantheist’s Seeking Infinity. It’s fair to say that whatever he is involved in, we pay attention to. And that’s what led me to Genune. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: OMNIUM GATHERUM

 WAXING LYRICAL  1 Response »
Dec 222018
 

 

(In this week’s edition of Andy Synn‘s series of interviews focused on lyrics in metal, he poses the questions to Jukka Pelkonen, vocalist of a favorite band we never lose interest in — Omnium Gatherum.)

If you’re one of those strange, yet oddly wonderful, people who’ve been reading this site for a while then you’ll probably be aware that the entire NCS crew has been “ride or die” (that’s right, I’m hip) for Omnium Gatherum since at least 2007, meaning that our collective love for the band actually predates the site’s very existence!

And though that love has been tested at times, we’ve kept the faith with the Finnish sextet through thick and thin, and been richly rewarded for our dedication.

So, for the last edition of Waxing Lyrical for 2018, I caught up with OG’s long-serving vocalist Jukka Pelkonen to get the skinny on the in’s and out’s of his lyrics and his writing style over the years. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ARKHETH — “TRISMEGISTUS”

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Dec 212018
 

 

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, we have an occasion to cast our minds back to one of the astonishing ways in which the year began.

On the first day of February we premiered a song named “Trismegistus” from the third album by the Australian experimental black metal band Arkheth. That album, entitled 12 Winter Moons Comes The Witches Brew, was subsequently released on February 20th by Transcending Obscurity Records. It really was a remarkable piece of music, one well worth remembering now on the solstice, almost 11 months later. And while the song itself is a rich tapestry of sound — mad, mercurial, mystifying, and majestic — it’s now being presented with a perfectly matched lyric video that presents an equally remarkable tapestry of sights. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CONTRARIAN — “EXORCISM”

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Dec 212018
 

 

As their name suggests, Contrarian refuse to be hemmed in by convention. Their vision of death metal as revealed in the new album Their Worm Never Dies pays homage to hallowed traditions, perhaps most especially the more progressive-minded stylings of the great Chuck Schuldiner, but their intricate compositions take the sounds in unexpected directions, creating an alchemical amalgam of visceral viciousness, eye-popping technicality, brain-whirling progressive extravagance, and mesmerizing atmosphere.

Such an unusual and demanding formulation might strain the capabilities of most musicians to the breaking point, but in the case of Contrarian, this convergence of sounds seems entirely natural and fluid, a forward-thinking approach that’s convincing even if eccentric — an inspired evolution of  ’90s progressive death metal into the modern age. Not surprisingly, it’s the kind of achievement that wouldn’t have been possible without a shared vision among the band’s members, and the possession of veteran talent, which is what Contrarian’s line-up brings to the table. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: COLOSSUS FALL — “DARKNESS SWIRLED AROUND US”

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Dec 212018
 

 

The Swiss band Colossus Fall are making their first appearance at our site today, but they’re hardly new to the scene, having previously released a 2012 EP (Sempervirens), a 2013 split-vinyl with Gacys Threads, and a 2015 debut album (Hidden Into Details), and having performed more than 100 shows in Europe, supporting such high-profile bands as Agnostic Front, Walls of Jericho, Terror, Neurosis, Clutch, and Nostromo. Now, they have a second album named Earthbeat on the horizon, which is set for release by Tenacity Music on January 25th, and that furnishes the occasion for our premiere of a new song: “Darkness Swirled Around Us“.

With a backbone of hard-hitting metallic hardcore, Colossus Fall bring other ingredients into play, including thrash and sludge. This explosive new track bounces and races, bruises and yet is buoyant. It’s a ticket straight to headbang city, it’s brazenly passionate, and it proves to be highly infectious. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA: VONLUGHLIO’S TOP BDM ALBUMS OF 2018

 LISTMANIA 2018  3 Responses »
Dec 212018
 

 

(Here’s Vonlughlio’s year-end list of the best brutal death metal albums of 2018.)

So it’s that time of year, and I’m so thankful that Islander lets me post at NCS about BDM, and this list, for about six years or so. With that being said, reader, as you know the genre is one of my favorites and every time I can get the opportunity to share the music and write about the bands in this genre, I take it.

I sure do like other genres as well, but the staff writers and guests here at NCS  do a fantastic job of covering just about everything. So that’s why I focus more on BDM, and I also have Blast Family (FB and Instagram) to share the love. There, my year-end list will expand to 50, and I will include my favorite EPs and Non-BDM albums of the year.

So with no further ado, here are my Top 20 BDM albums of 2018. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: VEILBURNER: “AGONY ON REPEAT”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Dec 202018
 

 

Transcending Obscurity Records has been spreading around premieres from the new album by Veilburner in the run-up to its December 28 release, having already deployed three tracks through Toilet Ov Hell, Invisible Oranges, and Heavy Blog Is Heavy. We have yet another one for you today, and even though we come at the end of the line, there’s still a chance that some of you haven’t yet been exposed to the mind-altering effects of this Pennsylvania duo’s latest display of sonic alchemy. If so, now’s your chance.

And by the way, those aren’t empty words — this new album, A Sire To The Ghouls Of Lunacy, really is a thoroughly bewildering yet completely enthralling experience, an experimental rendering of black/death metal that’s not quite like anything else you’ve probably come across this year, and not one you’ll soon forget. It sends shivers down the spine, sets off fireworks behind the eyes, and spins the mind like a flaming top on the verge of careening into smithereens or taking flight like a rocket. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: THE SCARS IN PNEUMA — “SOULS ARE BURNING”

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Dec 202018
 

 

On February 8th of next year, Promethean Fire (a side-label of Kolony Records focused on black metal) will release The Path of Seven Sorrows, the debut album of the Italian band The Scars In Pneuma. Originally started in early 2017 as the solo project of vocalist/guitarist/bassist Lorenzo Marchello, the line-up was expanded with the addition of guitarist Francesco Lupi and drummer Daniele Valseriati later that same year.

While black metal forms the backbone for Marchello’s compositions, the music morphs into different sonic shapes through the incorporation of ingredients drawn from death metal and doom, and a favoritism for evocative melodies. In other words, strict genre conventions don’t hold much influence here, as you’ll soon discover through our premiere of a song from the new album named “Souls Are Burning“. Continue reading »

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