AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: WITHOUT WAVES — “VICTORIAN PUNISHMENT”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jul 022018
 

 

In March of last year Prosthetic Records released Lunar, the surprising debut album of Chicago’s Without Waves, a constantly morphing collection of music that displayed a form of artistic experimentation which brought into play a range of influences, from extreme metal to jazz fusion, from electronica to atmospheric rock. Next month Without Waves will embark on a six-state tour with label mates Zaius, and to mark the occasion they’ve prepared a music video that we’re bringing you today, for one of the eye-opening tracks off Lunar.

If you haven’t heard “Victorian Punishment” before, you’ll discover that it rarely stays in the same place for very long, nor does it follow a predictable course. It’s a study in sharp contrasts of style, volume, and mood. It puts your head in a blender set to puree, and then smoothly untangles everything. It’s a shock to the system, and a spell. Continue reading »

BEHOLD, THE WAGES OF OUR BEST INTENTIONS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jul 022018
 

 

(As we reach the mid-year turning point, Andy Synn highlights a baker’s dozen of releases from the year’s first half to which we haven’t previously paid sufficient attention but recommend now.)

How did you all like that utterly pretentious/portentous title? Originally I was going to give this piece a much more mundane header, but then I thought “hey, I’m trying to get people’s attention… so why not go with something eye-catching?”

You see, we’re now officially in the second half of 2018, and, despite our best efforts and our best intentions, we’ve still failed to cover a significant percentage of the multitude of Metal albums released over the last six months.

Now I’m not a fan of those “Best of the Year So Far” lists (though others at the site seem to view them more favourably) but, in an effort to make at least some small recompense for this terrible dereliction of our duties over the preceding 182 1/2 days, I decided to put together this column highlighting thirteen different records which you might otherwise have overlooked. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: INFURIATE — “JUGGERNAUT OF PESTILENCE”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Jul 022018
 

 

Outside the circles of metal, when someone exclaims, “That was brutal!“, they’ve usually just witnessed something ugly, humiliating, violent, uncomfortable, or unpleasant. Inside the circles of metal, it’s a high compliment. Infuriate are fucking brutal. And, as you can see, so is the stunning cover art by the famed Jon Zig for this Texas band’s self-titled debut album.

Infuriate will be released by the crushing Everlasting Spew Records on August 31st, but you’ll get a strong taste of it today because we’re bringing you a massive slab of slaughtering from the album named “Juggernaut of Pestilence“. Continue reading »

QUICK HITS: MANTAR AND CANCER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Jul 022018
 

 

We have a couple of fine premieres coming later today, and because I devoted some time to writing about those, I didn’t have time to prepare a full SEEN AND HEARD round-up for this Monday — but with a few spare minutes and a bit of a lag in our publication schedule before the first of those premieres is due to arrive, I thought I’d give you a quick hit — two recent songs that made very positive impressions when I heard them this weekend. I might have time for another one of these posts in between those two premieres as well.

MANTAR

I may have mentioned before that Mantar are one of my favorite bands on the planet. And without meaning to detract from the impact of their recordings, they have become one of my favorites because of their live performances, which I’ve been lucky to witness on three occasions. The power and electrifying impact of what these two do on stage can’t really be captured in a studio, in part because they’re so riveting to watch.

Having said that, I’m still eager to hear their new album, The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze, which will be released by Nuclear Blast on August 24th. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2018: AN INVITATION TO OUR READERS FOR “BEST OF THE HALF-YEAR” LISTS

 LISTMANIA 2018  40 Responses »
Jul 022018
 

 

There will be 365 days in 2018. The mid-way point is therefore 182 1/2 days. Yesterday, July 1st, was the 182nd day of the year. And so we’re a bit early with this post, since the mid-way point won’t be reached until the end of the 12th hour today, but we’re not as early as some places have been.

With the year approximately half-gone, it’s a good time to take stock of what we’ve heard so far… and man, there’s been a lot of good stuff to hear. And by “what we’ve heard so far”, I don’t mean myself. If I really tried to make a list of the best releases from the first half of the year, I’d have to shut down the site for a week, and probably still couldn’t figure it out.

No, what I mean by “we” is “you”, because I’d much rather be entertained and educated by seeing the releases that have made the biggest impression on people who visit NCS than agonize over my own list. And I’m guessing other people will enjoy that too. In addition, collecting these lists always turn out to be an excellent resource for making new discoveries. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): MALOKARPATAN, KWADE DROES, ABJECT FAILURE, FEVER

 SHADES OF BLACK  2 Responses »
Jul 012018
 

 

This is Part 2 of a post that I began earlier today. As in the first installment, I’m including a group of complete new releases with only brief introductory impressions rather than full reviews. More words would make me feel better, but maybe the words I had time to write will be sufficient inducement for you to explore further on your own.

The surprising new release by Malokarpatan made me feel like I’d entered haunted woods or subterranean caverns populated by creatures that the Brothers Grimm would recognize, and the next two entries in this post pulled me into greater depths of horror — to the point that I felt I had to shake off those shivering sensations in order to face the rest of the day. You’ll see how I did that.

MALOKARPATAN

Perhaps there was some kind of advance notice that the Slovakian band Malokarpatan, who most definitely march (and scamper fiendishly) to the beat of their own drummer, would be releasing a new EP today, but if so, I missed it. My first notice came via a Bandcamp e-mail alert today. What I found was as weird as I’ve come to expect — but the shapes of the band’s strange proclivities never seem to be predictable. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): IMMORTAL, THE ANTICHRIST IMPERIUM, VERMILIA, IGNIS

 SHADES OF BLACK  8 Responses »
Jul 012018
 

 

My cup runneth over — not really in the sense of the Psalm but more like Fantasia’s rendition of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, in which drowning in a deluge spawned by runaway magic is a serious threat. In other words, I have far more new metal in a black vein to recommend than I know what to do with.

In an attempt to do more rather than less, I’ve compiled a two-part post on this Sunday… and I’ve also wimped out by providing a series of little more than encouragements rather than reviews, especially in the case of the three full albums included in this first Part.

IMMORTAL

My comrade Andy Synn tells me he will soon provide a review of Immortal’s new album, Northern Chaos Gods, which is due for release on July 6th. (Spoiler: he seems quite high on it.) In the meantime, Immortal has revealed a second single from the album, the title of which might lead some to guess (incorrectly) that the new Abbath-less Imnmortal had decided to re-record an earlier song. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IMHA TARIKAT — “AKAN SIR”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 012018
 

 

The black metal band Imha Tarikat, based in Germany, vaulted onto our radar screens last year with a debut EP named Kenoboros (reviewed here). Released by Terratur Possessions, it was a four-song collection of unusual emotional power and unmistakably authentic passion. Since then, Imha Tarikat’s sole creator Ruhsuz Cellât has been joined on drums by a second member who goes by the name Prowler, and together they’ve recorded a debut album, Kara Ihlas.

The music of Kenoboros would have been reason enough to become excited about what this full-length might hold in store, but the album’s fantastic cover art by Cold Poison is exciting all by itself, and it also seems to be an entirely fitting visual representation of both the sound of the music and its inspirations — at least so far as we can tell based on the album track we’re presenting today, the name of which is “Akan Sir“. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: JUNIUS

 Exceptions to the Rule, WAXING LYRICAL  3 Responses »
Jun 302018
 

 

(This Saturday’s edition of Andy Synn’sWaxing Lyrical series presents thoughts about lyrics from Joseph Martinez of Junius, whose most recent album, Eternal Rituals For the Accretion of Light, was released by Prosthetic Records in 2017.)

There’s a certain argument (not that it’s one I agree with) that proggy Post-Rock/Post-Metal collective (and celebrated Synn Report alumni) Junius don’t really “belong” here at NCS.

After all, their music is certainly far from “extreme” (though it does have its heavier moments), and the vocals are almost entirely clean-sung, meaning that the band’s whole existence essentially runs counter to the site’s original ethos.

But the truth is that NCS has grown far beyond its original remit, and the fact that we often cover lighter, more melodic fare is balanced out by the way in which we also give coverage to bands and artists who are leaps and bounds heavier and more abrasive than anything the site’s original founders could have predicted.

Personally I’m proud of the way in which we’ve broadened our scope, while still retaining our focus on quality and integrity as two of the key values in all the music we feature, just as I’m proud to have been able to convince Junius frontman/vocalist/lyricist Joseph Martinez to participate in this latest edition of “Waxing Lyrical”. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE AND A REVIEW): VANHELGA — “FREDAGSMYS”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Jun 292018
 

 

Today Osmose Productions releases the fifth album by the Swedish black metal band Vanhelga, the name of which is Fredagsmys, and a complete stream of which you’ll find at the end of this article. Long ago, Vanhelga proved themselves to be powerful spellcasters, capable of creating intense and lingering emotional responses to their varied summonings of human darkness. In plumbing those depths they’ve achieved impressive highs in their previous releases, but Fredagsmys really is their best album yet.

Unmistakably, Fredagsmys is the work of people who have a firm grasp on who they are as musicians. What inspires them is carried forward into sound with remarkable assurance and consummate skill. Even if what they see in their mind’s eye and feel in their fractured hearts is something you might rather not confront or dwell upon, they have a way of defeating such resistance and carrying you down with them. And if it’s any consolation, every now and then there’s a sign in the music that (maybe) all is not lost… not quite yet… and they continue to reveal glimpses of beauty in the most terrible of tragedies. Continue reading »

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