AN NCS PREMIERE: MASTER — “ENGULFED IN PARANOIA”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Oct 172018
 

 

After a career that has spanned three-and-a-half decades (and counting) and more than a dozen albums, Master should need no introduction to die-hard fans of death-thrashing metal. What might be worth mentioning to any newcomers among you is that despite such a long and storied lifespan, Master show no signs of slowing down. As their new album Vindictive Miscreant shows in spades, this is a wolfpack on the hunt that sounds as feral and as blood-thirsty as ever. But the years of experience and craftsmanship show as well. You’ll get a solid taste of both the band’s unflagging, vicious energy and their songwriting and performance chops in the song from the new album we’re bringing you today. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: CRYPTOPSY PLAY THROUGH “FEAR HIS DISPLEASURE”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Oct 172018
 

 

Cryptopsy tell you to “Fear His Displeasure“, but if you want to know what real fear is, take a turn in a Cryptopsy mosh pit. Those of us who’ve seen Cryptopsy live over the last few years have witnessed the spectacle of the band (metaphorically speaking) regularly injecting their audience into a cyclotron, quickly spinning it up to extravagant speeds, and then smashing it apart so that all the occupants go careening into a roiling mass of human wreckage.

It turns out, however, that it’s almost as much fun to watch the band (or in this case, two of the members) without an audience, standing against a black backdrop, displaying the mechanics of what they do to create such bruising, bone-breaking, blood-spraying mayhem in a live setting. What we’re talking about is a new play-through video that we’re happily premiering today, which features Cryptopsy guitarist Chris Donaldson and bassist Olivier Pinard performing their parts of “Fear His Displeasure” off the band’s new record The Book of Suffering – Tome II. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: AGRYPNIE, DEAD SOUL COMMUNION, GREAT FALLS, VOID, DEADLY CARNAGE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Oct 172018
 

 

I can guarantee you this won’t last, but for the fourth day in a row I’ve had enough time to compile a round-up of new songs, two of which are presented through extremely cool videos.

I can also guarantee you that you won’t see where this collection is going. No two songs sound remotely alike. Sometimes there’s a flow or a connection between the songs I pick for these posts that just feels right as I hear the music, even if I’m not always able to explain it. This time I just fuckin’ liked all the songs and videos, and the only other thing that feels right is imagining how the movement from one to the next will throw you off balance.

AGRYPNIE

Way back in January of this year my comrade Andy Synn identified Agrypnie’s fifth album as one of his “most anticipated” releases for 2018, relishing the prospect of “some seriously intense blastery, brilliantly moody melody, and artfully applied aggression… along with a heaping helping of brooding atmosphere… and a bevy of unpredictable twists and turns designed to expand the band’s already expansive ‘Post’ Black Metal sound”. At last, that album is upon us. Actually, two of them are upon us. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MYOPIC — “PILLARS OF TIME”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Oct 162018
 

 

The new self-titled album by the D.C.-based trio Myopic “tells the experience of a man wandering in a deserted earth, and near the end he finds the massive remains of an ancient civilization still standing, a monument of the past”. As the band go on to tell us, the track we’re about to premiere — “Pillars of Time” — captures that moment, which is also the inspiration for the record’s cover art, created by Casey Drogin.

The band’s description of the protagonist’s discovery, coupled with the visual imagery, creates a frightening vision of desolation and hopelessness. Entering the story at this moment, we don’t know what has left the planet a barren and lonely place, or what catastrophe has reduced a once prideful civilization to nothing more than those cold, hulking derelicts. But through the music we can feel the combination of raw, devastating emotions that such a terrible discovery might ignite. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MALLEPHYR — “W.Y.I.D.”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Oct 162018
 

 

Womb of Worms is the new second album by the Czech black/death band Mallephyr, whose Russian and Czech labels (Satanath Records and Murderous Production, respectively) recommend for fans of Svart Crown, Behemoth, Dissection, and Outre. The album will be released on October 29th, and the track we’re revealing today is “W.Y.I.D.”

For those new to Mallephyr, the song provides a great introduction to their talents, presenting an electrifying display of well-crafted dynamism and full-bore zealotry, combining the bone-fracturing weight of death metal and the speed and ferocity of black metal in a full-throttle attack (with a well-timed digression) that’s intricate, chaotic, groove-some, and a guaranteed fire-starter for your nervous system. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: WHOREDOM RIFE, DISCIPLES OF THE VOID, THE CRAWLING, NEKROMANT

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Oct 162018
 

 

Happy Tuesday to one and all. This makes the third day in a row when I’ve found time to round up new songs, and the third day in a row when I’ve focused on underground bands as opposed to bigger names. It’s not that I have any kind of reflexive distaste for the music of economically successful bands whose names are a known quantity world-wide (which, like the music of bands who toil in relative obscurity, is simply a familiar mix of excellence and mediocrity). It’s more that they really don’t need one more metal blog giving them a boost. And sometimes (but not always), that feeling steers me toward bands such as those discussed below.

WHOREDOM RIFE

This Norwegian duo from Trondheim (multi-instrumentalist V. Einride and vocalist K.R.) have made a big and favorable impression on discerning consumers of metal extremity in a relatively short time, through their self-titled debut EP in 2016 and their first album last year, the fantastic Dommedagskvad, both of which were released by Terratur Possessions. Now they return with a new album, NID – Hymner Av Hat. Continue reading »

ABORTED: “TERRORVISION”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Oct 162018
 

 

(This is TheMadIsraeli’s review of the new album by Aborted, which Century Media released on September 21st.)

Aborted have evolved in quite a fascinating way over the years.  They are, in my mind, one of death metal’s most essential bands, especially in the brand of more chaotic, panicky, fast-as-fuck brutality, and they have developed a pretty diverse discography as they’ve moved from album to album.  The MOST interesting thing about Aborted, though, was how a band whose only original member is the vocalist and almost couldn’t seem to keep a steady song-writer or writers for more than a single album, finally succeeded in cementing not only a definitive sound but also one that’s paid off in dividends ever since Global Flatline.

They did that by locking in a song-writer and guitar virtuoso in the person of Mendel bij de Leij, who was dedicated to preserving a previous sonic direction for Aborted, a first for the band.  Believe it or not, until Global Flatline, Aborted  underwent a change in both guitar players every other album, with one always getting changed out in every album. And that’s not counting the rotating gallery of drummers and bassists the band has had.

Mendel wasn’t in Aborted when Global Flatline came out, but I think it’s pretty cool that he’s helped steer the band toward preserving a sound, rather than writing an entirely different type of album again, especially since what Aborted are doing now is pretty multi-faceted.  I’m sure, though, that vocalist and only remaining founding member Sven de Caluwé has also steered the direction toward this more focused sound as well. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): XUL — “WHAT LIES HIDDEN”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Oct 152018
 

 

In writing about this British Columbia band’s two previous releases, their 2012 album Malignance and their 2015 EP Extinction Necromance, I tended to lose control of my metaphors, because their blackened melodic death metal had a tendency to make me lose control of my mind, at least temporarily. Their sound was so explosive, so jet-fueled, so technically impressive, and so rampantly ferocious, that any kind of calm and clinical analysis was beyond my capabilities. The music did display intensifying twists and turns and alluring melodic nuances, but the enduring memory is of the pure blood-rushing energy of the attack.

At last, Xul will be releasing a second album. Entitled What Lies Hidden…, it’s now scheduled for release on October 19th, and it’s our pleasure to present a full stream of this electrifying album today. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SINISTER DOWNFALL — “ASHES OF TIME”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Oct 152018
 

 

It will become immediately apparent, through the song we’re about to premiere, that the shadowed ranks of funeral doom practitioners spread across the globe must make way for another band in their vanguard. The band is Sinister Downfall, the work of a single individual who in this debut album has already demonstrated an impressive mastery of these very dark arts.

The name of this beautifully crafted album is Eremozoic, and it is the first release by a promising new Armenian doom label called Funere, though it will also be jointly released by the more venerable Japanese label Weird Truth Productions. And in advance of that November 28 release, the song we bring you today is “Ashes of Time“. Continue reading »

DEATH RITUALS: NEW MUSIC FROM SVARTIDAUÐI, WINGS OF DAHAK, BLASPHEMER, ROTTEN EVISCERATION, CURSUS BELLUM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Oct 152018
 

 

I’m in catch-up mode on songs that debuted last week. At first I thought I would include the new Soilwork and Gorod songs in this collection, along with a few others from what I’d call similarly higher-profile bands, but then last night I hit this stretch of four songs in a row that seemed to hang together so damned well that I jettisoned those earlier plans. All four have slaughtering death metal at the core, hence the title of this post, but you’ll notice significant differences among them as well.

And then, the first thing I saw this morning were messages from multiple friends on Facebook pointing me to a new Svartidauði song, which was such a welcome surprise that I hurriedly inserted it at the top before getting to the four I chose last night. No need to change the post title.

SVARTIDAUÐI

Yes indeed, the Icelandic band Svartidauði, whom I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing live both in Reykjavík and here in the U.S., have a new album coming our way. Entitled Revelations of the Red Sword, it will be released by Ván Records on December 3rd, six years to the day after the advent of their debut album Flesh Cathedral. This morning, along with that announcement, the band provided a stream of a new song called “Burning Worlds of Excrement” — which could double as a headline for the daily news. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries