AN NCS PREMIERE: KÅABALH – “THE COMPLETE DARKNESS”

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Oct 122018
 

 

Following the dissolution of the French death metal band Torture Throne in the spring of 2016, former members of the band went on to form a monstrous new entity named Kåabalh, and on October 26th Dolorem Records will release their self-titled debut album. What we have for you today are the hideous sounds of “The Complete Darkness“, the album’s fourth track out of six.

This new song is a massively heavy and deeply malignant bone-breaker, a lurching, heaving death metal beast that radiates inhuman malice and the stench of decaying flesh. All human warmth has been banished; the horrors of death have been embraced. Continue reading »

A TALE OF TWO ALBUMS: REVOCATION AND ARSIS

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Oct 122018
 

 

(In this post Andy Synn reviews both The Outer Ones, the new album by Revocation (released by Metal Blade on September 28th), and Visitant, the new album by Arsis (which will be released on November 2nd by Nuclear Blast and Agonia Records).)

It doesn’t take a genius to identify the multiple similarities between the career progression(s) of Arsis and Revocation.

Both bands have become pretty big names in (and around) the Tech Death sphere, both bands are fronted by an impressively talented vocalist/guitarist (James Malone and David Davidson, respectively), and both bands have a rather notable ’80s Metal obsession bubbling away under the surface (stadium-sized Hair Metal in the case of the former, classic Thrash for the latter).

But the similarities don’t end there.

Not only are both bands pretty cover-happy (Revocation have, to date, released covers of Exhorder, Death, Metallica, Morbid Angel, and Slayer, while Arsis have pursued a slightly more eclectic path, covering tracks from Alice Cooper, Depeche Mode, and Corey Hart… as well as a mooted King Diamond cover which, for some reason, never saw the light of day), but both groups also participated in the Scion A/V EP programme in 2012, leading to the creation of the Leper’s Caress and Teratogenesis EPs.

And, even more recently, both bands have just produced (or are about to produce) brand new albums which are amongst the heaviest, and most Death Metal focussed, of their careers. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ADVERSO — “EX INANIS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  6 Responses »
Oct 112018
 

 

Black metal isn’t a linear axis, with more of “this” on one end and more of “that” on the other, or a spectrum whose shades move smoothly through varying degrees of deepening darkness. Perhaps a better analogy would be a constellation of moons in differing elliptical orbits around a hostile, burning planet with chaos at its core.

Adverso’s new demo, Ex Inanis, tends to provoke such cosmic comparisons. Unmistakably, there is chaos at its core, and in its own orbit it travels in a ranging course toward ever-freezing reaches of isolation and hope-extinction but also looping inward toward the heart of its energy, crossing into dimensions where flames of dangerous glory heat it to a vibrant shine. But it might just as easily be taken as a merciless mirror to the inner turmoil, torment, and aspirations of a single soul. Continue reading »

SARGEIST: “UNBOUND”

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Oct 112018
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the brilliant new album by the Finnish black metal band Sargeist, just released by W.T.C. Productions.)

Surprise releases seem to be all the rage these days and, wouldn’t you know it, Finnish Black Metal beasts Sargeist seem to have decided that they want a piece of that action too, so they dropped their long-awaited fifth album via the WTC Bandcamp page late last night.

So I thought that, much as I did with the new Behemoth album (a record whose overall status and impact I’m still pondering), it might be fun to address the release of Unbound with an extra degree of spontaneity by basing this write-up on my early impressions of the album, going track-by-track, now that I’ve had a few chances to listen to it in its entirety. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HUMANITY ZERO — “RULER OF THE ULTIMATE VOID OF CHAOS”

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Oct 112018
 

 

Originally the solo project of musician Dimon’s Night, the Greek band Humanity Zero produced six releases from 2008 through 2014 — roughly one per year. More time than that passed before the band released its Withered In Isolation album in 2017, and that stretch of years brought about not only changes in line-up but also significant changes in sound. Where previous recordings embraced death metal in the vein of such bands as Death, Hypocrisy, Unleashed, Nile, and Immolation, Withered In Isolation took a turn in a more doom-dominated and atmospheric direction, as reflected in a song we premiered last year, which included grieving guitar melodies and the soulful lament of a violin.

The band have quickly followed last year’s album with a new one that will hit the streets on October 26th. Entitled Proselytism, it again reflects a change in line-up — Dimon’s Night has now taken over all the instruments, and he’s joined here by new vocalist/lyricist Kydoimos (Misanthropy Apotheosis) — as well as a further evolution of sound, presenting music that (in the words of the labels handling the release) “is slower, deeper and haunting yet more atmospheric and punishing than any other Humanity Zero release”. Continue reading »

EVOKEN: “HYPNAGOGIA”

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Oct 112018
 

 

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Evoken, which will be released by Profound Lore on November 9th.)

Funeral doom might be my favorite subgenre of metal, with depressive black metal not far behind. It invokes deeper emotional layers and creates powerful sonic places than doom bands content with just worshipping Black Sabbath. Jersey doom band Evoken might be America’s best when it comes not only to funeral doom, but to doom as a whole.

On their new album Hypnagogia they pick up where they left off with Atra Mors. There are a few changes, such as synths being more prevalent in the mix, which creates thicker atmosphere. Mood-wise the album is dark yet not as filled with despair as the previous album. Lyrically, it uses World War I as a metaphor regarding more personal topics. This is done without the need to maintain some contrived narrative that concept albums tend to have. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): RODENT EPOCH — “RODENTLORD”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Oct 102018
 

 

The advance press for Rodent Epoch’s debut album, which emphasizes “the filth and fury for which Finnish black metal has become renowned”, its “crude ‘n’ rude aesthetic”, and its “rockin’ thrust”, is accurate as far as it goes, but in my humble opinion those evocative phrases really don’t do Rodentlord justice. The music certainly reaches cathartic heights of punk-fueled snarling, savage lust, and devilish depravity, and there’s a blasphemous, fuck-the-world sensibility to the lyrics, but there’s a lot more going on here, too.

Of course, you won’t have to take my word for it, since what we’re bringing you today is a full stream of the album in advance of its October 12 premiere by Saturnal Records, but I’ll nevertheless attempt to explain why the album amounts to so much more than raucous deviancy and carnal lust. Continue reading »

SEPREVATION: “INTO THE BLACK”

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Oct 102018
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new EP by the English death metal band Seprevation, which was released on September 9th.)

The last time we checked in on Bristolian Death/Thrash droogs Seprevation was… just over a year ago, when they released their Echoes of Mercy EP (and you can read all about that here).

Luckily they haven’t been resting on their laurels in the intervening time, and have not only been gigging their collective arses off, up and down the country, but have also spent some time putting together this brand new collection of sonic savagery which I’m pleased to be able to draw your attention to today. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: FROM THE VASTLAND — “AGAS”

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Oct 102018
 

 

Working alone (or mostly so), Sina began writing and recording black metal in Iran many years ago under the name From the Vastland, indulging his love of old school Scandinavian black metal in a place where the performance of such music was banned by the government. From the beginning, he has made the culture of his homeland a part of his creations, writing lyrical themes that draw upon ancient Persian mythology and history — epic tales of battles between darkness and light, good and evil, gods and devils — and weaving touches of Persian melody into the fabric of his songs.

Life for Sina took an unexpected turn when he was contacted by the Norwegian producer of the black metal documentary Blackhearts (eventually released in 2017) and became a part of that film, which in turn led to the opportunity in 2013 to perform at the Inferno Festival in Oslo, thanks in part to the work of a foundation established by Indie Recordings aimed at supporting bands who had spread their music in defiance of governmental oppression. There he was joined for the performance by a backing band that included such luminaries as bassist Tjalve (Horizon Ablaze, ex-Den Saakaldte, ex-1349), guitarist Destructhor (Myrkskog, Zyklon, ex-Morbid Angel), and drummer Vyl (Keep of Kalessin, Gorgoroth-live). And that in turn led to the opportunity for Sina to move to Norway, which he did in 2014.

From his new home in the cradle of black metal, Sina has continued to record and to perform at both Norwegian events and international festivals. His newest album, Daevayasna, will be jointly released on October 25th by Satanath Records (Russia) and The Eastern Front (Israel) — and today we present one of the new album tracks, entitled “Agas“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): PA VESH EN — “CHURCH OF BONES”

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Oct 092018
 

 

Many of the more adventurous and steel-nerved among you will have already discovered the terrible wonders to be found in the music of Pa Vesh En. After all, in 2018 alone this remarkable black metal project from Belarus has already released through Iron Bonehead Productions the Dead Womb demo, a two-song 7″ named A Ghost, and a split album with Temple Moon. But all of those recordings were preludes to what you’re about to hear, a debut album named Church of Bones that Iron Bonehead will release on October 12th.

As the album’s title might suggest, these seven tracks sound as if they were recorded in a vast sepulcher far beneath the surface of the earth, all the shuddering and shattering tonalities drenched in reverb, the music profoundly haunting and deeply oppressive in the weight of the desolation it conveys. The album is sweeping in the scale of its apocalyptic grief and shattering in the intensity of the pain it channels into sound — an expression of emotional collapse that’s so profound it begins to seem majestic, an intense and immersive experience so all-consuming that it swallows up the listener, as if engulfed by the maw of a leviathan. Continue reading »

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