AN NCS PREMIERE: XUL — “BLACK OAK HEART”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 242018
 

 

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 the album’s second advance track, “Black Oak Heart“. Take some deep breaths before you listen — these guys haven’t calmed down in the intervening years since their last release. Continue reading »

ANAAL NATHRAKH: “A NEW KIND OF HORROR”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Sep 242018
 

 

(This is DGR’s typically detailed review of the new tenth album by Anaal Nathrakh, which will be released by Metal Blade on September 28th.)

It’s pretty safe to say at this point in the career of Anaal Nathrakh that the group have developed a steady formula and groove that is instantly recognizable as their music whenever you hear it, making them one of the easiest groups in the world to pick out of a playlist. You could even say that they really established that sound about four albums ago and since then have been slowly iterating upon it, offering up interesting new twists and deviations, but preserving the overall hallmark of “everything at once, at 110% volume, and as fast as we can make it go”.

As far as the group’s newest album, A New Kind of Horror, is concerned, absolutely nothing on that front has changed. In fact, it may be the most recognizably Anaal Nathrakh disc to date, and that comes after the paint-peeling, screeching madness that was The Whole Of The Law and the bruiser that was Desideratum as the most immediate examples. On the other hand, at this point, with the band having explored so many different avenues for extremity and having cranked up every single element of their sound to the maximum (including electronics, as evidenced on Desideratum), we find A New Kind of Horror in an interesting place — because it is an album that very much pushes against the boundaries of what defines an Anaal Nathrakh disc, more so than its predecessors.

And so half the interest in the tale of A New Kind of Horror lies in just how the group have chosen to differentiate it from its predecessors, and how they’ve done that while keeping up the absolutely relentless clip that they’ve had before. Continue reading »

MIND-BENDERS: NEW MUSIC FROM GERYON, ONTOGENY, AND CAGED BASTARD

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Sep 242018
 

 

I returned from a three-day vacation in Eastern Washington’s wine country last night. For three days I listened to no new music of any kind, other than a few songs from a gypsy rock band named Diego’s Umbrella because that’s what one fascinating young winemaker started streaming when I asked him what music he would pick to go along with the art on his label and the fabulous Portuguese red wine in his bottles. When I returned to metal for a couple of hours last night, I experienced an episode of synchronicity (or serendipity — I’m never quite sure how those words differ from each other and am too lazy to look up the definitions).

I don’t mean to suggest that the following three selections of music sound alike (they really don’t). But they nevertheless sounded to me as if they belonged together, in part because they’re unconventional, in part because they reveal technical adroitness harnessed to creative adventurousness, and in part because they tend to twist your thought patterns into different shapes while also triggering more primitive responses.

GERYON

Before Geryon, before Krallice, before Nicholas McMaster and Lev Weinstein moved to New York from Chicago, there was Astomatous. That was the band that these two talented folks used as a vehicle for their creative impulses before moving on to other projects (including the two mentioned in the previous sentence). Astomatous released one album in 2006 (The Beauty of Reason), and they had developed material for a second one, but never brought it to fruition. However, they decided to use some of that material as the basis for a new Geryon EP (Astomatous), which they released through Bandcamp not long ago, without advance fanfare. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (HGD EDITION): BÂ’A, CULT OF EIBON, CAEDES CRUENTA, ISKANDR, RODENT EPOCH, SORCIER DES GLACES

 SHADES OF BLACK  1 Response »
Sep 232018
 

 

(While our editor is on vacation this weekend, our ally HGD has generously stepped into the void and gathered the following collection of new black metal to recommend to you.)

Bâ’a

The best part of putting together a collection like this one is being able to discover hidden diamonds in the rough, especially those that appear out of the blue with little warning. The atmospheric black metal band Bâ’a is a prime example of this.

The scant details provided to Black Metal Promotion as a part of the upload of their single “Les Terres de Terreur“, seems to indicate that they hail from France, but there is no information about their membership. The band appears disinclined towards the use of social media as well, with no presence on Facebook or Bandcamp, seemingly preferring to let their music speak for them. After listening to this track, it’s not hard to see why. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: “HADAL MAW”

 WAXING LYRICAL  1 Response »
Sep 222018
 

 

(This week the Australian band Hadal Maw answers Andy Synn‘s questions about lyrics.)

How is everyone enjoying the “Waxing Lyrical” series so far? Hopefully you’re all finding it as interesting and enlightening as I am, and hopefully you’re all still curious as to which artists I might have lined up for future editions.

Today we’re lucky to be receiving a message all the way from Down Under, as Sam Dillon, vocalist/lyricist of Technical Groove titans Hadal Maw, joins us with some intriguing thoughts about his tenure with the band, and what their music, and lyrics, mean to him.. Continue reading »

BEHEMOTH: “I LOVED YOU AT YOUR DARKEST”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Sep 212018
 

 

(Andy Synn provides these early and unfiltered impressions of the new album from Behemoth, which will be released by Nuclear Blast on October 5th.)

Over the years I’ve discovered that the term “too big to fail” is one that doesn’t just apply to the banking industry, it can also refer to certain bands who, for various reasons, have reached a certain level of fame and success which makes them essentially “immune” to criticism – no matter what they do, enough of their fans will buy whatever they put out, shout down any disapproving comments, and make excuses for their actions, to guarantee they stay on top.

This isn’t helped by the fact that certain publications, both physical and digital, tend to reserve their big scores for the big names, and lavish the most coverage on the bands with the most exposure.

Essentially, once you’ve reached this level, your success becomes something of a self-perpetuating cycle (as long as you don’t %$&! it up).

Now, like it or not, I’m sure very few people would disagree that Behemoth have long-since passed this point (most likely with the massive success of Evangelion, though I’m sure there are those who would argue that this happened even earlier), and that the release of the career-defining The Satanist simply helped cement their status as one of the Metal scene’s biggest names.

The main question which needs answering now, therefore, is… does their latest effort actually deserve to be praised entirely on its own merits, or is it likely to be one of those albums celebrated more for who it is, rather than what it actually sounds like? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: DEIPHAGO, PHRENELITH, DEFY THE CURSE, ULTHA, LASCAR

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Sep 212018
 

 

This has been another banner week for new metal, and fortunately I’ve had enough time to compile one more round-up to follow the one from two days ago. Of course, even the combination of the two doesn’t provide a comprehensive display of everything I’ve been enjoying this week. As usual, the choices I’ve made were impulsive, though I also made the usual effort to include variety in today’s post.

I also hope this late-week collection will make up for the fact that I won’t be writing anything for NCS this weekend because I’ll be traveling on a short vacation. However, we should still have a Waxing Lyrical column from Andy tomorrow, and our ally HGD has stepped up to do Sunday’s Shades of Black feature (I’ve seen his selections, and they’re good ones). I’ll be back in the NCS harness on Monday.

DEIPHAGO

Deiphago describe their music as “Experimental Hyper-speed Satanic Bestial Metal” — and every word of that is true, perhaps never more so than on the track I’ve chosen to begin today’s collection. It simply doesn’t sound like anything else you’re likely to find in the realms of black metal or black/death. It challenges convention, it viciously shoves us out of our musical comfort zones, it’s likely to leave you bewildered and bedazzled (or at least severely unbalanced). Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ETERNAL SOLSTICE

 Interviews  1 Response »
Sep 212018
 

 

(Our constant ally Comrade Aleks today brings us this interview with Ramon Soeterbroek, the guitarist/vocalist of the Dutch death metal band Eternal Solstice, which still lives after almost 30 years — and has a new EP headed our way.)

Formed in 1989 in Bodegraven, South Holland, Eternal Solstice spent about eight years spreading down-tuned and sinister death metal. In sequence they released the albums The Wish Is Father To The Thought (1994), Horrible Within (1995), and Demonic Fertilizer (1997). Eternal Solstice was disbanded after the last of these releases, and who could predict that thirteen years later the outfit would be returning to life in order to continue their dark crusade?

I contacted Ramon Soeterbroek, the band’s original guitarist and vocalist, in order to clarify the facts concerning Eternal Solstice‘s career and suddenly found out that they have brand new EP, Inner Sadist, almost in their hands. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MUTILATED BY ZOMBIES — “CRIPPLING DESPAIR”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 202018
 

 

Based on the music in the song you’re about to hear — “Crippling Despair” — its title could be thought to have a dual meaning. Most obviously, it connotes paralyzing emotional devastation. But the track itself is crippling in another way — relentlessly heavy, mercilessly punishing, and remorselessly cruel.

Not for naught does Redefining Darkness Records drop references to early Cryptopsy, Monstrosity, Dying Fetus, and Deicide in describing the sounds of Mutilated By Zombies, a three-piece juggernaut from Iowa whose new album Scripts of Anguish the label will be releasing on October 5th. The music is undeniably vicious, and rhythmically compelling, and a throwback to a certain distinctively American style of old school death metal. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SOLIUM FATALIS — “SERVILE”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Sep 202018
 

 

Genetically Engineered to Enslave is the new (fourth) album by New Hampshire’s Solium Fatalis, and it’s set for release on October 13th. It includes guest vocals by Matt McGachy (Cryptopsy) and Haydee Irizarry (Carnivora) on one track as well as a guest guitar solo by Phil Tougas (First Fragment, Chthe’ilist) on another. And it’s conceptually devoted to the subjects of genetic engineering and artificial intelligence.

And with those intriguing details out of the way, let’s turn to the explosive new song we’re presenting today — which is a non-stop ticket straight to headbang city. But for such a relentlessly ferocious, neck-wrecking song, “Servile” also succeeds in generating a multi-textured atmosphere that’s terroristic, arcane, and haunting. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries