OMNIUM GATHERUM : “THE BURNING COLD”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Aug 062018
 

 

(We present Andy Synn’s review of the new album by Finland’s Omnium Gatherum, which will be released by Century Media on August 31st.)

Before I kick this review into high-gear, I want to clear something up once and for all… despite sharing some superficial similarities (and, these days, a guitarist), Omnium Gatherum and Insomnium really don’t sound all that much alike, and it would take a truly committed contrarian to suggest otherwise at this point.

Truth be told, regardless of whether you think they ever even sounded all that much alike in the first place, the differences between the two bands have only become more pronounced over the years, as while the latter have spent their time pursuing a moodier, more melancholy sound, the shameless synths ‘n’ solos approach favoured by the OG crew has taken them in a markedly different direction, to the point where their highly anticipated eighth album finds the Finnish sextet now occupying the same sort of highly energetic, audaciously anthemic, niche once inhabited by In Flames in their prime. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (BY DGR): BEHEMOTH, CAST THE STONE, SOREPTION, ABORTED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Aug 062018
 

 

(DGR steps in for round-up duty to begin our posts for this new week.)

In case you missed it, one of the recurring themes around the NCS corner of the interwebs is that if the Comments section doesn’t come for us, then it’s the day job that will. Such was the case this weekend when our esteemed editor (who is likely back home by now) found himself on the self-described whirlwind trip to New Mexico for a few days. As will inevitably happen, of course, that means there is going to be a massive blast of new music that we’ll likely catch a good amount of, but not all of, and so those of us who are able to will step into the role of news person.

And so the metal sphere gathered up four very big names and decided that this weekend would be a fucking fantastic time to jam out a whole bunch of news and try to catch us off-guard. Well not us, I say… at least we’ll get to it on Monday maybe. So I’ve gathered up the aforementioned four very large news stories from bands with albums upcoming (one of which actually came out last Friday!) for you folks to start the week off with, all in one handy post that… as is standard…is pretty fucking heavy on the death metal. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: HELRUNAR , A FOREST OF STARS, LUCIFERICON, SARKRISTA

 SHADES OF BLACK  2 Responses »
Aug 052018
 

 

My whirlwind trip to New Mexico is about to end, with a pair of long flights that will get me back to Seattle looming ahead today. I found a little time last night and this morning to sample some of the new black and blackened metal that has surfaced in recent days, and picked three new tracks to recommend. All of them are from forthcoming albums I’ve been eagerly awaiting. And at the last minute, I added an EP originally released in May, but more recently made available on Bandcamp.

HELRUNAR

Vanitas Vanitatvm is the name of the new album by the German band Helrunar. September 28th is the date selected by Prophecy Productions for its release, roughly three and a half years following the  excellent Niederkunfft.

Stylistically, frontman M.D. places it between Niederkunfft and that album’s predecessor,  the massive Sól. He says: “The songs are more compact and mature, also mostly faster, and again, more black metal. Apart from that, there have been influences you might call nostalgic.” Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: INGURGITATING OBLIVION

 Interviews, WAXING LYRICAL  1 Response »
Aug 042018
 

 

(In this Saturday’s edition of WAXING LYRICAL Andy Synn posed the usual questions to Florian Engelke of the German band Ingurgitating Oblivion.)

Germany’s Ingurgitating Oblivion have been making dark, dissonant waves in the European Death Metal scene (and beyond) for a number of years now, with last year’s Vision Wallows in Symphonies of Light not only majorly increasing the band’s worldwide fame and notoriety, but also expanding their sound in ever more complex and progressive ways.

If you’re unfamiliar with the group and their work, then this edition of The Synn Report should make for a good primer, or you can just dive straight in with the following interview with the band’s guitarist and primary lyricist Florian Engelke! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): STELLAR DESCENT — “THE FUTURE IS DARK” (AN EXCERPT)

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Aug 032018
 

 

Stellar Descent’s first three albums ranged in length from 48 minutes to two hours. Each of them was a single track. So is their fourth album, The Future Is Dark, a single track of 46 minutes, the very definition of “long-form black metal”. For some who haven’t encountered this duo’s music before, that might be an imposing barrier to entry. I’ll try to explain why the time shouldn’t be considered a barrier at, but a key factor in the album’s considerable appeal.

The reasons why all those uninterrupted minutes should be welcomed, at least by those with a certain turn of mind, are necessarily explanations that can’t be validated by a mere five-and-a-half minute excerpt, but that’s what we have for you now. It’s at least a strong opening statement, if not nearly the whole case. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: WOLFHEART, HIGHRIDER, HYPERDONTIA, EADEM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Aug 032018
 

 

We probably won’t have as many posts at NCS today as we usually do. I’m on my way to Sea-Tac airport for a flight to a top-secret location in New Mexico where I’ll be engaged in various nefarious activities until Sunday night. I have an even longer trip next Tuesday that will take me away for that entire week, and posts will be scanty then as well.

I know we will have a very enticing premiere today, because I’ve already written it, and beyond that we might not have anything else. But before I zoom off into the clouds I thought I’d share a new video, two new songs, and a new item.

WOLFHEART

The news item makes those of us at our putrid site happy and hungry even though there’s no music to share yet: Finland’s Wolfheart will be returning with a fourth album on September 28 via Napalm Records. Its name is Constellation Of The Black Light. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SUBTYPE ZERO — “BECOME INSANE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 022018
 

 

Insanity has different root causes, durations, and effects. For example, there’s the chilling insanity that leads to serial killing, the mania that comes over some people who’ve just been cut off by some motherfucker swerving into their lane on the freeway, and the kind of madness that led to the invention of calculus. There’s also the quite invigorating temporary insanity produced by a blaze of metal capable of setting fire to a mosh pit. And that’s what we have for you here.

“Become Insane” could be a command (which in this case would be difficult to resist) or a description of what will happen to you if you listen to this song (predictably accurate if you’re a lover of punk-fueled thrash). Either way (or both), it’s a fitting title for this track by Ohio’s Subtype Zero, which comes off their debut album The Astral Awakening, which will be released on August 24th by Seeing Red Records. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: ÂME NOIRE – “THE TREE THAT BEARS ROTTEN FRUIT”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Aug 022018
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new EP by Âme Noire from Melbourne, Australia, which was released on July 13th.)

Amidst all the (well-deserved) hype for the soon-to-be-released new EP from Australian death-dealers Hadal Maw (officially released tomorrow, but available to hear in full right here, right now), there’s a good chance that many of you might have overlooked the fact that there’s also another band of down-under denizens – Melbourne-based quintet Âme Noire — with a shiny new EP to promote, and I feel like it’s my responsibility to try and make sure that it doesn’t get completely overlooked or overshadowed by its more famous sibling. Continue reading »

QUICK HITS: BEYOND CREATION AND BLOOD OF SERPENTS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Aug 022018
 

 

Good morning ladies and germs. Or good afternoon. Or goodnight. Time zones are hobgoblins. Anyway, wherever and whenever you are, I have a couple of new songs to recommend. Not more than a couple because time is a hobgoblin, just like time zones. If I can tame it temporarily, I might have a couple more songs to foist upon you later today after I get some other things finished that I also hope you’ll enjoy.

BEYOND CREATION

Yesterday brought the unalloyed joy of a new Beyond Creation song. If you’re a follower of the band’s music, you’ll have a good idea what you’ll get — which is a whole lot of pulse-pushing, eye-popping fun. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): MONGREL’S CROSS — “PSALTER OF THE ROYAL DRAGON COURT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  4 Responses »
Aug 012018
 

 

The eye-catching cover art for Psalter of the Royal Dragon Court provides immediate clues to the music of Mongrel’s Cross, as captured in this, their second album. It’s ravaging and regal, sinister and searing, warlike and overflowing with a kind of mythic grandeur. It’s the sound of saga, with an aura of larger-than-life fantasy surrounding all of its movements. And it’s almost relentlessly explosive, blazing like a comet in the heavens, or like the fireballs erupting from that clash of titans on the cover.

And unless you think I’ve gotten too carried away, and gone too over-the-top in my reactions to this thoroughly over-the-top music, just listen for yourselves — which you’ll be able to do right now, as we premiere the entire album in advance of its release by Hells Headbangers on August 3rd. Continue reading »

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