NO CLEAN SINGING

SEEN AND HEARD: ASEITAS, GHOLD, LUSTRE, NEKRASOV, DSKNT, HVILE I KAOS

Oct 042017

For various reasons I fell a couple of days behind in scouring the web and our in-box for new music that might be worth hearing. Last night I made an effort to catch up on what I’d missed the last two days. I created a list of links to the song streams that I found, which I thought would be worth checking out. There were more than 30 streams on my list by the time I stopped looking. That’s on top of the dozens that I haven’t yet heard from other recent lists.

This isn’t an uncommon experience. It’s for this very reason that posts like this one are tagged “Random Fucking Music” — because there’s just no methodical or thorough way to keep abreast of everything. And there’s an unavoidable element of randomness in deciding what to check out.

Last night I made my way through about 10 of the tracks on the list, and picked the ones you see here to recommend. That selection, however, isn’t random. I picked these streams because I thought they were very good, and to provide a bit of variety. (I’ve also included one news item near the middle.)

ASEITAS

If you’re not already sitting down you probably should before you listen to this first song, because it has the kind of pulverizing punch and drive that can make one wobbly in the knees. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SEER — VOL. 5

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET 1 Response »

Oct 042017

Only three months ago Vancouver-based Seer released their first album, Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void, from which we premiered two of its tracks. And thus it will undoubtedly come as a surprise to their fans that today, with no advance fanfare, they are releasing a further chapter in their evolving musical narrative, a new EP named Vol. 5. To help spread the word, we present a complete stream of the EP in this post. To introduce the music, we begin with this statement provided on behalf of the band:

“Despite releasing a full length record just this past July, Vol. 5 is the most accurate depiction of Seer as they exist today. The EP showcases Seer’s extreme metal influences more prominently than any other release in their discography. Recorded on the largely undeveloped Gabriola Island by Jordan Koop (Ahna, Wolf Party) and mastered by Arthur Rizk (Inquisition, Power Trip), the process has been the most organic and proved most fruitful of any of Seer’s recording sessions.

“Track 2 and 3 comprise the bulk of the EP, with track 1 and 4 acting as intro and outro respectively. Track 2 is an apocalyptic funeral dirge featuring more twists, turns, and layers than one might expect from sprawling, “big riff” songs of this nature. Track 3 is a more straight forward rock and roll tune with heavy emphasis on occult-rock guitar leads and astute interplay between harsh and clean vocals.” Continue reading »

TERATISM: THE SECOND DEATH DRAWS NEAR

Metal News 2 Responses »

Oct 042017

I’m going to begin this revelation of news by quoting from something that Krieg’s Neill Jameson wrote about Teratism here at our site in April of this year:

“So many new bands are getting smoke blown up their ass because they use a dark occult look, mostly achieved with witch hats and an outfit that sort of looks like the KKK but that’s ok because they sing in Sanskrit. You’d think a band like Teratism, who have been around for quite some time, would be at the top of the heap of popularity but that would mean you’d also believe that most people prefer substance over style.

“Teratism are a uniquely dark band, thinking-man’s black metal, who create an encapsulating atmosphere live but one where the visuals, while obviously important, are only a method of adding to the experience.

“Fans of Inquisition and Nightbringer should take note. Hopefully there will be a release of a full-length that has been in the works for a while.”

Well, take a wild guess about the news from Teratism that I’m about to share with you, and everyone else.

This is it: We are authorized to report that Teratism is nearing completion of its fifth studio full-length offering, The Second Death. As you can see, we have obtained the striking cover art, and we have learned these additional details from the band: Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CRACKHOUSE — “BE NO ONE, BE NOTHING”

Album Reviews, Premieres 3 Responses »

Oct 042017

When you see a band name like Crackhouse and an album title like Be No One, Be Nothing, you don’t expect uplifting music. And in fact, this French trio traffic in the bleak reverberations of sludge and doom, amalgamated with body-moving riffs that provide a link to stoner metal. But such genre references, while useful, don’t fully prepare you for what Crackhouse have accomplished on this, their debut album. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the stunning intensity and wholly devouring experience that the music presents when I first listened to it.

On the surface, Be No One, Be Nothing can be intimidating. The idea of an album that’s more than 50 minutes long but is divided among only three songs that range in length from more than 11 minutes to more than 22 would cause many people to take a very deep breath. It might deter some people from giving the album an opportunity to join their rotations. I hope that doesn’t happen, because the record really is remarkable — and you’ll have a chance to discover that for yourselves through our premiere of a full stream today before its October 6 release by Argonauta Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ANTIVERSUM — “COSMOS COMEDENTI”

Premieres No Responses »

Oct 032017

Two and a half years ago we premiered Total Vacuum, the debut demo by the Swiss band Antiversum shortly before its release by Invictus Productions. As we wrote then: “Whether crawling through a frigid pit of doom or spooling up to a blasting maelstrom, Total Vacuum has the capacity to engulf your mind — and bite down on it hard. It’s a potent, atmospheric offering of alien black/death that’s cold, hostile, and thoroughly gripping.”

The demo was so strong in so many ways that we have been eager for a further Antiversum release, and now the wish has been granted. On October 20th Invictus will release the band’s first full album, Cosmos Comedenti, and we have the pleasure of presenting the album’s title track. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GNAW — “RAT”

Premieres No Responses »

Oct 032017

After the dissolution of Khanate, Alan Dubin went on to form Brooklyn-based GNAW, whose line-up includes Brian Beatrice, Carter Thornton (Enos Slaughter), Eric Neuser, Jun Mizumachi (Ike Yard), and now Dana Schechter (Insect Ark, ex-Angels Of Light) on lap steel guitar. With two albums behind them — This Face (2009) and Horrible Chamber (2013) — GNAW’s third full-length Cutting Pieces is now poised for release by Translation Loss on October 27th.

“Poised” is actually not the right word. It would be more accurate to say that the album is coiled back on its haunches, like some giant demon rat, twitching and about to lunge at our heads. “Rat“, in fact, happens to be the name of the album’s opening track, and the song that will be lunging at you at the end of this post. Continue reading »

CELESTE: “INFIDÈLE(S)”

Album Reviews No Responses »

Oct 032017

(This is Andy Synn’s review of the new album by the French black metal band Celeste. The album was released on September 29 by Denovali Records.)

Whenever I write about an album I make a real effort to try and give it some sort of theme beyond the generic “this track is good, this track is fast, this track is slow” boilerplate which seems to make up so many of the homogenous and interchangeable reviews I read elsewhere.

For me it’s all about placing an album in context. Whether it’s talking about where an album sits in a band’s discography, how it compares to the rest of its genre, or the impact that line-up changes may (or may not) have had upon the writing, there are always ways to make a review more interesting to read (and to write).

Heck, in recent months I’ve used reviews to ruminate on the issue of “selling out” and the perception of Black Metal as a singular “monolith”, to ask questions about what it is that makes a band good/bad, and to rail against people who claim that there’s “just no good new music anymore.”

But even I’ll admit that sometimes it’s enough to just say “this album kicks ass” and leave it at that. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: GUERRA TOTAL (GERSON TORO)

Interviews No Responses »

Oct 032017

(Karina Noctum brings us this interview with Gerson “Demonslaught” Toro of the veteran Colombian black metal band Guerra Total, whose latest album Nihilistic Malthusian Manifesto (The Ouroboros Cosmic Indifferentism) was released early this year.)

Guerra Total means Total War in Spanish and it comes right from the country with the longest armed conflict in the world, Colombia. I decided it was time for me to interview a South American band because they do get limited publicity and deserve any kind of support one can give. Besides, I do know of many who appreciate the South American thrash sound and I think for many of them and all others who are into exploring new things it may be interesting to listen to some Blackened Thrash with a Colombian twist like the one Guerra Total offers.

When it comes to South America, Brazil is the country with the most successful, renowned metal bands. But for those who really like Brutal Death Metal, Colombia is the country to choose. The Brutal Death scene is kind of modern, taking into account that the country’s raw and violent metal sound can be traced back to the ’80s. Continue reading »

A MOMENT OF SILENCE

Mosh Pit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 6 Responses »

Oct 032017

Anyone who pays any attention knows this: Every day is filled with tragedy, somewhere. We go on here, as everyone else does, because what else are we to do?

I think at some genetically encoded level we know death as well as we know anything. We repress the experience, we fight it, but we know it in our marrow. And we go on with our lives anyway, even when death intrudes in some particularly horrific and incomprehensible way, because in an unthinking way we’re geared to survive.

Enjoyment of our survival is tinged with guilt on days like yesterday and today, as unreasoning as that is. Still, we forge on, because every living thing is driven to do so, even living things as self-destructive as we are, with our giant, toxic, and beautiful brains. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SACRILEGIOUS RITE — “NOCTURNAL BLOOD CONSECRATION”

Premieres No Responses »

Oct 022017

The discography of the German black metal band Sacrilegious Rite begins with the release of a 2011 split with Ungod, and another split four years later with Bestial Holocaust, followed by their own three-song demo, Black Curses of Death (2015) and a three-way split with Dethroned and Goatblood the following year. Yet the band’s origins can be traced further back in time, to a group named Captis Damnare that was spawned in the late ’90s; the dissolution of that band led to the birth of this one. And now at last they have recorded a debut album named Summoned From Beyond that will be released on November 13 by Dunkelheit Produktionen.

Two songs from the album have appeared already — “Sacrilegious Rite” and “Deathstalker“. We have a third one for you today, this one named “Nocturnal Blood Consecration“. Continue reading »

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