AN NCS PREMIERE: CHAOS — “INDOCTRINATION”

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May 162017
 

 

Now THAT is a hell of an album cover, a vivid and vicious visual imagining of the ideas that come to mind when you read the band’s name — Chaos — and the album’s title, All Against All. And as it turns out, that rendition of a mountainous horde of wolves turning on each other in a lethal frenzy is a fine match for the music as well.

All Against All is the second album by the Indian thrash band Chaos, which is set for release on June 15th. From that album we bring you the premiere of a track named “Indoctrination“, and it’s such a explosive adrenaline rush that unless you’ve recently fallen into a comatose state it will make you feel like you’ve suddenly materialized in the midst of that wolven wildness on the cover. Continue reading »

MOONLOOP: “DEVOCEAN”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
May 162017
 

 

(TheMadIsraeli wrote this review of the new album by the Spanish band Moonloop, released in March.)

Moonloop are one of those bands whose existence feels like a justification for the underground metal scene. I’m not talking about underground in the mainstream sense, of course — not the Suffocation’s or the Immolation’s of the world — but the really obscure “you have to be a sad sap who does nothing but scour the Internet for cool album art and weird-sounding band names to judge your listening off of” sort of underground.

We’ve sorta mentioned Moonloop on this site once or twice back in 2012 courtesy of posts Islander made, but we haven’t ever given these guys their due and just coverage, and their newest record Devocean, which came out back in March, is as good a place as any to start. Continue reading »

LOSS: “HORIZONLESS”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
May 162017
 

 

(Wil Cifer wrote this review of the new album by Loss, which will be released by Profound Lore on May 19.)

The Tennessee mongers of funereal doom have returned with a long-awaited album. This one has been years coming, and the growth made since their first album is evident. While some things have changed, the core of what you might have liked on Despond is present, but the production is much fuller and shows they have gone the extra mile to expand their sound.

I personally came across this band when they were opening for Agalloch and was struck by the clean guitar tone that uttered out such sad phrasing. Those sounds are intact but the tones sometimes shift into something heavier, yet they still retain the sonic properties. Continue reading »

LOATHFINDER: “THE GREAT TIRED ONES”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 152017
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the debut EP by the Polish band Loathfinder, released near the end of April by Godz Ov War Productions.)

Never underestimate the power of some eye-catching artwork… I mean, just look at that cover art… the rotten, roughly-sketched lines, the gritty, granular colour-scheme, the subtle suggestion of oozing, necrotic motion… how can you not want to find out more when confronted with an image like that? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ORIGIN, THE LURKING FEAR, SUFFOCATION, PATHOLOGY, BROKEN HOPE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
May 152017
 


Origin

 

(DGR steps in for round-up duty with a collection of deathly advance tracks from forthcoming albums that detonated late last week.)

2017 has been a year that has moved in fits and starts, with huge batches of releases and then a period of calm, then another huge batch and so on. It’s a different feeling from last year’s torrential flood, but it also means that promotional stuff moves in fits and starts as well — which is how we wound up with the back half of last week bringing one big release after another from some fairly recognizable names for those who love their death metal and high speed.

It was a pretty intense flood of death metal washing over the metal community, much of it coming from some fairly big names — a hefty collection of mainstays, old guard, and standard-bearers. We tried to collect some of them into our usual three-to-four part series of bands, but eventually it seemed like everyone wanted to get in on the game, and that’s why you have a SEEN AND HEARD headline with five recognizable names within it, all deploying material virtually at once. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ONRYŌ – “ONI”

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May 152017
 

 

Mūto is the name of the debut EP by an Italian deathgrind/mathcore band named Onryō. We are told that Mūto is a Latin word for mutation, a reference to change and transformation. Of the four tracks on the EP, “Oni” is the first one, and it’s the one we’re introducing today.

Onryō’s line-up includes drummer Giulio Galati from Hideous Divinity, and he makes his presence felt on “Oni”, but he’s not the only one who delivers the goods on this song. Continue reading »

BLOG BREAK (AGAIN)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
May 142017
 

 

It looks like that building went volcanic, doesn’t it? It’s actually just an interesting effect of the setting sun on a strange cloud formation, viewed from a sidewalk in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last night, which is where I’ve been since Friday.

Like last weekend, I’ve set blogging aside for this weekend because of another mini-vacation with my spouse. Today we’re driving to Roswell to visit a relative. I don’t expect to see UFOs or experience probing of orifices by alien visitors, but it is Roswell, so who knows? Continue reading »

CONCERT REVIEW: WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM AND WIEGEDOOD — LIVE IN BOLOGNA, ITALY (MAY 4, 2017)

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May 122017
 

 

(Music journalist Konstantin, who in past years has written for Serbia’s Nocturne Music Magazine, and who brought us a 2-part interview earlier this week, now provides these impressions of the recent performance by Wolves In the Throne Room and Wiegedood in Bologna, Italy, as part of the bands’ Beltrane 2017 European Tour.)

It was more than six years since the last Wolves in the Throne Room concert in Italy when the band announced their long-awaited European tour. The last couple of years saw brothers Nathan and Aaron Weaver focusing on things outside their music and releasing only one instrumental/ambient album, so the return to Europe was highly anticipated.

The tour quickly gained attention, resulting in several dates being sold out, as was the case with the gig in Bologna on the 4th of May. After an outstanding performance at Roadburn Festival, dates around Europe followed, so the concert in Bologna was one of the last on this tour. As was the case with previous concerts, support came from Wiegedood, a Belgian band who share members with  Oathbreaker and AmenRa. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): AMIENSUS — “ALL PATHS LEAD TO DEATH”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
May 122017
 

 

Last fall, Minnesota’s Amiensus signed with Apathia Records for the release of a new EP this spring, and the release of that EP is now fast approaching. Its name is All Paths Lead To Death, and the release date is May 19th. We’ve previously written about the first two singles from the EP, and now we’ve got the good fortune to bring you a stream of the EP in its entirety.

We’re told by the band that “the concept of the album revolves around Hell and different depictions as well”, which ties to the John Martin artwork used on the cover, depicting Satan reigning on his throne in the hall of the Pandæmonium. And the music ties to that concept as well. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GODHUNTER — “COCAINE WITCHES & LYSERGIC DREAMS”

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May 122017
 

 

A couple of years ago we premiered a Godhunter track from Endsville, their merciless but moving split with Destroyer of Light. After the release of that split, there were a few departures from the band’s line-up, but the remaining members — guitarist/vocalist David Rodgers, drummer Andy Kratzenberg, and keyboardist Matthew Davis — began working on new material, and the ultimate result is a new EP named Codex Narco now set for release on May 19th, which includes contributions from a number of their musician friends.

Two of the tracks from the EP have already appeared, and today we have a third one for you, “Cocaine Witches & Lysergic Dreams“. Continue reading »

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