AN NCS INTERVIEW (PART 1): KOZELJNIK (THE STONE, KOZELJNIK, MAY RESULT, OCULUS)

 Interviews  No Responses »
May 102017
 

 

(Music journalist Konstantin, who in past years has written for Serbia’s Nocturne Music Magazine, makes his first appearance at NCS with this extensive interview of Kozeljnik, founding guitarist and composer of the long-running Serbian black metal band The Stone and a participant in many other groups as well. Part 2 of this interview will follow tomorrow.)

Proudly standing in the underground waters for more than two decades, The Stone have engraved their name as one of the pivotal names in the Eastern European black metal scene of the ‘90s. From a war-torn country under embargo where buying the latest CD of your favorite band was practically impossible to touring with Revenge and Inquisition, they have cleared their path with strength and spirit.

In a detailed conversation with Kozeljnik (The Stone, Kozeljnik, May Result, Oculus, Murder, Ophidian Coil) we recall those days; and we discuss such topics as where metal has made mistakes in the last years and why that one legendary US act decided to have special gigs in the Balkan woods years ago. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: PAGANIZER, NOKTURNAL MORTUM, ANTIGAMA, DEPHOSPHORUS, KAECK, SAKRA, LYLE COOPER

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 092017
 

 

Because of my mini-vacation that stretched from late last week through Sunday, I’ve accumulated a substantial number of worthy new song streams and videos to recommend. Seven of them are in this post, and I’ll compile more in the coming days, no doubt joined by others that will appear for the first time before the weekend.

PAGANIZER

Out of all the nearly countless projects to which Rogga Johansson has devoted his talents, I suppose much of my my favorite work of the Bard of Gamleby has come under the name of Paganizer. It’s therefore a delight to report that August 5th will bring the release of the 10th Paganizer album, Land of Weeping Souls. Continue reading »

EXCOMMUNION — “THRONOSIS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 092017
 

 

(Todd Manning brings us this review of the new EP by Colorado’s Excommunion, and we also bring you a full stream of the music.)

At this point, it’s no secret that I have been extolling the great state of Death Metal in 2017, and so I wanted to pen a quick missive singing the infernal praises of another powerful release, the new Excommunion album, Thronosis.

I’ve noticed that so much of this great Death Metal is coming from scene veterans, and Excommunion is in that camp. This is the follow-up to 2002’s full-length Superion (with a split in between), and this release finds the group in fine form. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: LADYBIRD — “PAWN OF THE SILT | SERVANT OF THE LOAM”

 Premieres  No Responses »
May 092017
 

 

This Atlanta grind/hardcore band’s name is Ladybird. It’s a deceptive name. It probably won’t lead you to expect music that’s as obliterating on multiple levels as the song we’re about to present, the title of which is “Pawn of the Silt | Servant of the Loam“.

The name of the record on which the song appears is a better clue to the music. Its title is I Feel Nothing, I Exist Nowhere. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MRTVI — “AS CONSCIOUSNESS IS HARNESSED TO FLESH PART 2”

 Premieres  No Responses »
May 092017
 

 

And now for something completely different….

Form, order, familiarity, repetition — these are among the ingredients that the human mind seems to find most easily digestible and immediately appealing in musical compositions. But sometimes the music that makes the deepest connections with our brains (and our emotions) is unfamiliar, unpredictable, chaotic, iconoclastic.

The piece of music you’re about to hear is fascinating, and completely off all well-beaten paths. In a word, it’s wild — though part of its fascination lies in the dawning realization that as twisted and bizarre as the music is, it achieves a hypnotic effect. It gets its hooks in your head. Or maybe I should just speak for myself. Of course, you will decide for yourselves… but whatever you do, don’t pass this by Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DØDSENGEL — “RUBEDO”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  No Responses »
May 092017
 

 

Imperator was the third album of Norway’s Dødsengel, but it is the album that will set all expectations for their new record Interequinox. Those who were undaunted by its length and who immersed themselves fully in the wonders of those two and a half hours of music discovered a band who were driven by belief, who honored traditions, but who were also rebels — nonconformists in their art who carved their own magical path in an often rigidly defined domain.

Imperator may unavoidably set the expectations for Interequinox, but if you made the twisting journey through Imperator, then it should come as no surprise to learn that Dødsengel’s sensual left-hand path has led them to altered states of musical expression, though crafted with as much care and spiritual devotion as the esoteric opus that preceded it. Continue reading »

VERMIN LORD AND NIHTWINTRE: A SPLIT

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 082017
 

 

As regular visitors to our site well know, I’ve been carefully following the releases of Seattle-based Vermin Lord, beginning with the project’s excellent 2016 debut album Anguish. Last Friday brought another new Vermin Lord release, this time a split with the Seattle black metal project Nihtwintre.

Both sides of the split are very good, both of them shrouded in darkness, sorcery, and loss, though musically the two bands are quite distinct from each other. There’s a full stream of the split at the end of this post, preceded by some thoughts about the songs. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE: BLACK HARVEST — “ATTRITION”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 082017
 

 

(Austin Weber brings us this premiere of the new EP by New York’s Black Harvest, along with some introductory impressions of the music.)

Some musicians are content to play within traditional sounds and genre boundaries, while others (Devin Townsend comes to mind) see all of music’s many genres as a vast palette that one can draw from and combine in new ways to paint a musical world all their own. This form of vast experimentation lies at the heart of all that Kishor Haulenbeek does, as both an incredibly talented visual artist and also as a musician with multiple musical projects that he has used to explore different facets of his interests, all of which convey an honest emotional feeling yet cover dramatically  different musical terrain.

Last year here at NCS, I finally got around to covering his fantastic mathcore-addled technical grindcore band Crisis Actor, and shoehorned in some coverage of his primary project, Black Harvest, at the same time. Today we’re bringing you an early stream of the group’s fantastic new EP, Attrition. Continue reading »

ULSECT: “ULSECT”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
May 082017
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the self-titled debut album by the Dutch band Ulsect, which will be released on May 12 by Season of Mist.)

It seems like you can hardly turn around these days without tripping over another angular, off-kilter Death Metal band who worship at the throne of Gorguts/Deathspell Omega.

I’m not quite sure when, or how, it happened, but someone somewhere appears to have opened the floodgates, and the torrent (ok, maybe “torrent” is pushing it) shows little sign of dying off just yet.

As a result it’s more important than ever to learn how to sift through all the dross, panning for those morsels of burnished gold which shine brighter than all the rest. Continue reading »

BENEATH THE NCS RADAR (PART 22) — TNBM SPECIAL: BEASTCRAFT, ENDEZZMA, ÖRTH, WHOREDOM RIFE

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
May 082017
 

 

(Our friend Gorger from Norway sings the song of his people in this 22nd installment in his ongoing series reviewing releases we’ve overlooked. To find more of his discoveries, type “Gorger” in our search bar or visit Gorger’s Metal.)

 

☠ True Norwegian Black Metal ☠
 

When realizing I had four pieces of True Norwegian Black Metal to share with you, I obviously decided to pile them together. I’ve sorted them alphabetically, allowing me to finish of with a favored newcomer. All the others are veterans, each with a more or less significant background and history. Continue reading »

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