NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS PREMIERE: ALTAR OF BETELGEUZE — “AMONG THE RUINS”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 2 Responses »

Dec 192016

With the soaring popularity of the latest albums by Crypt Sermon and Khemmis, the stage seems well set for the advent of Among the Ruins, the new album by Finland’s Altar of Betelgeuze. It’s set for release by Transcending Obscurity Records on March 10, and today we bring you the premiere of its immersive title track.

Altar of Betelgeuze consists of bassist and growler Matias Nastolin (Decaying), guitarist and clean vocalist Olli “Otu” Suurmunne (ex-Decaying), guitarist Juho Kareoja, and drummer Aleksi Olkkola (Sclerosis, ex-Cardinals Folly). Their first album, an excellent one named Darkness Sustains the Silence, was released by the Memento Mori label in early 2014. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PRYAPISME — “A LA ZHEULEULEU”

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Dec 192016

Three years have passed since the maniacal French ailurophiles in Pryapisme delivered their last album, Hyperblast Super Collider. To feed the hunger of their fellow inmates in the asylum, they released morsels of psychoactive sustenance last year packaged in an EP called Futurologie. But now it’s time for another full course. Let us allow the band themselves to introduce what they have done:

Here is our third album : « Diabolicus Felinae Pandemonium », or the story of the birth of the Diabolic Cat who will end the human race. With more than 3 years of work, 10 songs, 57 minutes, 88 GB of audio, 861 tracks, and more than 99% of processor overload, this is our album of the immaturity!

Diabolicus Felinae Pandemonium won’t be released by Apathia Records until February 3rd, but we have been selected as the conduits for a track from the album, an exotic and wondrous taste of the full mind-bending pandemonium that bears the title “A La Zheuleuleu“. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): GRAVATUS, APOGNOSIS, ASH AND COAL, DARK PORTRAIT, ZAKAZ, TOTENWELT

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK 7 Responses »

Dec 182016

I’ve managed to complete the second part of a two-part post that I began earlier today, though it’s not as complete as I had hoped. This second installment includes five full albums or EPs, all of which deserve more words of praise than I have time to give them, but once the new week begins I’ll have even less time than I do today. And so I’ve decided it’s better to make relatively brief exclamations of excitement than none at all.

In addition to those five full releases, this post includes one new advance track. It’s only barely in the usual blackened vein of this series (if at all), but I like it so much that I’ve bent the rules.

GRAVATUS

We begin with a new album named LI_E by the one-man Romanian project Gravatus, which was released on November 12. This was my first exposure to the music of Gravatus, but I’ve found myself enthralled by LI_E. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): WIEGEDOOD, LE CHANT NOIR, DEATHFUCKER, THE LIFTED VEIL, AN HOMAGE TO SUMMONING

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK 6 Responses »

Dec 182016

Last Sunday was bereft of a Shades of Black feature, so today I plan to have two. Yes, I’ve obviously forgotten my oft-learned lesson about not announcing future plans when you’re a part-time, half-witted metal blogger who can’t predict the diversions of life. So the truth is, the second part of this post may or may not arrive today. But at least you’ll have two good advance tracks, two excellent full releases, and one wonderful tribute compilation to keep you company in case I go off the rails.

WIEGEDOOD

Here’s an excerpt from our man Andy Synn’s review of Wiegedood’s last album,

“The Belgian three-piece, whose name is also the Dutch term for ‘Sudden Infant Death Syndrome’ (way to keep it morbid, guys), possess an enviable knack for pumping out a ferocious torrent of rage and fury, whilst maintaining a keen melodic edge that’s neither weak nor overbearing. That may not sound like much, but it’s a hard balance to get just right, and these guys make it look like child’s play. Pun intended.”

AN NCS PREMIERE: HELION — PROMO 2016

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Dec 182016

Have you been feeling sluggish lately? Beaten down and worn out from the travails of daily life? Sleeping poorly and waking up exhausted? So disheartened by the drabness of your existence that all the color has been leached from the passing hours, leaving your world a monochrome gray? If so, we have a sure-fire cure for you: Listen to Helion.

Helion was spawned in 2009 in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist Massimiliano Cirelli. Helion’s full line-up now includes musicians from other bands, including Maze of Sothoth, With Out, Redneck, and Mortui Corpus. Together, this quartet have recorded a two-track promo that we’re premiering today, and it’s guaranteed to get your blood rushing and pop open your eyes like an electric shock. Continue reading »

VIDEOGRAPHY: ZEAL AND ARDOR, GODCHILLA, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, WOLVENNEST, INFERITVM

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 1 Response »

Dec 172016

We devoted ourselves largely to year-end LISTMANIA over the past week, but that didn’t stop the torrent of new metal from continuing to flow. I have a large list of interesting things I spotted during the week, and I’ve divided the best of them among several posts for this weekend.

In this first one I’ve collected five videos. Three of them are new and two are older. I picked these in part because they make for quite a varied montage of sights and sounds. I’ll mention that a new Kreator song and video also appeared yesterday, which you can find here, even though I decided not to include it.

ZEAL AND ARDOR

There have been some interesting discussions in our LISTMANIA comment threads about Devil Is Fine, the 2016 album by Zeal and Ardor. Some people think it’s too uneven and disjointed to deserve the acclaim it’s received this year (and in lots of year-end lists). While agreeing that it’s uneven, I’m in the camp of people who think the high points on the album are so creative and interesting that it deserves the attention — which is pretty much what I wrote within days of its release last June. Continue reading »

SUNLIGHT’S BANE: “TBVLATEWB”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Dec 162016

(TheMadIsraeli reviews the forthcoming debut album by Sunlight’s Bane from southeastern Michigan.)

Sunlight’s Bane is the sort of pure vitriol I need in my life. TBVLATEWB (also known as “The Blackest Volume: Like All The Earth Was Buried”) is both an unrelenting powerhouse of feral ferocity and carnage and also an interesting exercise in sub-genre hybridization which, as you may know, is my fucking shit.

An interesting combination of death metal, black metal, hardcore, and grindcore, this album accomplishes a grim and unrelentingly belligerent attack that sticks out from the pack. If you like bands like Anaal Nathrakh, Nails, Dark Fortress, Portal, and/or Incantation I think this album will speak to you inevitably on some visceral level. I’m quite a fan of what this band are doing, and very glad I gave it a shot when I got the promo. Continue reading »

2016 — A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE PERSONAL TOP TEN

LISTMANIA 2016 36 Responses »

Dec 162016

(Andy Synn’s week-long series of year-end lists concludes with his list of The Personal Top Ten for 2016. Click these links to see his lists of The Critical Top Ten and the year’s Great Albums, the Good Albums, and the Disappointments.)

And now for my final list, the one which, following on from how in-depth and over-thought the rest of them are, is pretty much a breeze by comparison.

Because, for my “Personal” top ten of the year I like to just go with my gut, and simply pick those albums which I’ve been listening to the most, which have been my biggest surprises or my favourite new discoveries, without over-analysing the who, what, where, when, and why.

As a result I’m explicitly NOT saying these albums represent the “best” of 2016 (that was yesterday’s column). They just happen to be my favourites, and should provide a window into my tastes and my listening habits from this year. Continue reading »

BENEATH THE NCS RADAR — PART 19 (OVER THE TOP YEAR-END EDITION)

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 19 Responses »

Dec 162016

( The end of the year approaches, and to commemorate the death of 2016 our Norwegian friend Gorger has prepared a gargantuan installment of his series highlighting releases that we have overlooked. To find more of his discoveries, type “Gorger” in our search bar or visit Gorger’s Metal.)

LISTMANIA is well under way. I still have some 2016 releases that deserve a mentioning at least. And that’s what I intend to do. Inspired by Islander’s overflowing-streams I’ll settle for a short conclusion of my own initial write ups. It’s not going to be easy, as I just don’t know when to shut my mouth. You probably got better things to do with your life than listen to me jabber, chatter, and preach all day anyway.

During December, I’ll probably gather enough material for a 20th round of this here series. When such a post will be published, is still up in the smoggy air. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: COWARDICE — “NO SOVEREIGNTY”

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Dec 152016

Some album titles seem to have little or nothing to do with the sound and atmosphere of the music. Some titles tell you a lot about what you’re going to hear. Without Condolence, the debut album by New Jersey’s Cowardice, is in the latter camp.

The title implies the existence of grievous loss or tragedy, and it also conveys a kind of cold fatalism as the response. Or I suppose it could be understood as a statement about the uncaring dice roll of daily existence — when you least expect it, life will fuck you without remorse, and without a comforting hand to assist in your recovery. The music offers no condolences either. It hits with the staggering force and wrenching agony of incurable desolation, and its visceral power and emotional intensity are compelling.

We have a sample of what I’m trying to describe, a song called “No Sovereignty“, which is the album’s opening track. Continue reading »

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