DEATH PSYCHEDELIC: JOHN FRUM, ARKHAMIN KIRJASTO, HEAVYDEATH, DRUID LORD, ABSTRACTER, TRIBULATION

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Feb 172017
 

 

A couple of nights ago NCS contributor Grant Skelton asked if I knew of any “psychedelic death metal”. He said he’d been hunting for that and was finding the search to be a difficult one. One song in particular leaped to my mind immediately, but I decided to do some further thinking and word-searching through previous posts at NCS. And by coincidence, I also came across an announcement about a new band that seemed relevant.

What I’ve compiled below is the playlist of songs I sent Grant later that night. I’m probably stretching the boundaries of the term “psychedelic death metal”, though it’s not exactly a recognized genre label. But I had fun putting this together and thought I’d share it. But I’d also like to ask you to chime in with ideas of your own in the Comment section.

JOHN FRUM

So I thought I’d start with that announcement about a new band (pictured above), the name of which is John Frum. The announcement caught my eye both because of who’s in the band and because of the source of the band’s name, which is quite interesting. Here’s the explanation: Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): MORDBRAND — “WILT”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Feb 172017
 

 

Wilt is the name of Mordbrand’s new album, and today we’re hosting a full stream of the album one week from its February 24 release by Carnal Records.

Among all the current purveyors of Swedish death metal, Mordbrand have consistently been among the best. They not only deliver the fundamentals of this venerable style of music like the veterans they are, they also have a flair for infusing it with fresh vitality. That’s been the biggest challenge for bands whose music is rooted in this tradition.

Even if you’re a slavish fan of the sound (as I am), you may think to yourself as you listen to many of the newer releases that have been spawned by the Swedish death metal revival, “I’ve heard this before”, even if you like what you’re hearing. The trick that few bands pull off as well as Mordbrand is to maintain the music’s connection to its roots while bringing it forward at the same time. Wilt demonstrates that talent at every turn.
Continue reading »

SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 3: AN UPDATE

 Metal News  1 Response »
Feb 162017
 

 

We’ve been following the evolution of the Shadow Woods Metal Fest since before its inaugural appearance in 2015, and have published lively reviews and photos from the first two fests (here and here), thanks to our contributor Kaptain Carbon, who has had a hell of a great time at both of them. The next edition of Shadow Woods Metal Fest shows all signs of being another fantastic event.

With an announcement yesterday, 20 bands (out of nearly 40 that are expected) have now been confirmed for Shadow Woods 3, which will again take place at White Hall, Maryland on September 14-17, 2017 — and we’ve learned that early bird ticket sales are now scheduled to go live on February 17 — tomorrow — at noon Eastern Time. First, take a look at the line-up of performers announced so far: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AVERSIO HUMANITATIS — “ADVENT OF THE INESCAPABLE”

 Premieres  5 Responses »
Feb 162017
 

 

On March 1, the Spanish black/death band Aversio Humanitatis will release a new EP through BlackSeed Productions entitled Longing For the Untold, and today we have for you one of the new EP’s four tracks, “Advent of the Inescapable“.

Aversio Humanitatis made their debut appearance through a 2011 full-length named Abandonment Ritual and followed that with split releases in 2013 (with Selbst and Nihil) and 2015 (with Primigenium), with themes that draw upon conceptions of nihilism and death. Continue reading »

A NCS PREMIERE: NUCLEAR OATH — “RAZOR BLADE REGRETS”

 Premieres  5 Responses »
Feb 162017
 

 

Nuclear Oath come our way from Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada, with their new single “Razor Blade Regrets“, which will appear on their debut album Toxic Playground this coming summer and is available today via Bandcamp.

This is the band’s fourth release overall, following a debut single in 2015 (“There Goes the Neighborhood“), a 2016 EP (Ashes of the Unborn), and another single from the forthcoming album that appeared last year (“Ambushed“). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BLACK URN — “THE SPIRITUALITY OF ELEPHANT BONES”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Feb 162017
 

 

On February 27, two powerful Philadelphia bands, Moros and Black Urn, will release a limited-edition split album on cassette and digitally, and we’ve got a stream of Black Urn’s massive track for your ears today. Its name is “The Spirituality of Elephant Bones“. In addition, we have an interview with Black Urn’s vocalist John Jones.

This new split also includes three tracks of blasted doom/sludge from Moros. The Moros songs were recorded and mixed by Jeff Barow (Ten Ton Hammer) and the Black Urn track by Austin Haines (Outerheaven). The split was mastered by Alex Poole (Skaphe, Krieg). Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: PSYCHOTOMY — “EVIDENCE OF TYRANNY”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Feb 162017
 


Photo by Marco Fog Magla

Later this year the Venetian death metal trio Psychotomy will release a new album, and today we bring you the intergalactic premiere of a video for one of the new tracks, “Evidence of Tyranny“.

The new album will be Psychotomy’s second full-length, following their 2015 debut album Antinomia. All of the band’s members have been involved in other projects, and as you’re about to find out, they clearly know what the hell they’re doing. I’ll mention specifically that vocalist/guitarist Lory is also a member of Stench of Profit, a grind juggernaut whose split with Mindful of Pripyat we featured here recently. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: HOODED MENACE AND ALGOMA — A SPLIT

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Feb 162017
 

 

On New Year’s Day of this year I posted a large round-up of new music that included brief teasers of music from a vinyl split release by Finland’s Hooded Menace and the Canadian band AlgomA. At that point, release of the split by Doomentia Records had been delayed past its originally scheduled November 2016 release date, but it finally became available at the end of January (and the limited-edition splattered-color version of the vinyl is already sold out), and full streams of both songs are now up on Bandcamp.

The artwork for the split was painted by the Italian maestro Paolo Girardi. My own admiration for his work probably appears slavish to regular readers here, but man, what he did for this split really makes me drool. I’ve ordered the split on vinyl just to be able to hold it in my hands, though I didn’t find out about the vinyl release until too late to grab one of these: Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: REBEL WIZARD — “EAT THE WARLOCK”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Feb 152017
 

 

I’m especially happy to present the premiere of a video for “Eat the Warlock“, which is one of the songs off Triumph of Gloom, the 2016 debut album by Australia’s Rebel Wizard, an album that will soon be reissued by Prosthetic Records on CD, eye-catching vinyl, and digitally. I’m especially happy not only because “Eat the Warlock” is a hell of a good song from an amazing album, but also because this is sort of like a a joyful reunion for me.

I first became acquainted with the music of Rebel Wizard back in the fall of 2015 when I discovered Negative Wizard Metal, the fourth of five EPs that Rebel Wizard released that year. I frothed at the mouth about it on our site, and then did more frothing later in the year when the fifth EP (Invocation of the Miserable Ones) reared its head.

Time passed, and last August Rebel Wizard released Triumph of Gloom. As much as I had enjoyed the previous EPs, this album really was, and is, something rare. It left me beginning my review in this way: Continue reading »

POWER TRIP: “NIGHTMARE LOGIC”

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Feb 152017
 

 

(TheMadIsraeli reviews the new album by Texas-based Power Trip.)

One of the worst offenders within the utter triteness that was the so called “re-thrash” movement was the rise of the whole crossover party thrash scene. I came to intensely dislike certain bands (who shall remain nameless) who seem to place all their emphasis on the energy and aesthetic of thrash but completely forsake all of the power, attitude, and uninhibited human rage that thrash encapsulates so well — while also having no good idea how to truly manipulate the hardcore aspects of their sound to give the music high-impact groove when needed.

Newer crossover thrash, however, has been seeing a YUGE renaissance. The newer Ringworm material, Iron Reagan (a band with Municipal Waste alumni), and the subject of this review — Power Trip — are producing music that is on a mission to recapture the genre and hit the turbo button, producing some of the most straight-up genuinely pissed metal on the planet. Continue reading »

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