AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: THE THIRTEENTH SUN — “UNIVERSUS”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  2 Responses »
May 172017
 

 

Stardust is the debut album of the Romanian band The Thirteenth Sun, released last week by Aural Music. In multiple ways, the album represents a journey of exploration, using an escape from the confines of earth and a venturing into the limitless night sky as a metaphor for an exploration of one’s self, free of the constraints of routine and any settled expectations about the possibilities of what may lie ahead. The name the band chose for themselves and the title they picked for the album manifest the concept, as does the striking and memorable cover art by Costin Chioreanu. But of course the concept is reflected most strongly in the music itself.

The music on Stardust is not all the same, although there are unifying ingredients that pass through the album. The album’s own journey begins with a track named “Universus“, and it’s the subject of an animated video created by Costin Chioreanu that provides a fascinating visual companion to the music, and we’re delighted to premiere it below. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW (PART 1): BARBARIAN SWORDS (VÖN PAX)

 Interviews  No Responses »
May 172017
 

 

(We welcome back guest contributor Pablo Balbontín, editor of the Spanish webzine Subterráneo, who brings us this interview of Vön Pax, vocalist of the Spanish band Barbarian Swords, whose latest album Worms we premiered last November in advance of its release by Cimmerian Shade and Satanath Records. We’ve divided the interview into 3 parts, with Parts 2 and 3 coming in the next two days.)

It is quite ironic to do an interview via Skype with Vön Pax, singer of Barbarian Swords, in the middle of a Christian holiday, as it is Christmas while we are asking him about Worms, and he does not get along well with the dominant religion in the west.

It was a kind evening in which he gave us some extensive and sincere answers to every question. And so we spoke about the album process, some curiosities, disgusting stories surrounding it, and talks about a porn actress. It was an unusual interview for the one who writes this, and possibly for the one who was behind the screen, too. This is how the evening developed. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: SVARTSYN, DIG ME NO GRAVE, WEAPÖNIZER, NEVERENDING WINTER, THE WHITE SWAN, PLAGUEWIELDER

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 162017
 

 

Due in part to yet another mini-vacation this past weekend, an entire week has passed since the last time I was able to compile a round-up of new songs and videos, though my comrade DGR helped fill that gap with a compilation of notable death metal yesterday. As a consequence of so many days passing, I have a massive list of new things I’d like to recommend.

Confronted with such a daunting task, I just gave in to impulse, which is par for the course. And today’s impulse was to focus only on some of new music I heard for the first time today — which means that massive list is no shorter than it was before I started writing this post. With luck, I’ll have time during the balance of this week to do some picking and choosing from it for another edition of SEEN AND HEARD.

SVARTSYN

As previously reported here, the Swedish black metal band Svartsyn have a new album named In Death that’s scheduled for release by Agonia Records on June 9th. The first single, which I wrote about in that earlier post, was a stunner named “Seven Headed Snake“, and this morning brought a second track — “Black Thrones of Death“. It’s left me even more excited about this new album. Continue reading »

CARDINALS FOLLY: ALBUM NEWS AND “WORSHIP HER FIRE”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
May 162017
 

 

(Today our Russian friend Comrade Aleks isn’t bringing us one of his interviews, but instead some news about the Finnish band Cardinals Folly, including a single from their new album.)

This blasphemous doom cult was started in Helsinki in around 2004, under the name of The Coven. That title fitted the band’s music, but there were just too many bands with the same name, so The Coven was dissolved and renamed Cardinals Folly, after a place in a Dennis Wheatley black magic novel.

The head of this sect is Mikko Kääriäinen and he’s been the only constant member of Cardinals Folly since its beginning: other musicians have come and gone after a number of occult sessions. Probably only drummer Sebastian Lindberg demonstrated real perseverance, as he accompanied Mikko from the first EP Heretic’s Hangover (2008) until the second full-length Our Cult Continues! (2014), but even he left the band a year after that album was released, and the next one, Holocaust of Ecstasy and Freedom, was recorded with a new lineup. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CHAOS — “INDOCTRINATION”

 Premieres  No Responses »
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”

 Premieres  No Responses »
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 »

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