AN NCS INTERVIEW (PART 2): KOZELJNIK (THE STONE, KOZELJNIK, MAY RESULT, OCULUS)

 Interviews  1 Response »
May 112017
 

 

(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 1 of this interview can be found HERE.)

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 »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL — “CATALEPSIA NECRÓTICA: GONORREIA VISCERAL REANIMADA”

 Premieres  No Responses »
May 102017
 


Photo by: João Fitas, Post-edition: Raphael Gabrio

 

The gruesomely brutal Portuguese death/grind band Holocausto Canibal released their first demo oPus I in 1998 and followed that two years later with their debut album Gonorreia Visceral — and they haven’t relented in their slaughtering since those savage beginnings, with an ever-growing discography that has included more albums, splits, EPs, and a live recording.

Reflecting back on two decades of mayhem, the band decided to re-interpret and re-record the songs on those first two, long-unavailable early releases, and the result in this 20th year of the band’s existence is a new album named Catalepsia Necrótica: Gonorreia Visceral Reanimada. And yes, although the original compositions date back to the early days of the Oporto extreme metal scene, the re-working of the tracks and the use of modern recording technology really does make this a new album — one that was mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö at Unisound.

The album was officially released on April 28th in a variety of formats by a consortium of labels, but we’ve agreed to bring the full on-line stream of this riveting monstrosity to you today. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SANGUE NERO — “III”

 Premieres  1 Response »
May 102017
 

 

The use of dissonant melody in black metal (and other genres) to build discomfiting atmospheres of tension, instability, and fear isn’t a new development, but that hardly means that all black metal bands who employ dissonance sound alike. Of course, significant distinctions can still be drawn based on a variety of other factors, including not only the degree of dissonance but also the ways in which it’s integrated with the numerous other ingredients that may find their way into the music.

The Italian trio Sangue Nero favor dissonant chords and unsettling melodies in the songs they’ve crafted for their debut album Viscere, but they’ve mixed them together with tribal and folk elements (including the use of a didgeridoo), a changing array of vocal expressions, and staggeringly heavy rhythms (among other ingredients) in ways that make Viscere a debut worth serious attention. As a first sign of the talents that Sangue Nero display on Viscere, we have the premiere of a track denominated “III“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: VONNIS — “APOPTOSIS”

 Premieres  6 Responses »
May 102017
 


Vonnis EP artwork by Planeet Janus

 

A dead sun burns
Over a grey and barren waste
Wander in contempt of life
Murder children
Unknowing

Eat the hearts of mothers
Bury them alive
A dead sun shatters
Shatters us all

 

Those are the lyrics to the unsettling song “Apoptosis” that we’re premiering today through a vivid video. It comes from the new EP EVIL.AGAINST.EVIL by the Belgian band Vonnis, which will be released through Consouling Agency on June 23rd. Continue reading »

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”

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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”

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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 »

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