NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: RUDRA — “ANCIENT FOURTH”

Oct 272016

Discerning and adventurous listeners know full well the ground-breaking impact of Singapore’s Rudra over the course of a career that dates back to 1992, and yet, at least in the West, their profile is not as elevated as it should be. We can only hope that the band’s eighth album, Enemy of Duality, will win the widespread attention it deserves. The striking song from the album that we’re bringing you today — “Ancient Fourth” — is certainly compelling evidence of Rudra’s remarkable talents.

Rudra claim for themselves the genre term “Vedic metal”, which is a form of blackened death metal in which the band (who are themselves of Indian lineage) have often incorporated elements of music rooted in Hindu traditions (including the use of Indian classical instruments), with lyrics often drawn from Vedic Sanskrit literature and philosophy. About a month ago, we premiered a fantastic track from the album named “Abating the Firebrand”, but this new one is, if anything, even more striking. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BÖLZER, INSULTERS, PANZERGOD

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 2 Responses »

Oct 272016

I’ve been racking up the airline miles lately. I got back to Seattle late last night after a whirlwind trip to New York for my day job, one in which I probably spent as much time in airport security lines and on airplanes as I did in New York. Beautiful time of year to be there, though.

You may also have noticed that we’ve had a flood of premieres this week. Four more are coming today. Between traveling and writing all those premieres, I haven’t had time to pull together round-ups, and man, this has been a week when multiple round-ups would have been justified. With so much to choose from, I’ve impulsively picked these three bands. The plan is to put together more round-ups for tomorrow and Saturday in an effort to catch up.

BÖLZER

A few days ago the mighty Swiss juggernaut Bölzer released another song from their new album Hero, which will be released on November 25 through Iron Bonehead Productions. The first song that appeared, “I Am III”, was more than 10 minutes long — a dramatic, majestic, dark, brooding, esoteric, and triumphant piece in which the band moved in some dynamic new directions. The latest track, “Spiritual Athleticism“, is a more compact affair and perhaps more in line with what we were expecting based on Bölzer‘s previous releases. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SLEGEST — “I FORTIDA SITT LYS”

Premieres No Responses »

Oct 272016

Photo by Håvard Nesbø

A couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of premiering a highly infectious song called “Wolf” from Vidsyn, the new album by the Norwegian band Slegest, and now we’re bringing you an official video for another track from the same album, “I fortida sitt lys“.

We’re told that the video “was recorded at an old mountain barn abandoned by time in a valley in Leikanger”, and that the concept was the brainchild of Håvard Nesbø:

“Like the song, the theme of the video can be placed in the light of the past — in the intersection of the now and the ever present whiff of olden times. Nesbø also produced the video, on a budget of pure idealism and a case of home brewed lager.”

OBSCURA / REVOCATION / BEYOND CREATION / RIVERS OF NIHIL – LIVE AT THE CORPORATION, SHEFFIELD 24/10/16

Concert Reviews 3 Responses »

Oct 272016

(Andy Synn turns in this review of the live performances by Obscura, Revocation, Beyond Creation, and Rivers of Nihil in Sheffield, England, on October 24, 2016 — along with videos of the performances.)

Our readers in the UK who play guitar or bass will probably have noticed something rather peculiar over the last couple of days. Riffs that they used to be able to play turning into a mangled, lumpen soup of glitches and errors… Fluid solos that they used to rip out with ease skittering away from stumbling fingers… even, in the most extreme cases, a complete inability to even lift their instrument anymore, as if they were no longer “worthy” to wield its power.

And I know why.

You see on Monday night I was there when Obscura, Revocation, Beyond Creation, and Rivers of Nihil selfishly used-up the entire country’s supply of notes and riffs, leading to a crisis of near biblical proportions amongst the string-slinging section of the UK metal community.

Thankfully, however, I’ve been informed that a fresh shipment is being piped in from the mainland, and so normal proceedings should be resumed by the weekend or thereabouts. Continue reading »

ANAAL NATHRAKH: “THE WHOLE OF THE LAW”

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Oct 272016

(DGR reviews the new album by the UK’s Anaal Nathrakh, which will be released by Metal Blade on October 28.)

Few bands out there these days have weaponized music like Anaal Nathrakh has. The long-running project now has an immense collection of albums in its discography — all of which are some combination of abrasive noise, destructive instrumentation, and annihilation on the lyrical front.

Anaal Nathrakh are a band whose very formation is based around the idea of being as noisy as possible. If heavy metal is to be treated as a form of catharsis, then the aims of Nathrakh are to be the ultimate form of that in rage. For all of this talk of destruction, however, there are the occasional signs of where this anger comes from (considering this is a band that doesn’t provide lyrics to its albums and even then could probably save ink doing so since half of its vocal lines seem to lack consonants), which has been largely driven by a disgust with humanity and where the species is headed. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ARRIVER — “LIQUIDATORS”

Premieres No Responses »

Oct 262016

I laughed when I looked up Chicago’s Arriver on Metal-Archives after listening to their new album, curious as to how our esteemed Encyclopaedia Metallum would classify the band in genre terms — and the only word to be found there was: “Various”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in the site’s genre descriptions, but I can’t say I blame M-A for admitting defeat.

The new album, which is named Emeritus, is indeed stylistically kaleidoscopic and inventive. I doubt that there’s any one song that is truly representative of the album as a whole, but we do have one for you today in advance of the December 2 release date that’s at least a sign of the head-spinning music that lies in wait for you, and its name is “Liquidators“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: RAVENCULT — “TORMENTOR OF FLESH”

Premieres 5 Responses »

Oct 262016

Almost exactly one year ago Metal Blade announced the signing of the Greek black metal band Ravencult, and now, roughly five years after their last album, a new one is on the horizon. Bearing the name Force of Profanation, it’s set for release on November 11. We previously praised the album’s first advance track, “Beneath the Relics of Old”, and now we’re fortunate to bring you the premiere of another song from the album, “Tormentor of Flesh“.

“Beneath the Relics of Old” is a truly electrifying riff monster, one ripper after another, heavy on the thrash end of the aggression scale and with an evil aura that grows even more sinister as the song progresses. “Tormentor of Flesh” is, if anything, even more turbocharged and savage. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: HAIL SPIRIT NOIR — “MAYHEM IN BLUE”

Premieres 3 Responses »

Oct 262016

We are very fortune to be the bearer of wonderful gifts from Greece today — specifically, a stream of all six songs gathered together on the new album Mayhem In Blue by Hail Spirit Noir.

The band’s first two albums, Pneuma and Oi Magoi, were so good and so distinctive that it’s fair to say fan expectations for the new album are high — and they’re not going to be disappointed, because Mayhem In Blue is the band’s best work yet. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: THOREN — “BRENNENBURG”

Premieres 1 Response »

Oct 262016

(Austin Weber introduces our premiere of the new album by Michigan’s Thoren.)

A number of different factors explain the rising popularity of instrumental metal of all stripes. Some say it’s because not everyone likes “extreme vocals”, others say it’s because groups like Animals As Leaders and Chon (among many others) have helped prove that you can be popular in the metal scene without having vocals. Whatever the reason, I support it as a long-time fan of instrumental metal dating back to the early days of Spastic Ink and other groups.

With that in mind, we’ve got an early stream for you today from the Sterling Heights, Michigan, group Thoren, an instrumental metal act that falls less on the bright and melodic side, and more on the dissonant and chaotic side. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ARKONA — “ŚMIERĆ I ODRODZENIE”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Oct 262016

Earlier this month we had the pleasure of premiering a video for a song from Lunaris, the new album by the Polish black metal band Arkona, and today we have the chance to bring you a second song from the album in advance of its November 4 release by Debemur Morti Productions. This one is named “Śmierć i odrodzenie” (death and rebirth).

For those who missed our earlier premiere and may not be familiar with Arkona, they must be considered among the pioneers of Polish black metal, with demos that date back to 1994 and a first album (Imperium) that was released in 1996. Lunaris is the band’s sixth full-length in that long career, and the second one following a span between 2003 and 2014 when the band only participated in a few splits. This is their first album on the Debemur Morti label. Continue reading »

Older Entries Newer Entries