AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: COLDBLOOD — “SULPHUR”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Apr 102017
 

 

Ten months ago we had the pleasure of premiering a full stream of Indescribable Physiognomy Of The Devil, the most recent album by the Brazilian death metal band Coldblood. And today we get to bring you a video for the seventh track from that album, a chilling blast of hellfire appropriately named “Sulphur“.

The release of  a video like this one serves several purposes, one of which is to turn people on to an album they might have missed — and Indescribable Physiognomy is one that shouldn’t be missed if you’re a fan of barbaric, pulse-pounding death metal. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: HAVUKRUUNU, TIME LURKER, KAOSOPHIA, ENISUM, SANCTUS HEXE, OPHIUCHI

 Album Reviews, Metal News, SHADES OF BLACK  10 Responses »
Apr 092017
 

 

Greetings again from Seattle, where the sun has chosen to shine on this Sunday. Nevertheless, I will again try to help darken the sabbath with a selection of new black metal that I hope you will find pleasing. All of this has certainly pleased me.

HAVUKRUUNU

I hadn’t been awake for long this morning when I learned (thank you Conor!) that Naturmacht Productions had revealed the first taste of music from the new album by Finland’s Havukruunu — an album I have been very eagerly awaiting.

The song is brilliant, and so at the last minute I’ve added it to this post in a prominent position. I’m now especially anxious to explore the rest of the album, which it seems I now have in my clutches. Something will have to yield to it today… perhaps food, bathroom breaks, interaction with my spouse… one must establish the correct priorities. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AMENTIA — “SENTENCE EXECUTIONER”

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Apr 092017
 

 

On May 8, Satanath Records (Russia) and Amputated Vein Records (Japan) will release Scourge, the new third album by Amentia from Belarus. We’re fortunate to bring you the premiere of one of the new songs, “Sentence Executioner“, along with a previously released track named “Slow Decay“.

Amentia began as a studio project more than a dozen years ago and the veteran line-up includes members of Deathbringer, Thy Disease, and Disloyal, and former members of Posthumous Blasphemer. The labels recommend the album to fans of Blotted Science, Suffocation, Decrepit Birth, Misery Index, and The Faceless, among others. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 4): VAMPIRE, KROSSFYRE, GURTHANG, PHRENELITH, APOSENTO

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Apr 082017
 

 

I started what was supposed to be a two-part SEEN AND HEARD round-up last Wednesday. I couldn’t finish it as fast as I  planned, and as time passed I continued discovering new music and videos worth recommending. What was supposed to be two parts became four. So, here it ends… but only for now, because I’m sure I’ll start all over again early next week.

There are four individuals songs or videos in this collection, each from a forthcoming or recent album, plus one full album stream. As in Part 3, I’ll keep my verbiage brief.

VAMPIRE

The new album by the Swedish band Vampire is With Primeval Force. It will be released by Century Media on April 21st. Yesterday the label debuted a video for a song from the album named “He Who Speaks“, which I believe is the fourth track from the album to be previewed so far. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 3): VALLENFYRE, HIDEOUS DIVINITY, NOVEMBERS DOOM, ADRIFT FOR DAYS, DIREWOLVES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Apr 082017
 

 

I had planned to conclude an ever-expanding round-up of new music and videos yesterday, but missed my target. Based on the gagging and gurgling sounds, I think my arrow hit someone in the throat.

So here we are, a day late, and late in the day also. Plus, it’s a Saturday, which means damn few people will even discover this post, and to exacerbate the problems I’ve thrown in music from ten bands, which is probably more than most people have patience for. Oh, but it could have been so much longer! I still have much more music to recommend, some of which will be in tomorrow’s SHADES OF BLACK feature.

Because this third part of the week-long round-up has metastasized to such a great extent, I’m dividing the tumor evenly into two parts, which means there will be a Part 4 a bit later today — and I’ll also be brief with my own words. Enjoy the music… and do share your own reactions in the Comment section if you’re so inclined.

VALLENFYRE

Vallenfyre‘s new album is Fear Those Who Fear Him, set for release by Century Media on June 2nd. This is an eagerly awaited return from one of our favorite bands, and the video below is for the album’s first single, “Kill All Your Masters”. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CONNOISEUR — “OVER THE EDGE”

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Apr 072017
 

 

Based on past experience with Connoisseur, I had an inkling of what was coming when I first listened to their new album, Over the Edge, but you may not. I’ll tell you up-front that Connoisseur are one of the biggest musical head-fakes on the planet. There’s so much weed in their song titles that you can get a contact high just from reading them; along with the cover art, they all just giggle “droopy-lidded stoner metal” at you. But if you’re expecting music to get hazy with, you’re in for a big surprise.

Over the Edge is being released today by Tankcrimes, and we’ve got a full stream of the album for you… along with a few words of preparation for the unsuspecting listener. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: GALARE — “ECHOES OF MYSTIC SOLITUDE”

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Apr 072017
 

 

One month ago we premiered a track from a new EP by a black metal band from Elizabeth, New Jersey, named Galare. That song — “Thy Dying Light” — was both explosive and chilling, unnerving and unpredictable, predatory and poisonous. When the band asked if we would host the premiere of yet another track from the EP, it was an easy yes on this end. This new track is “Echoes of Mystic Solitude“, and we present it in the form of a music video.

The song is… unbalancing… dedicated not only to burning off the flesh from your face but scrambling your thoughts and injecting a dose of fear into your emotional state. And it does this by amalgamating stylistic ingredients in ways that you probably wouldn’t expect from a young band, bending the normal conventions of black metal rather than simply copying them. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: LEGACY OF EMPTINESS — “DESPAIR”

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Apr 072017
 

 

Time passes, and the spark of musical creativity that may have flared in the springtime of our lives often dies out, never to be revived. And sometimes it begins to burn again — not always with good results, mind you. In the case of Legacy of Emptiness, the smoldering embers began to glow again, and have now fully caught fire in their new album Over the Past. In advance of the album’s June 12 release by Black Lion Records, we have one of the new songs for you, a wonderful track called “Despair“.

We’re told that the band was started in 1995 by Eddie Risdal and Kjell-Ivar Aarli as “a tongue in cheek BM-project called Permafrost“. They recorded a couple of demos for their own amusement, and a few years later were joined by keyboardist Øyvind Rosseland — and began to take their music more seriously. But after a couple more demos, the project went cold… yet was revived in 2010. As the band explain: Continue reading »

THE BEST OF GERMAN, 2017 (PART 2): CRANIAL / FJOERGYN / GRAND OLD WRATH

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Apr 072017
 

 

(We bring you a trio of reviews by Andy Synn, with full album streams of the music. The focus is on Cranial, Fjoergyn, and Grand Old Wrath.)

 

I shouldn’t have to remind you that our Germanic brothers and sisters are absolutely killing it at the moment. Heck, I already have four other albums, and an EP, lined up to review in the near future, and there’s still most of the year left to go!

But, before then, how about you click on through and check out my latest three recommendations, a mix of crushing Post-Metal, blackened avant-garde extravagance, and toothsome Teutonic Tech Death. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KHATANO (“CROSS AND HALFMOON”) AND KUNDOŘEZ (“MRDAK MENZESSNÍ”)

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Apr 072017
 

 

On April 22nd Symbol of Domination Productions will release Czech Madness, an album-length split by two destructive Czech bands, Khatano and Kundořez, which combines tracks from the debut releases of both groups. Today we’re bringing you one song from each band’s side of the album, preceded by some background information and impressions of these two murderous songs.

KHATANO

Khatano sprang to life in the Czech city of Ostrava in 2012 and released their first demo (Against This System) the next year. Their side of this split includes the 8 songs from that self-released debut. The song we’ve got for you today is a bruiser named “Cross and Halfmoon“. Continue reading »

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