MITHRAS / RANNOCH / BEYOND GRACE – LIVE AT THE BLACK HEART, LONDON 31/10/16

 Concert Reviews  3 Responses »
Nov 032016
 

mithras-and-rannoch-in-london

 

(Andy Synn reviews the performances of Mithras and Rannoch in London on October 31, 2016, and includes some of the videos he made.)

One of my favourite things about being in a band (though, to be fair, there are lots of things I love about it) is the chance it affords me to play shows with bands that I love. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to go out on tour with bands like The Monolith Deathcult and Becoming The Archetype, and perform alongside such stupendous acts as Darkane, Abigail Williams, and Skeletonwitch (to name but a few).

And the thing is, although I still have a hefty list of bands I’d love to support or go on tour with (Living Sacrifice, Blood Red Throne, A Hill To Die Upon, Sanzu, Extol, some Swedish group called Meshuggah…), I’m happy to report that I recently got to tick off another big milestone when we opened for the mighty, mighty bosst… Mithras! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KREPITUS — “DESOLATE ISOLATION”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 032016
 

krepitus-the-eyes-of-the-soulless

 

On November 25 a quartet from Calgary, Canada, named Krepitus will release their debut album, The Eyes of the Soulless. Two exhilarating singles from the album have appeared so far, and today it’s our pleasure to bring you the premiere of a third: “Desolate Isolation“.

When I first heard this song, in the space of a little more than five-and-a-half minutes I went from, “Not bad,” in the opening moments to, “HOLY SHIT!,” by the close of the track’s brain-frying finale. Actually, I mentally exclaimed “HOLY SHIT!” a lot earlier than that. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SORROWFUL LAND — “OF RUINS…”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Nov 032016
 

sorrowful-land-of-ruins

 

On November 7, Solitude Productions will release the debut album of a Ukrainian one-man band named Sorrowful Land. Entitled Of Ruins…, it is the creation of Maks Molodtsov, who leads the gothic/doom band Edenian. We have for you today the premiere of a full stream of this strikingly powerful album.

You may see descriptions of the music on Of Ruins… as “atmospheric doom-death”, and I think that’s accurate, but perhaps to be more focused, I would describe the music as funeral doom of a kind that is reminiscent of the mighty Finnish bands Skepticism and Shape of Despair. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NORDJEVEL (DOEDSADMIRAL AND NORD)

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Nov 032016
 

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(Norway-based metal writer Karina Noctum returns to us with this interview of frontman Doedsadmiral and guitarist Nord of Nordjevel (“northern devil”), whose self-titled debut album was released at the beginning of this year, and who recently released an amazing video for the song “”Djevelen I Nord”.)

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I think Nordjevel is one of the best new bands that we have right now here in Scandinavia. But the fact that the band has a solid sound and a pretty professional image has a lot to do with its experienced musicians, so please tell us about your background and what elements of your other bands you have brought with you to Nordjevel…

Nord: What do you mean by “pretty professional?” Haha. Well, we have been around the block a couple of times, and we had a really strong vision for what Nordjevel would be. It changed a bit along the way, as visions tend to do, but it was only for the better. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: CULTES DES GHOULES, ELLENDE, THE INFERNAL SEA, WELLS VALLEY, FRONTIERER, CEMETERIUM

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Nov 022016
 

cultes-des-ghoules-coven

 

Getting kind of  a late start on today’s post — yes, “post”, in the singular. I got slammed at my day job yesterday afternoon, and today will be no better. I’m now sitting on an airplane after leaving my house at 5 a.m. to start a cross-country trip, and as soon as I finish writing this thing, I’ll have to put my nose to the grindstone again.

Last night I did make my way through a bunch of new music and videos that have appeared since the weekend, and culled from them this collection of goodies.

CULTES DES GHOULES

The mysterious cult of ghouls from Kielce, Poland, are returning with a new album named Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love, which is set for a double-CD release by Hells Headbangers on November 25, 2017, with a triple-LP vinyl version coming later. All that extra physical room is needed because this new immensity is nearly 100 minutes long. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NECROMORBID — “EL DIA DE LA BESTIA”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Nov 012016
 

necromorbid-el-dia-de-la-bestia

 

Draped in chains and with grim and murderous countenances, Necromorbid have mounted their warfare against Christ and Christianity from Italy’s ancient and beautiful land. Embracing the lineages of Archgoat, Black Witchery, Morbosidad, and other allied goat-horned purveyors of satanic black/death ferocity, Necromorbid have recorded a debut album fittingly named El Dia De La Bestia, and Caligari Records has sealed it within pro tape for release on November 6. At the end of this post, you will find a player that streams all 10 of its tracks.

The songs on the album are mainly compact, with relatively simple structures and a dedication to a campaign of relentless attacking savagery. A trip through the album is like jumping on a live power line, an experience that also spawns visions of gale-driven wildfires and black cyclones dropping from the skies everywhere you look. Continue reading »

BLACK TABLE: “OBELISK”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Nov 012016
 

black-table-obelisk

 

(We present Wil Cifer’s review of the new album by NY’s Black Table.)

This band from New York have spawned a dark hybrid of metal sub-genres that stands out from all the run-of-the-mill blackened this or that flooding my in-box. Black metal might be the intersection where most of these sounds meet, despite using only occasional blast-beats that come when the band are at their most raging.

Thanks to producer Billy Anderson this album sounds great, with the production complementing the depth of Black Table’s dynamics. The arrangements get murkier going into the song “Helm”, and with the more melodic riffs providing a path to follow as they wander into more of a jammed section. When this occurs it feels more like sludge at this point than black metal. Continue reading »

UNDERDOGS IN THE UNDERGROUND: RETURN TO THE TALENTED DEPTHS OV OBSCURE MADNESS (PART 5)

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Nov 012016
 

vaulting

 

(This is the fifth and final part of continuing series prepared by Austin Weber putting the spotlight on recent releases, and today he focuses on music from these three bands: Vaulting, Octexosis, and Pyrrhic Salvation. To check out Part 1, go here; Part 2 is at this location; Part 3 can be found here, and this link leads to Part 4.)

 

Vaulting – Vanitas

German technical death/grind weirdos Vaulting have been active since 2006, but like a lot of groups, I’m late to the party, having only gotten into them recently through their 2016 release, Vanitas. I suppose a comparison to the strange sound of See You Next Tuesday might give you a small ballpark with which to think of the music here, but there’s so much more of progressive and eloquent side to Vanitas beyond its mathy miniature death-crushing songs. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BEARSTORM — “CRYPTOBIOTIC FILTH DESTROYER”

 Metal News, Premieres  5 Responses »
Nov 012016
 

bearstorm-biophobia

 

We discovered Virginia’s Bearstorm last year, and the immediate impression was so positive that we eagerly premiered the band’s 2015 album Americanus. Today, we’re equally happy to announce that Bearstorm have come storming back with a new EP named Biophobia that Baltimore-based Grimoire Records will release on December 9 — AND we have a deliciously named song from the EP to share with you: “Cryptobiotic Filth Destroyer“.

Bearstorm have already proven that they’re genre manglers, and on this new release the music is no more easily classifiable. The band have used the phrase  “blackened southern deathprog”. Grimoire has described the music as “somehow simultaneously inspired by classical music and southern rock — falling somewhere between Enslaved and Russian Circles“. And if all that tends to knot up your neurons, consider the unusual but evocative lyrics for this new song: Continue reading »

BLACK FUCKING CANCER: “BLACK FUCKING CANCER”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Nov 012016
 

black-fucking-cancer-st

 

(We welcome guest contributor Pablo Balbontín, editor of the Spanish webzine Subterráneo, who brings us this review of the first album by California’s Black Fucking Cancer.)

The human being is such a despicable animal, capable of wishing death to its peers or to have a laugh out of their disgrace. We have all said some atrocity, which we might have regretted later (or not). Who hasn’t ever wished somone to die, or to have cancer? Well, from that pure feeling of hatred, Black Fucking Cancer was born — a power trio from San Jose, California, who have given birth to one of the most furious albums of this year, and possibly one of the best overall.

However, when someone thinks about fury in black metal, they tend to imagine bands like Marduk, Blasphemy, Archgoat… short songs, chaotic guitar solos, and frantic drumming patterns. Bringing an anology, it could be like a maniac who stabs his mother two hundred times, until there is no more skin left to tear. Instead, Black Fucking Cancer are like that alienated person who sharpens a rusty machete and takes his time to knife the victim, twisting the blade inside the guts and savoring the victim’s suffering. Continue reading »

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