NO CLEAN SINGING

THE REARVIEW MIRROR (KVIST)

Oct 092016

The year was 1996. Two years earlier, Mayhem had released De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Emperor had released In the Nightside Eclipse, and Darkthrone had discharged Transilvanian Hunger (following it in ’95 with Panzerfaust, which was the year when Dimmu Borgir released their debut album For all tid). In the wake of all those landmark releases in black metal’s surging second wave, another Norwegian band named Kvist (“twig”) put out their own debut full-length — For kunsten maa vi evig vike.

Unlike the previously mentioned bands, whose fame has persisted to this day, Kvist never put out another release, and at least so far as Metal-Archives discloses, none of its three members (vocalist/bassist Tom Hagen, guitarist/keyboardist Hallvard Wennersberg Hagen, and drummer Endre Bjotveit) went on to release music in any other metal band.

I discovered For kunsten maa vi evig vike only recently. Although I’m not going to make the argument (though I could, without embarrassment) that it should be accorded equal status with the albums named above, it’s very, very good — and it’s the subject of this Sunday’s backward look at metal from the past. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: VIRCOLAC, AZOOMA, FROMHELL, VIOLENT MAGIC ORCHESTRA

Oct 082016

Happy Saturday. At least I hope it’s happy for you. I’m feeling a little woozy from the usual bout of end-of-week inebriation, amplified by a celebration of what is surely the final nail in Donald Trump’s maggot-ridden coffin. Surely it is, isn’t it? (And yes, I hear you saying, “Don’t call me Shirley”.)

I spent basically the entire past week writing reviews to accompany premieres, of which we had a shitload of good ones (and one more is coming tomorrow). What fell by the wayside were Seen and Heard round-ups of recommended new music. I now have vastly more on my list than time or room to cover all of them. I’ve moved some into tomorrow’s usual Shades of Black feature, and these four I sifted from that giant list in part to provide variety and in part for… well, I don’t know what the other part is.

VIRCOLAC

I’m pretty sure that I first discovered Dublin’s Vircolac through a 2014 year-end list on our site by the Siberian musician “B” (of Station Dysthymia, among other groups), who said of Vircolac’s debut demo Codex Perfida: “Very nuanced and dynamic release! Vircolac has to be one of the most organic black/death hybrids I know, not so much switching between as seamlessly fusing the parent genres.”

As you’re about to find out, Vircolac have become even more adventurous and adept at organically fusing musical elements together, and they’re not limited to the trappings of black and death metal. Continue reading »

LESSEN: “A NEBULOUS BEING”

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Oct 072016

(Andy Synn brings us the last of his daily reviews this week, extoling the virtues of the new album by the French band Lessen.)

Last, but by no means least, on my week-long parade through the underground and the undergrowth of the worldwide Metal scene, we’re setting up shop in France to listen to the self-proclaimed “Progressive Post-core” of Lessen and their second album A Nebulous Being, a highly melodic, intensely emotive mélange of metallicised Post-Hardcore and atmospheric Post-Rock influences, which references (at various times) bands such as The Ocean, Thrice, Shai Hulud, and even the dearly-departed Burst. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DÉMONOS — “FROM SACRED TO PROFANE”

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET No Responses »

Oct 072016

The debut EP of the Indian black metal band Démonos is fascinating. It doesn’t fit neatly into any of the usual pigeonholes of black metal. There are common threads that link the songs together, but each of the songs is also quite distinct from the others. Making your way through all four tracks from start to finish proves to be an enthralling and immersive experience — and it’s a trip we hope you’ll take with us as we premiere a full stream of From Sacred To Profane.

It’s tempting to attach adjectives like “avant-garde” and “progressive” to the music, in part because the EP is so varied, unpredictable, and instrumentally imaginative. It plumbs dark depths, with an often solemn and even depressive air, but the songs are also infectious when you first hear them and memorable in their aftermath. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KHEMMIS — “BEYOND THE DOOR”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 4 Responses »

Oct 072016

The rise of Denver’s Khemmis into the upper echelons of doom has been nothing short of meteoric, thanks in large part to the enormous appeal of their 2015 debut album Absolution. Since that album’s release, Khemmis have confronted what always comes with stellar debuts — the pressures and perils of high expectations by fans for a follow-on album. In two short weeks, that testing time will arrive as 20 Buck Spin releases the second Khemmis album, Hunted. By one measure, Hunted has already met and exceeded expectations — Sam Turner has again created one hell of a metal album cover, with the Khemmis wizard on an armored steed, flanked by death dealers you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. As it turns out, the music meets and exceeds expectations, too.

In 2015 we had the pleasure of premiering a song from Absolution, along with one of the most interesting and entertaining band interviews we’ve ever published. We now count ourselves lucky that we also get to bring you the premiere of a song from Hunted in advance of its October 21 release. Its name is “Beyond the Door“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: COGNITIVE — “HAUNTED JUSTICE”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Oct 062016

Our history with New Jersey’s Cognitive dates back to my enthusiastic 2013 review of their debut EP The Horrid Swarm, which attempted to capture its impact with these words: “By the time it ended, my head had been spun around, like that possessed chick in The Exorcist. You know, all the way around, but somehow still attached.” We spilled still more effusive praise in multiple posts about their self-titled debut album in 2014. And now Cognitive have come roaring back with a second album named Deformity, which will be their first to be released by Unique Leader Records.

To help introduce you to Deformity, we have for you today a lyric video by Scott Rudd for the album’s third track, “Haunted Justice“. Continue reading »

INFANT DEATH, FILTHDIGGER, SEVENTH ANGEL

Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 1 Response »

Oct 062016

(Norway-based Karina Cifuentes usually brings us interviews (such as the one yesterday with Saor), but today she introduces three underground bands to your ears — though one is accompanied by an interview.)

INFANT DEATH

This time I wanted to introduce some underground bands here. So I have selected some thrash bands. When it comes to thrash I tend to prefer it mixed with some other genre. This is because I really like variety and complexity just to keep it interesting.So the first one will be Infant Death from Trondheim (Norway), the city where the infamous The Mysteriis dom Sathanas cathedral is located. Continue reading »

BUSHWHACKER: “THE FALSE DILEMMA”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 062016

(Andy Synn presents this review of the new album by the Canadian band Bushwhacker. Full music stream included.)

Up next in my attempt to focus in more on the smaller, more unappreciated members of the international metal community, we’re off to the wild wastelands of Canada to check in with the inveterate proglodytes of Bushwhacker, whose wide palette of seamlessly integrated influences helps make their second album, The False Dilemma, an extremely rewarding listening experience.

Don’t get the wrong impression though. Despite describing this album as “rewarding”, this is no self-indulgent exercise in beard-stroking pretentiousness — this is an album that hits hard and makes no apologies for doing so, an album with riffs and balls and attitude up the yinyang… or wherever people keep their balls these days. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SIMULACRO — “ECO VI”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Oct 062016

In June we had the pleasure of premiering one of the fascinating songs from Echi Dall’Abisso (“Echoes From the Abyss”), the stunning new album by the Sardinian trio Simulacro. The album was released on September 26 by Third I Rex, and now we present a striking video for the album’s sixth “echo”.

The sheer physical and emotional power of “Eco VI” needs no explanation, nor any comprehension of the lyrics or its context within the album to feel its impact. Interpreting the mystery of the video and appreciating its beauty can likewise be left to the imagination and senses of the viewer. But for those who desire a deeper understanding, it may help to read this statement by Simulacro’s drummer and backing vocalist Anamnesi about the conceptual approach of the album: Continue reading »

SOLUTION .45: “NIGHTMARES IN THE WAKING STATE – PART II”

Album Reviews No Responses »

Oct 062016

(DGR reviews the new album by Sweden’s Solution .45, which is out now via AFM Records.)

Five years after their debut, Solution .45 returned to the musical stage with Nightmares In The Waking State last year. The band had intended for Nightmares to be a multiple-part release, and in that sense the group were not fucking around.

Often, when a band announces multiple-part albums some sort of wrench will get thrown into the works that results in delays, or extended waits between the discs — so if you enjoyed the themes present on said hypothetical first disc, you often had to just sit and twiddle your thumbs for a few years whilst waiting for a followup.

Nightmares In The Waking State doesn’t have that issue, as earlier this month saw the release of the second part of that album — with a color-muted and sepia-toned version of the first part’s Pär Olofsson drawn artwork. Continue reading »

Older Entries Newer Entries