NO CLEAN SINGING

MESHUGGAH — MY VIOLENT FIRST IMPRESSIONS (BY ANDY SYNN)

Sep 202016

(Andy Synn delivers his first impressions of Meshuggah’s new album, The Violent Sleep of Reason, with thoughts on a track-by-track basis as well as overall.)

Despite what some of their detractors might say, every Meshuggah album is different. The basic ingredients might stay the same, but each album leans in a slightly different direction… Nothing brought the groove, Catch 33 went all experimental, obZen was the overtly “technical” album, and Koloss the more song-based, riff-based number… which is why every Meshuggah album is ultimately going to be someone’s favourite Meshuggah album.

So the big question really isn’t “how good is The Violent Sleep of Reason?”… no, what we should be asking is “what sort of album is it…?”

With that in mind I decided that, this time around, it would be more fun to eschew the traditional review format and instead just note down my first impressions and overall musings about the album as I listened to it. So, just as Meshuggah went for a more raw and “organic” approach this time (doing it all live in the studio for the first time in their career), so too am I going to produce a much more raw and unedited piece of writing while I listen to it.

Of course I reserve the right to change my position in the future, but for now… let’s just see what happens! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CRUZ — “CULTO ABISMAL”

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Sep 202016

For a long stretch of years, Spain has been a breeding ground for excellent metal bands across a wide range of extreme metal genres, and now one more must be added to that long list — a band from Barcelona named Cruz. Their first full-length bears the title Culto Abismal and it will be released on October 7 through the collaboration of four labels, including a tape and vinyl release in North America by Oakland’s Sentient Ruin. Today we join that conspiracy to bring you a first listen to the album’s powerhouse title track.

You could probably guess that Cruz are on the right track just by looking at the nightmarish cover art beautifully executed by César Valladares, and that would be a correct guess. “Culto Abismal” is equally well conceived and equally well-executed to deliver a hellish and highly electrifying rampage of old school death metal with a strong crust punk flavor. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: RUDRA — “ABATING THE FIREBRAND”

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Sep 192016

We have been writing about Singapore’s Rudra since 2011 at this site, but although that’s a fair number of years, it’s far exceeded by the longevity of the band itself. Rudra was formed in 1992, pioneering in a genre they term “Vedic metal”, which is a form of blackened death metal in which Rudra (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.

In a career that has spanned nearly a quarter-century, the band have released seven albums, and the eighth one — Enemy of Duality — will be coming out this December. Today we are privileged to bring you the album’s opening track, “Abating the Firebrand“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AXIOMA — “MONOLITH OF FIRE”

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Sep 192016

Monolith is the title of the first EP by a band from Rome, Italy, named Axioma, and today we present the debut of a song from the EP named “Monolith of Fire“.

The song is a fascinating one. It’s dark as a moonless night and heavy as hell, with dissonant unearthly guitar melodies suggestive of arcane forces at work, and deep, heartless growls that reinforce the sensation of ominous, unseen threat. Yet the song has other facets that reveal themselves as it moves forward along its twisted path. Continue reading »

ANDY SYNN PRESENTS: REVIEWS IN HAIKUS (MARE COGNITUM, BLOOD INCANTATION, MESARTHIM)

Album Reviews, Reviews In Haikus 8 Responses »

Sep 192016

(Andy Synn brings us a new installment in his series of album reviews in haiku. Three reviews of three lines each come after the jump. With music, of course.)

Despite what I’ve seen suggested by certain slightly ill-informed commenters recently, Metal’s obsession with space and the vast potential and possibilities of the great beyond is nothing new.

Let’s be honest for a second – a bunch of the genre’s progenitors were massive nerds who stole took inspiration from some of sci-fi’s biggest (and some not so big) names to feed their lyrics and concepts, and this basically laid the groundwork for everyone from Agalloch to Obscura to Wormed to draw their own inspirations from the same deep well, be it the pulpiest of science fiction or the hardest of science fact. Sometimes both.

So for the latest edition of this column I’ve selected three fantastic albums which, to date, haven’t been covered properly here on NCS, each of which firmly and confidently puts its own spin on the great interstellar enigma and our place as insignificant motes of fleeting life within the vast and unending void. Continue reading »

MONASTERIUM: “MONASTERIUM”

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Sep 192016

(Our friend Grant Skelton prepared this review of the self-titled debut album by Poland’s Monasterium.)

I have yet to reach satiety when it comes to doom metal. Each new release I come across only seems to whet my appetite rather than quench it. Perhaps a hearty diet of doom simply begets a desire for even more doom. And since I dine daily on doom, I discovered a gem of an album from Poland’s Monasterium. Their self-titled album is currently available from Greek label No Remorse Records.

The stoneclad cover art by Michal “Xaay” Loranc depicts a skeletal coat-of-arms. This banner seems to mark a threshold that, once crossed, will entreat the listener on a journey throughout various mythologies of history. Lyrically, the songs featured on this debut deal with subjects such as martyrdom (“Christening In Blood”), persecution (“A Hundredfold Cursed”), and human sacrifice (“In The Shrine Of The Jackal God”). The liner notes also feature seven unique drawings to accompany each of the seven tracks. Loranc’s artwork adds a deeper dimension to each of the tracks, allowing the listener a visual narrative into the lyrical descriptions. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HALSHUG — “VOLD”

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Sep 192016

Halshug (“decapitate”) are from Copenhagen, Denmark. Their first album Blodets Bånd kicked my ass so hard last year that it’s only now recovered its beautiful shapely form. Unfortunately for my ass, Southern Lord is releasing Halshug’s second album on September 30. I’m in the market for ass armor. Overnight delivery would be a big plus.

The new album is named Sort Sind, which appropriately means “black mind” in English. It was recorded live, and you can tell that when you hear the music. It was also mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, who of course has a very accomplished history of helping bands beat the hell out of their listeners. We have a song from the album to share with you named “Vold” — which means “violence”. I’m already having trouble sitting down. Continue reading »

CAR BOMB: “META”

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Sep 192016

(Todd Manning is the author of this review for Meta, the new third album by New York’s Car Bomb.)

I’ll admit it, I was disappointed with the direction Dillinger Escape Plan took starting with their third full-length Miss Machine. That’s not meant to disparage the band or their later work — it’s actually quite good and I’m sure they don’t need my approval anyway. But, the promise of sheer chaos was so strong with Under the Running Board and Calculating Infinity that I bought into the premise hook, line, and sinker. And honestly, some of the group’s more recent work had headed back to their original direction, which was a pretty awesome turn of events. But what I want to talk about is the third full-length coming from New York-based mad men Car Bomb.

Car Bomb have always embraced the chaos and confusion and have taken that original Dillinger-inspired blueprint to new and unforeseen depths of madness. Their latest release Meta sees them further explore their sound, continuing to add more dimensions and explore greater ranges of dynamics. These qualities are fleshed out well by the production work of Gojira’s Joe Duplantier, who also contributes vocals to the track “The Oppressor”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: THE RITUAL AURA — “TE – NO – ME”

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Sep 192016

(Austin Weber introduces our premiere of a new song by The Ritual Aura from Australia.)

It’s been an amazing experience to be a small part of what NCS has to offer. I feel like this site is frequently well ahead of many others when it comes to highlighting and exposing talented new bands. It’s a good feeling when this happens, and it seems to been the case for The Ritual Aura, an Australian act I started covering here at NCS in February of last year when we premiered their debut single “Time-Lost Utopia”. We then went on to premiere a second song, “Erased In The Purge”, before their 2015 debut, Laniakea, dropped. While it wasn’t at NCS, earlier this year I also helped the band premiere two new songs from their upcoming album Tæther over at Metal-Injection.

But it’s nice for things to come full circle, so here we are at NCS with another song premiere for the band, this time for a sweet new jam called “Te-no-me”. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (BY GRANT SKELTON): MEMORIAM, ERASERHEAD, OLD CHAPEL

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 5 Responses »

Sep 192016

(NCS contributor Grant Skelton returns with a round-up of music from three bands.)

Like each of you, I am disappointed to hear about the demise of Bolt Thrower. The official announcement surely comes as no surprise a year after the passing of drummer Martin “Kiddie” Kearns. Over the last five years or so, I’ve brushed up on Bolt Thrower’s back catalog, and they remain among my favorite death metal bands. Their discography has impeccable consistency and has aged well with time.

I’m one who prefers my death metal in the slow to mid-paced range. Good death metal is like a good steak — it needs to be fresh, meaty, juicy, and bloody. It’s got to be seasoned and marinated to perfection. It takes finesse, but if you over-complicate it with technicality, it morphs into a science experiment instead of nourishment. In the legacy of Bolt Thrower, I’ve rounded up some vicious vittles of death metal for your consumption.

MEMORIAM

Bolt Thrower fans can celebrate the fact that vocalist Karl Willetts has started a new band called Memoriam. Within their ranks are folks who’ve been around the death metal morgue on more than one occasion. In addition to Willetts, Memoriam’s lineup includes: Continue reading »

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