NO CLEAN SINGING

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 1): NYLITHIA, CELESTIAL GRAVE, THE DEPRESSICK, AENAON

Jun 152016

Last night I decided it was time to pull together another round-up of new music and videos that I’ve been enjoying. By the time I had finished sifting through a lot of stuff in an effort to provide both quality and variety, I had a collection that seemed too long for a single post, so I’ve divided this one into two parts. The way things go, I’ll probably come across more new things this morning that will be worth adding to Part 2 before I post it. To begin….

NYLITHIA

“Bludwolves” is the tenth track on this Vancouver band’s 2015 debut album Hyperthrash. It happens to be a song that we premiered last fall. It also might be my favorite song on a very strong album — and so I was stoked to see that it had become the subject of a new Nylithia music video. And when I saw the video, I got even more excited. Continue reading »

CAECUS: “THE FUNERAL GARDEN”

Album Reviews No Responses »

Jun 142016

(Andy Synn reviews the debut album by the Illinois band Caecus.)

There’s something to be said for being in the right place, at the right time.

The advent and ascension of bands like Fallujah, Black Crown Initiate, and Ne Obliviscaris (to name but three) over the past several years has indicated something of a creative renaissance and renewed interest in the more Progressive wing of the Technical Death Metal scene, one very much separate from the predominant chug’n’sweep approach of the “core” crowd, or the tappy typewriter drums of the Unique Leader crew.

As such, it seems like the perfect time for a band like Illinois-based Prog/Tech types Caecus to play their hand, roll the dice, and see if their particular brand of fluid, energetic riffage and extravagant lead guitar work has what it takes to ride the crest of this wave, or else sink back into the depths. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ROTTING CHRIST — “APAGE SATANA”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Jun 142016

When our man DGR reviewed Rotting Christ’s new album Rituals in February, he made some observations that came back to mind today. He remarked that Rituals “feels more like an event than a collection of singles”, that “the songs feel perfectly placed,” with “more dramatic interstitial sections slotting in well next to faster songs”, earning the name given to the album. He also commented on the intensely rhythmic nature of much of the music, underscoring the thematic union of the album’s ten tracks as musical representations of rites from around the globe that share a certain spiritual essence.

A personal favorite among those “interstitial” sections is the powerful “Ἄπαγε Σατανά (Apage Satana)”, and today we bring you the premiere of Rotting Christ’s mesmerizing video for the song. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BLUT AUS NORD AND ÆVANGELIST — “CODEX OBSCURA NOMINA”

Album Reviews, Premieres 22 Responses »

Jun 142016

To get right to the point: On June 17, Debemur Morti Productions will release Codex Obscura Nomina, an album-length split by Blut Aus Nord and Ævangelist, and we now bring you the chance to listen to all of it.

The album includes one EP-length track by Ævangelist named “Threshold of the Miraculous” and four tracks by Blut Aus Nord, which are themselves parts of a unified work called “Spectral Subsonic Waves (The Sound is an Organic Matter)”. Each piece stands alone, yet they achieve the ideal for a split release of any kind: They complement each other in ways that enable them, together, to magnify the impact that each produces separately. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: JUST BEFORE DAWN — “THE GHOSTS OF THE EASTERN FRONT”

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Jun 132016

The Swedish death metal war machine Just Before Dawn has already given the world two excellent albums (Precis innan gryningen (2013) and The Aftermath (2014)), and the first installment in a trilogy of EPs (2015’s The Dead and Those About To Die), and now JBD mastermind Anders Biazzi and a formidable battalion of allies are on the verge of launching their latest offensive — a new EP named The Ghosts of the Eastern Front. — and below you will find some thoughts about the EP as well as a teaser video with audio samples from the songs.

Like the first EP in the trilogy, this new one will be released on cassette tape by Till You Fukkin Bleed Records, and the songs on the cassette will also later be included on a new full-length release planned for later this year. Continue reading »

A DARK DESCENT / UNSPEAKABLE AXE ROUND-UP: PHOBOCOSM, GHOULGOTHA, SEWERCIDE, SHEIDIM

Album Reviews 7 Responses »

Jun 132016

(In this post Todd Manning provides brief reviews of new releases by Dark Descent and Unspeakable Axe.)

Death might just be the overarching theme of 2016, but the tandem of Dark Descent Records and their sub-imprint Unspeakable Axe are certainly spinning this in their favor by releasing a continuous string of remarkable Death Metal albums. While I have already had the opportunity to talk about new albums from the likes of Ripper, Nucleus, and Hemotoxin, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to gush about a few more albums from the label.

PHOBOCOSM

First up is the new album from Montreal-based Phobocosm. Bringer of Drought is the follow-up to their impressive debut Deprived and is nothing short of astonishing. Despite the label’s reputation as being at the forefront of the New Wave of Old School Death Metal, none of these bands seems to be unoriginal or regressive in such a way that causes them to lack their own identity. This is perhaps best illustrated by Phobocosm, who seem to marry the epic feel of classic Neurosis to the Death Metal/Doom hybrid of Inverloch and Disembowelment. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ANGUISH

Interviews 2 Responses »

Jun 132016

(Comrade Aleks brings us another interview from the domain of doom, this time confronting the Swedish band Anguish.)

This angry doom metal band from Swedish Uppsala made some noise with two full-length albums – Through the Archedemon’s Head (I believe that you at least have seen its artwork) and Mountain. Their slow, heavy, vocals are harsh and wheezing – they are too traditional for death doom metal and too tough for trad doom.

However, I have checked the band’s status time to time and didn’t see any news for some period. My duty called me to write an email to Anguish, and David Eriksson (guitars) answered me. Here’s his interview, done with the help of Anguish’s vocalist J.Dee, who periodically appeared from the shadows. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PAGANIZER — “ANGRY ALL THE TIME”

Premieres 3 Responses »

Jun 122016

Of all the many musical projects of Rogga Johansson over an illustrious career, Paganizer is the oldest and longest-running, with the first demo (Stormfire) being released in 1998, followed by new releases or compilations almost every year since then. In this current year, the mighty Paganizer have again mounted a new death metal assault in the form of an EP fittingly named On the Outskirts of Hades, and today we bring you the premiere of its opening track: “Angry All the Time“.

What a great name for a song, and one that rings so true in the baleful light of Paganizer’s long and savage history. And it’s not only the title of the song that’s great. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: WAYFARER, BLACK CULT, HERMÓÐR, ADVERSUM, GROTESQUE CEREMONIUM, KING SATAN

Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK 6 Responses »

Jun 122016

I scattered three posts over three days during the last week recommending music in a blackened vein from a lot of premieres and releases I had accumulated on various lists that I keep — and I still didn’t exhaust everything I wanted to recommend. So yes, I’m throwing still more at you today, while resuming my habit of publishing these Shades of Black posts on Sundays.

I have an array of advance tracks from forthcoming releases (including one new video) and a new single, by a total of six interesting and diverse bands.

WAYFARER

In 2014, Denver’s Wayfarer released an excellent debut album (via Prosthetic) in Children of the Iron Age, and now Prosthetic has scheduled June 17 as the release date for the band’s second full-length, Old Souls. So far, three songs from the album can be heard on Bandcamp, and they are well worth your time. Continue reading »

THE REARVIEW MIRROR: OBTAINED ENSLAVEMENT

THE REARVIEW MIRROR 5 Responses »

Jun 122016

As I’ve mentioned before, I wasn’t listening to extreme metal in the late ’80s or the ’90s. With the help of some knowledgable guides, I’ve spent time over the last decade trying to catch up on what I missed. It’s a deep history, and the process of exploration isn’t nearly finished. Today’s Rearview Mirror focuses on my most recent discovery (with thanks to Jan K. once again for turning me on to the album you’re about to hear).

Obtained Enslavement was a black metal band formed in Stord, Norway, in about 1989. The band’s founding members included Pest (who went on to become the frontman for Gorgoroth both before and after Gaahl), guitarist Døden, and drummer Torquemada, and they were soon joined by a phenomenal keyboardist who used the name Heks. Together they recorded two demos and four albums before disbanding (though additional musicians also participated on some of the albums). Continue reading »

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