SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): DAWN OF DISEASE, LJOSAZABOJSTWA, DIRE OMEN

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jun 112016
 

Dawn of Disease-Worship the Grave

 

For the last four days running, I’ve been engaged in an attempt to catch up on new song and video premieres and recent full releases. The first three posts were devoted to black(ish) metal, and then yesterday I posted the first part of a Seen and Heard collection devoted to other corners of the underground.

My original plan for this Part 2 was to include a lot more music than you will actually find here, but I forgot about something I had agreed to do this morning with Ms. Islander, and so I’ve had to cut this short. Which means there will be a Part 3, probably tomorrow (along with another Shades of Black post), but maybe Monday.

DAWN OF DISEASE

Germany’s Dawn of Disease have a new album named Worship the Grave (which features cover art by Mark Cooper) that’s coming our way via Napalm Records on June 24. A couple of days ago, they revealed an album track called “The Sky Is Empty”, which is a real ass-kicker. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 1): ZEAL AND ARDOR, HOPELESS YOUTH, THRAWSUNBLAT, CONCRETE MASCARA, BENEATH THE STORM, JUPITERIAN

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
Jun 102016
 

Zeal and Ardor-Devil Is Fine

 

I spent the last three days doing some catch-up work on recent premieres and releases from the realms of black metal, and today it’s time to shift gears and begin a series of round-ups of new music from other corners of the underground. My NCS comrade DGR is working on a round-up of his own, but even between the two of us we still won’t succeed in covering everything good that we’ve found over the last two weeks (when our round-ups were scarce).

Having said that, we may still threaten to overwhelm our readers with the volume of what we’re recommending. To give you a chance to catch your breath, I’m dividing my collection of recommendations into at least two parts, with the second one to come tomorrow (Saturday). I’ve also attempted to mix up the styles of music within each of these two parts in the hope of appealing to a broad array of tastes (and keeping you off-balance, of course).

ZEAL AND ARDOR

Zeal and Ardor is the name of a music project based in New York City. I’m calling it a “project”, because I have no idea who is behind it, or whether it’s the work of one person or more than one; I’ve searched and can find no background information at all. This mysterious project released a self-titled album in June 2014 that I did not know existed, and in mid-April of this year they released a second one named Devil Is Fine — which is unlike anything I’ve heard before. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): INERT — “OBLITERATION OF THE SELF”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Jun 102016
 

Inert-Obliteration of the Self

 

One week ago we premiered the title track from Obliteration of the Self, the debut EP by an insurgent death metal duo who call themselves Inert, and today we deliver a full stream of the entire EP, which the band are making available as a free download for a limited time.

For those who missed our earlier premiere, I’ll repeat the band’s origin story: Both members (guitarist Xavier Aguilar and vocalist/drummer Gustavo Garcia) knew each other for many years from the metal scene in Barcelona, Spain, but didn’t join forces in Inert until Xavi moved to Stockholm, Sweden. Perhaps something in the Swedish water infiltrated Xavi’s creative juices, but whatever caused this duo to join forces only after considerable distance separated them, we should be thankful for it. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VOKONIS (SIMON OHLSSON)

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jun 102016
 

Vokonis - band

 

(We present Comrade Aleks’ interview of Simon Ohlsson, vocalist/guitarist of the Swedish band Vokonis, whose new album was released in late May.)

Wild, angry, and full of energy, Swedish power trio Vokonis ride in their thunderous chariot right from nowhere throwing lightning and rattling at full scale! This loud combination of doom metal and stoner is straightforward and masculine, you hear it and get the revelation — Vokonis have big balls and they literally show it on their brand new album Olde One Ascending!

We had a talk with Simon Ohlsson, singing guitarist of Vokonis. Bring it on Simon! Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 3): IMPERIUM DEKADENZ, SPIRE, MORTHUS, FIRTAN, BLOODRAIN, DREAD SOVEREIGN

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  9 Responses »
Jun 092016
 

Imperium Dekadenz-Dis Manibvs

 

This is the third and final part of a post I began two days ago devoted to recent song and video streams, as well as full releases, in a blackened vein. This doesn’t exhaust what I’d like to recommend from what I’ve been listening to over the last week or so, but after this I’m going to get back to the more usual schedule of posting these Shades of Black collections on Sundays. Hope you find some things to like in what follows. In case you missed the first two parts of this post, here are links:

Part One
Part Two

IMPERIUM DEKADENZ

I first discovered this German band in the spring of 2010 and wrote a review of their then-current album Procella Vadens (which is superb), except I wrote it as if Suffocation’s Frank Mullen were writing the review. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I failed to review their next album, 2013’s Meadows of Nostalgia (also excellent), only managing to praise two songs from it. And now a third album is on the way, with the first advance track premiering yesterday at Rolling Stone (of all places). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MONOLITHE — A TEASER FOR “ZETA RETICULI”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Jun 092016
 

Monolithe-Zeta Reticuli

 

Only six months ago we were privileged to bring you the premiere of a full-album stream on the release date of Epsilon Aurigae, the the fifth album by the remarkable Parisian doom band Monolithe. But that album was only the first part of a two-album conceptual work, and the second part — entitled Zeta Reticuli — has now been scheduled for release by Debemur Morti Productions on July 8. As was true of Epsilon Aurigae, the new album is composed of three long tracks, and today we’re helping share a video teaser that will begin whetting your appetite for the full experience.

In my review of the last album, I attempted to describe the experience as something akin to “diving into a deep blue hole, with crushing pressures and glowing phosphorescence all around you, or perhaps like a venture into the cold void of space. Either way, you really lose the sense that you’re standing on solid ground.”

That album was brimming with dark atmospheric music, incisively textured and powerful in its emotional impact. But for all of its alien ambience and bereft melodies, the album was also a heavyweight crusher, and one of the most mesmerizing doom albums of 2015. Understandably, I’ve been eager to discover the second half of this musical saga. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AUROCH AND MITOCHONDRION — “IN CRONIAN HOUR”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Jun 092016
 

Mitochondrion-Auroch-In Chronian Hour

 

Auroch and Mitochondrion are two Vancouver, BC, bands with interlocking parts who have been favorites of this site for a long stretch of years. They have joined forces in a split release called In Cronian Hour that’s finally on the brink of release via Dark Descent and Hellthrasher Productions, and we’re damned fortunate to bring you a stream of the split today.

We’ve been waiting for this release a long time — I first wrote about plans for the split in November 2013. Yet despite the passage of years, this week turns out to be excellent timing for the debut of the music stream: Less than two weeks ago, both bands proved their power once again with staggering sets at Maryland Deathfest 2016 (reviewed here), and less than two weeks from now Auroch will undoubtedly do it again in Vancouver as part of the stacked line-up at this year’s Covenant Festival on June 16-18.

People who have seen the bands perform within the last six months have probably heard both of the songs on this split. They’re striking songs, even heard individually and separated in time, but they’re connected. Continue reading »

ANDY SYNN PRESENTS: REVIEWS IN HAIKUS (DARK FUNERAL, GLORIOR BELLI, WHITECHAPEL)

 Album Reviews, Reviews In Haikus  12 Responses »
Jun 092016
 

Dark Funeral-Where Shadows Forever Reign

 

(Andy Synn revives an old, irregular series of album reviews in haiku. Three reviews of three lines each come after the jump. With music, of course.)

REVIEWS IN HAIKUS
It’s been quite a while
Since I’ve done one of these. Let’s
See if I still can! Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): NIGHTBRINGER, TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE, BLACK FUCKING CANCER, VERWOED, DEISIDAEMONIA

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  14 Responses »
Jun 082016
 

Nightbringer art

 

This is the second part of a collection I began yesterday, recommending new song streams and recent album releases from the hallowed realms of black metal. I’ve had a lot of catching up to do after spending most of the last two weeks devoting time to other pursuits, and although I still won’t succeed, I’ve decided to prepare a third installment of this post, collecting a handful of additional song streams and releases. That will probably happen tomorrow, but perhaps today if I have more time than I think I’ll have.

NIGHTBRINGER

As many of you already know, four tremendously good black metal bands — Thy Darkened Shade, Abigor, Mortuus, and Nightbringer — have joined forces to create an album-length split recording that has been one of my most highly anticipated releases of the year. We began hinting at this release back in January when we premiered an excerpt from Thy Darkened Shade’s offering for the split. Since then, excerpts from each of the other band’s tracks have gradually been revealed. The last one came yesterday when Nightbringer previewed its track, which is named “Tunnels”. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BETRAYAL — “INFINITE CIRCLES”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  3 Responses »
Jun 082016
 

Betrayal-Infinite Circles

 

(TheMadIsraeli delivers our premiere of a full album stream for the debut full-length by Germany’s Betrayal, along with a review.)

Betrayal is a promising melodic death metal new-blood hailing from Aschaffenburg, Germany. Their new album Infinite Circles is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve heard this year, mixing the technicality and high/low vocal attack of The Black Dahlia Murder, the venom and dynamism of Arsis along with some proggy undertones that call to mind bands like Extol, all firmly rooted by a very The Absence-esque dedication to the best of tried and true melodic death metal convention. Continue reading »

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