May 112016
 

Enlighten-Illvmantithesis

 

The Portuguese band Enlighten weave a special kind of magic on their new EP Illvmantithesis. The music is a species of black/death metal that’s more anguished and aching than poisonous and destructive, yet the music also conveys a  sensation of chaos and creeping derangement. It’s a deft balancing act, a blending of enthralling, atmospheric melody and abrasive tumult. It’s the kind of dynamic and multifaceted creation that helps Enlighten stand out strongly from many of their peers.

The new EP consists of two songs, both of which we’re streaming for you below. It follows last year’s Phösphorvs Paramovnt EP and the band’s 2014 debut single, Svlphvr Bread, and will become available in June. Continue reading »

May 112016
 

Abnormality band

 

(Our friend Vonlughlio interviews vocalist Mallika Sundaramurthy of the Massachusetts death metal band Abnormality.)

This time around I have been given the opportunity of doing an interview with Mallika Sundaramurthy (vocalist of Abnormality) and to talk about metal and the band, amongst other things.

First of all, the band formed back in 2005, in Massachusetts, and since then have released a demo in 2007, the EP The Collective Calm in Mortal Oblivion in 2010, and their debut album Contaminating The Hive Mind in 2012. Last month on the 29th they released their sophomore effort entitled Mechanisms of Omniscience via Metal Blade Records.

I discovered the band in 2012 but don’t remember who sent me a YouTube link with one of their songs. I do recall that person saying that the band had a great BDM/Technical balance in their song structure and delivery and a woman as their vocalist. I must confess that I was skeptical at first, since up to that point I wasn’t familiar with women performing at the front of a band in this type of genre. Yes, shame on me, and once I heard the song I was blown away by the pure talent that all the musicians displayed. Long story short, their debut album ended up in my top 25 of that year: Continue reading »

May 112016
 

Youth Code-Commitment To Complications

 

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Youth Code from L.A.)

After the Alaric review, you might have guessed I am more drawn to heavy in all of its forms than being limited only to ingesting it as metal. You might be familiar with my work at Cvlt Nation; if so, my weird taste will make perfect sense.

This album has a great deal of metal influence lurking beneath the electronic beats. Youth Code is aggressive in a way that industrial music has not been in some time. Industrial music has lost a great deal of its menace over the years. It became enmeshed in EDM, with even the legends of the genre such as Skinny Puppy succumbing to coating their songs in a plastic sheen after The Greater Wrong of the Right. Youth Code has come to put the teeth back into industrial.

These kids are not just hipsters playing dress-up. They are the real deal. This aggression doesn’t require sampling riffs from ’90s thrash metal either; it is fueled into the buzz of their synths. Continue reading »

May 102016
 

choking

 

(We applied the squeeze to DGR and he coughed up not one, not two, but three reviews all at once…)

I’ve actually been taking a quick breather from the giant review slate that I’ve built up for myself at this lovely site. After the humongous swath of death metal (with a handful of releases to go, as well) and some upcoming more doom-flavored tracks, I figured I’d pull away from the names I’d recognized and try to find some stuff that we’ve never really crossed paths with before. One of the ways I’ll do that is to go fishing through our various social media contacts, because although there is a gigantic pile of music to work through, I’ve had pretty good luck in finding stuff.

Even though an absolute torrent of new releases is coming our way here over the next few months, I occasionally like to go back and sift through earlier releases to see if there is anything interesting that we missed. Often, it has usually boiled down to me surfing through our various messages to see if there have been any bands who have contacted us recently, and among the few of us at the site we start slowly filtering our way through them. So yes, this process does seem to take forever but it is also because I like to deep-dive into most things, rather than take a cursory glance at it and give it the up vote/down vote scenario.

That’s the case with this collection of music, as I found myself getting yanked and driven all over the globe. In this particular roundup, I have two bands that we’ve never covered before and one that should be intensely familiar to very seasoned NCS readers, but three very different styles of music on top of that. Let us charge forth, shall we? Continue reading »

May 102016
 

Holy Grove - band

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us his interview with Trent Jacobs, guitarist of Portland’s Holy Grove.)

Nowadays there are a lot of doom bands with female vocals and lyrics about all the mystic stuff you ever could imagine. It is harder and harder to sort out anything in this scene besides the big names that are on everyone’s lips. But here we are! Here we are to help you, and that’s why I want you to pay attention to Holy Grove, a really strong doom-quartet from blessed Portland.

They’ve been in the game for nearly four years, but their first self-titled album was released just five weeks ago. Why so long? That’s the question for Trent Jacobs, Holy Grove’s guitarist. Continue reading »

May 102016
 

Katalepsy-Gravenous Hour

 

(Here’s Allen Griffin’s review of the new second album by the Russian band Katalepsy.)

Modern Brutal Death Metal has long been the red-headed stepchild of the Extreme Metal scene, and one could easily argue it was for a good reason. The world never needed generic breakdowns and ridiculously misogynistic artwork and lyrics, or at least not this late in the game (Cannibal Corpse will always get a pass).

In recent times, however, and perhaps missed by all but the most ardent fans, leaps of progression have been rolling through the sub-genre. And while groups such as Wormed and Fallujah have certainly been spearheading the charge, even mid-listers such as Moscow’s Katalepsy have considerably upped the ante. While they may not blast off into space like their aforementioned compatriots, they certainly know how to construct a powerful Death Metal record. Continue reading »

May 102016
 

Wormfood-LEnvers cover

 

Fifteen years from the beginning until now. That is the measure of Wormfood’s existence, though the band’s composition has been boiled down and risen again during that time, coalescing around the vocalist/guitarist El Worm (Emmanuel Lévy). Posthume was this French band’s last album (in 2011), and the new one is named L’Envers. Some songs from L’Envers have appeared already, and we have another one: “Collectionneur de Poupées“.

The band’s members since about 2010 have also contributed creatively to such groups as Abstrusa Unde, Melted Space, Öxxö Xööx, and Régiment. If you know anything about those bands, or about Emmanuel Lévy’s work in Erdh, you’ll know that Wormfood doesn’t follow a straight path. And on this new album, they’re joined on their unorthodox course by guest artists Paul Bento (ex-Type O Negative, ex-Carnivore, Wrench) and Axel Wursthorn (ex-Carnival In Coal). Continue reading »

May 092016
 

CD Folder

 

(Our Norwegian comrade Gorger continues his distinctive series recommending albums that have somehow eluded our attention. To find more of his discoveries, visit Gorger’s Metal.)

Running a one-man site (old-school style, edited via usb-typewriter and quill on touch surface) takes its toll when attempting to cover as much as possible.

Hence, I’ve been too busy to leand a hand to Islander lately. To make up for it, and to rid myself of my March writings, I’m tossing in six albums this time. I hope you’re hungry. Continue reading »

May 092016
 

Oak Pantheon-In Pieces

 

(Andy Synn reviews the remarkable new album by Oak Pantheon from Minnesota.)

Change is perhaps the only true constant in life. People change. Bands change. And our relationship to them, and to their music, changes accordingly.

And yet, though it’s undeniable that Minnesotan metallers Oak Pantheon have certainly changed somewhat since the release of their first album, 2012’s stirring From A Whisper, the essence of the band, their core sound, still remains fully intact, even as their latest release finds the group expanding beyond perhaps what even they originally envisioned.

Changed, and yet unchanging, it’s precisely this paradox which is at the centre of In Pieces, a compelling enigma which necessitates multiple spins to truly appreciate and comprehend. Continue reading »

May 082016
 

Profanatica-The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

 

As I explained yesterday, I’ve been off my game for yet another week, with less time than usual to collect new music worth hearing. In a (futile) effort to play catch-up, I collected some new things yesterday and a lot more in this post, which is again devoted to metal in a blackened vein.

PROFANATICA

New York’s Profanatica have deep roots in the underground, with a string of short releases beginning in 1990. The band dissolved in about 1992 before releasing an album, but re-formed in 2001, though the first album still wouldn’t appear until 2007. Their fourth album, The Curling Flame of Blasphemy, is now set for release on July 22 by Hells Headbangers, the music prepared by the band’s two core members, drummer/vocalist Paul Ledney and bassist/guitarist John Gelso.

The album’s first track, “Ordained in Bile”, appeared recently, and I really can’t get enough of it. The atmosphere is primitive and predatory, and its primal power owes much to its production (especially the drum tone, which you can feel right in your gut). Continue reading »