AN NCS-SPONSORED TOUR: ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, LECHEROUS NOCTURNE, PANZERFAUST

 Metal News  17 Responses »
Mar 192014
 

Ever-evolving black metal purveyors Abigail Williams have announced new North American tour dates for May-June, and NO CLEAN SINGING is proud to sponsor this special run of new performances. Joining AW for this rampage will be two extreme black/death bands, Willowtip recording artists Lecherous Nocturne from South Carolina and Toronto-based Panzerfaust.

Long-time readers of our site will be quite familiar with Abigail Williams and Lecherous Nocturne because we’ve written about them repeatedly, and both bands put on killer live shows. Panzerfaust may be a new name around these parts, but they’re a band whose music is also well worth getting to know.

The tour is scheduled to begin on May 15 in Wisconsin and to conclude on June 14 in Illinois. Abigail Williams’ main man Sorceron told us he’s excited to be hitting the road again with the band’s long-time brothers in Lecherous Nocturne, “and getting out there to show people some new songs.” Continue reading »

AN ABIGAIL WILLIAMS UPDATE

 Metal News  13 Responses »
Jan 162014
 

You can’t keep a good band down, or at least not this one. In July of 2012, we reported the dismal news that USBM band Abigail Williams were going to call it quits after a farewell U.S. tour that started later that month. But Abigail Williams are back, in a big way.

First, the band’s main man Ken Sorceron has recruited a stellar line-up of musicians to accompany him on a nationwide Abigail Williams tour that’s now in progress: guitarist Jeff Wilson (Chrome Waves, Wolvhammer); bassist John Porada (Terminate), and drummer Jesse Beahler, (ex-Jungle Rot, Nightfire). Along for the ride (though their participation in the tour has been delayed) will be another band we’ve praised at NCS, Erimha. Dates are after the jump.

Second, a slightly different though no less eye-catching line-up will be entering the studio with Sorceron in April to record a new Abigail Williams album: Jeff Wilson; long-time Abigail Williams guitarist Ian Jekelis; drummer Alex Rudinger (The Faceless); and bassist Will Lindsay (ex-Nachtmystium, Wolves In The Throne Room). We are told that fans should expect a release on Candelight Records in late August or early September. This goes on our “highly anticipated” list of 2014 releases. Continue reading »

FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE . . . BITS OF METAL UNIFORM

 Mosh Pit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  41 Responses »
Feb 132013
 

(Here we have another installment in UK-based Andy Synn’s occasional series on favorites of his that come in five’s.  Music is included.)

Chance and coincidence are funny little things. One of the various ideas I had noted down for these “Favourite” columns was a short insight into my own collection of non-musical metal materials, specifically the various merch (shirts, etc) I’d picked up over the years.

So when David appeared on the scene with his series of posts on Metal Culture it seemed like the perfect time to actually put this piece together, and hopefully see what items of your ‘metal uniform’ you guys particularly cherish as well!

The funny thing is, I’m actually currently in the process of getting rid of a host of shirts, to various good homes and good people, because I feel like I’ve amassed a rather unnecessary collection, many of which I never/rarely ever wear. So I’ve been winnowing through my wardrobe, selecting the ones I don’t really have a need for, and simultaneously identifying my favourites, all of which plays nicely into this column.

Ok, so we’ll go in some sort of sartorial order, shall we? Continue reading »

A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT: DEVOURMENT, WEAPON THE FACTORY?, SYSTEM DIVIDE, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, AND CLOAK OF ALTERING

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Nov 082012
 

Good morning, good afternoon, good night, wherever you are.  It’s morning for me, three time zones east of where I usually am. I’m pressed for time today because of my day job. I’ll be spending several hours trying to extricate those coke-filled balloons from my ass so I can make my delivery and get back on a plane to Seattle. I got them way to far up in there this time, I’m afraid.

But although I’m pressed for time, I did have time to make a quick review of my usual sources and have a few things to pass along to you, in no particular order: Devourment are releasing a new album; System Divide are going home; Weapon the Factory? are disrobing; Abigail Williams are reuniting; and Cloak of Altering is killing me.  Details to follow.

DEVOURMENT

I saw that these grand-daddies of brutal slamming death metal will have a new album out next year on the Relapse label. Relapse released a teaser video for the thing. I’m ready. I’m more than ready. Check it out following the jump. Continue reading »

BLOOD MUSIC: WIN SOME EYE-CATCHING ABIGAIL WILLIAMS VINYL

 Metal News  10 Responses »
Jul 122012
 

On July 2, we reported the unfortunate news that USBM band Abigail Williams will be calling it quits after a farewell U.S. tour that starts later this month and runs into September. As a result of that post, we made contact with a relatively new non-profit organization based in Helsinki, Finland, named Blood Music.

Among other things, Blood Music raises money for its activities by releasing vinyl versions of previously released metal albums. For example, they have released vinyl versions of albums by Maudlin of the Well and in the near future they’ll be releasing a 7 LP box set of music by Strapping Young Lad. But the subject of this post is Blood Music’s release on vinyl of the first and the last works by Abigail Williams — the Legend EP and the band’s 2012 full-length, Becoming. There are five previously unreleased bonus tracks included on Legend (turning it into an album-length record) and three on Becoming (totaling more than 27 minutes) — and everything was remastered by the band’s frontman, Sorceron, from the original 24-bit mixes.

To help spread the word about Blood Music, they’re running a contest where the winner will receive a free copy of the sweet colored vinyl edition of Becoming pictured above. This is a double LP, with the pressing limited to 150 copies worldwide.

To enter the contest, you’ll need to like the Blood Music Facebook page (here) and share the photo on FB that you can find via this link.

Of course, Blood Music is also selling the colored pressings of both albums (though they’re nearly sold out of those) as well as the black vinyl pressings of both (also limited to 150 copies each). To check those out, HERE is the link to Blood Music’s store. And THIS is the link to Blood Music’s web site. After the jump is a pic of the colored vinyl version of Legend. Continue reading »

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS IS BREAKING UP

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Jul 022012
 

As the post title says, Abigail Williams has just made a public announcement on their Facebook page that they are breaking up following the completion of what will be their last U.S. tour, which begins this month and runs into September.

News like this is bittersweet. On the one hand, it is most unfortunate for the band’s diehard fans — which include many of us here at NCS. The band’s latest album, Becoming (2012), was their best, and one of the year’s best black metal releases, period. It was a milestone along a path of evolution that pointed toward even brighter horizons ahead.

On the other hand, the band’s announcement made explicit something that we would have assumed, given the creative talent in this group — that the members of the band are already involved in other projects that will be releasing new music before this year is over. I have some guesses about what Ken Sorceron will be doing, but I’ll keep those to myself; it’s better to await official news than engage in speculation (yes, this is a new and uncomfortable rule for me).

After the jump, you can read the full Abigail Williams announcement, and I’ve included some music as a reminder of how good this band is / was. I’m also including the current schedule for what will be the band’s farewell tour. Continue reading »

DRUG CULTURE: BRUJERIA, SUCHTHAUS, AND SLITWRIST

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jun 172012
 

Me gusta mucho Brujería, and I stumbled across a Brujería song this morning that I’d never heard before: “Don Quijote Marijuana”. It made me laugh. It also made me want to take my clothes off and dance on a bar. Fortunately, I was at home and therefore spared some collection of bar flies that life-changing experience. It also made me want to listen to a few more familiar Brujeria tracks. So I did. My life is your life, and so I’m sharing all that narcos satanicos con ustedes.

Also, I found out about a new video from a Norwegian band called SuchThaus, and the video and music feature a former and a current member of Mayhem: Maniac and Hellhammer. I don’t know if this song (“DownTown Train”) is about drugs, but it sure sounds like it was composed and recorded while under the influence.

And then finally I heard two new songs by a band called Slitwrist, which features a guest appearance by Sorceron of Abigail Williams (though he may be more than a guest). They’re mesmerizing and horrifying, and they made me want to take drugs, preferably something mood-elevating.  Here we go:

BRUJERIA

It’s hard to know who’s in Brujería from year to year. According to Metal Archives, this part-Mexican, part-Angelino band was created in 1989 by Dino Cazares (Fear Factory), who calls himself “El Asesino” in Brujeria, along with Billy Gould (Faith No More), Juan Lepe (“Juan Brujo”), and Pat Hoed (“Fantasma”, a/k/a “Adam Bomb” on the radio).

But the line-up seems to be fluid — including from time to time people like Jeff Walker (Carcass), Shane Embury (Napalm Death), Raymond Herrera (Arkaea, ex-Fear Factory), and Nicholas Barker (Lock Up, ex-Dimmu Borgir). Also, the members of Brujería wear masks and portray themselves as Mexican drug lords who use nicknames to keep their identities secret, so yeah, it’s hard to know. Continue reading »

AN “INTERVIEW” WITH KEN SORCERON (ABIGAIL WILLIAMS)

 Interviews  10 Responses »
May 272012
 

We’re pretty high on Abigail Williams around here. NSC writer Andy Synn got a very early listen to their 2012 album Becoming and praised it in this review. It’s an ambitious album, crafted with care and intelligence, and I highly recommend it, too.

The band’s frontman, Ken Sorceron is an interesting dude. He marches to the beat of his own drummer and he’s smart, informative, and entertaining when he talks about his music and “the business” of metal in the current age. At some point earlier this year he set up an account on Formspring, which is a social network where people make themselves available to answer questions from the public and the answers are available for everyone to see.

Recently, Sorceron referred to it in a Facebook status as something he was starting to prefer as an alternative to interviews. So I had a few minutes to kill and went over there to read all the questions and answers. Sure enough, it is sort of like reading an interview. Some of the questions are lame, and some of the questions (and answers) presuppose more inside knowledge of the band than I have, but overall I thought it was a very interesting and informative read.

If more metal musicians started doing this, it would put blogger interviewers out of business. In one place, you could find every question worth asking (plus many not worth asking) and all the answers, frozen on one site for all to see. I think it’s a cool idea. In Sorceron’s case, it may save him the time of enduring repetitive interviews. In my case, it saves me the time of trying to conduct an interview — because I’m just going to post the whole thing right here after the jump, through the magic of multiple screen captures.

Is this lazy of me?  Well, fuck yes, of course it is.  “Lazy” is one of my middle names, and for good reason. Continue reading »

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS UPDATE: GOOD NEWS (“BECOMING” IS NOW STREAMING IN FULL) AND NOT SO GOOD NEWS (DARK FUNERAL TOUR WILL BE CANCELED)

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Jan 172012
 

We’ve got good news and not so good news on the Abigail Williams front. The good news is that the band’s forthcoming album, Becoming, is now streaming in full at Hails & Horns, accompanied by an interview with AW’s Ken Sorceron. We got a very early listen to this album back in November, and published what (as far as we know) is the first review of Becoming, written by NCS scribe Andy Synn. (here).

In a nutshell, this is an unusually compelling album, one that should vault this band into the upper echelons of American black metal, one we expect will be on many people’s Best of 2012 lists when this new year draws to a close. We’re not the only people who feel that way — Becoming is already racking up a slew of advance rave reviews. But you don’t have to take anyone else’s word for it any more. GO HERE to listen to the entire album while the stream lasts. Becoming will be released by Candlelight Records on January 24, and pre-orders are being accepted at this location, as well as on iTunes.

Now for the not-so-good news: Although no official statement has yet been released, word is already out that Dark Funeral is canceling its headlining North American tour, which was scheduled to begin on January 29 in Springfield, Virginia. Plans for the tour were already impacted by Belphegor’s exit from the line-up due to frontman Helmuth Lehner’s surgery last fall, which caused the band to cancel all performances through this May. Now, it appears the tour will be shelved altogether.

However, we’ve learned that Abigail Williams — who were to be part of that tour along with Inquisition and Gigan — are doing their best to schedule replacement dates. They need help from interested venues and local bands. More about that after the jump. Continue reading »

MORE 2011 SICKNESS (Part 12)

 Forthcoming Albums  17 Responses »
Dec 022011
 

November is done, and the countdown begins to the end of 2011 and he beginning of the New Year. We’ve been so focused this week on the year behind us, since 2011 Listmania is now in full swing, that we almost forgot that there is a future, and it will be filled with metal.

So, here’s the deal:  In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, we collect news blurbs and press releases we’ve seen over the last month (November) about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, we cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If we found out about a new forthcoming album before November, we wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier.

This month’s list begins right after the jump. As usual, this list is half-assed rather than comprehensive. So, feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what we missed when we put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about! Continue reading »

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