ANCIENT DEATH: “EGO DISSOLUTION”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Apr 222025
 

(Our Norway-based writer Chile has provided the following enthusiastic review of the debut album from Ancient Death, recently released by Profound Lore Records.)

Sometimes I feel that new bands have it hard. Other times I feel something else. Anyway, new bands. With what is now more than a half a century of metal history behind us, one would think that the burden of classics weighing down and the manic following of fans trying to prove that nothing great came out after Altars of Madness or Leprosy, would somehow discourage anyone from playing death metal. Well, think again.

These days, with all the technological possibilities permeating the music industry, the one real problem bands can encounter is finding their one, trve identity in the scene flooded with copycats. It seems like all the great, memorable band names have been taken by the ancestors, so new bands have to resort to various imaginative combinations on that perennial quest.

Enter Ancient Death. Hailing from Massachusetts with a name symbolic of the genre it plays, the band was formed in 2019 (or 2021, depending where you look) and already has a great EP and a split with Germany’s Putridarium under their belt. It’s only natural that the next step taken is a full-length album. Released on April 18th on Profound Lore Records, Ego Dissolution is the band’s debut and a wonderful show of intent and talent. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: GRAVE INFESTATION, DARK MEDITATION, SPIRITWORLD, ANCIENT DEATH, TYRANNOSATAN, ARV, EXILIUM NOCTIS, PRIMORDIAL BLACK (AND TWO INTERVIEWS)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Feb 222025
 

(written by Islander)

Greetings on another Saturday. I have another globe-hopping-and-genre-hopping selection of new songs and videos filtered from what I was able to check out over the past week.

At the end, I’m also recommending a pair of recent interviews published at locations other than NCS, not just because the bands are favorites of mine but also because the discussions are so interesting.

But we’ll start with the music…. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: MASSACRE, FLESHROT, ENTRAILS, AMON AMARTH, ANTIGAMA, ANCIENT DEATH, NEGATIVE 13, SUFFER IN SILENCE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Jun 042022
 

 

This has been a discombobulating week for me, which began with a long trip back to Seattle on Monday from a crazy time at Maryland Deathfast and stumbling into my house at 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Apart from being worn out, I had the thrill over the next few days of learning that about half the people I traveled and hung out with at MDF, all of whom were vaxxed-up, were testing positive for covid. (If you were at MDF you need to get tested even if you feel fine, because MDF is showing strong signs of being a super-spreader event.)

I also had a ton of shit to catch up with at my day job, and things to do in the planning for Northwest Terror Fest, which is fast approaching. On top of that, my spouse and I had a house guest for one of those days. And on top of that, I paid almost no attention to new releases while I was in Baltimore.

Long story short, I’m way behind on what’s been happening with new songs and videos. That makes today’s selections even more random than usual.

MASSACRE (U.S./Sweden)

I decided to begin with a heaping helping of rotten red meat for lovers of old school death metal, beginning with a track off a forthcoming EP by the venerable Massacre. Continue reading »