VANUM / VARAHA / VIELIKAN / VIMUR

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Apr 292019
 

 

(This is a quartet of reviews written by Andy Synn, gathering together impressions and streams for four excellent new albums by bands who happen to share a first letter.)

Did you know they’re planning on doing a full-length movie version of Sesame Street?

I didn’t until recently, but I guess it just goes to show that anything which the studios believe can be turned into a movie will be turned into one eventually.

Still, as long as they avoid the temptation to make it a “dark and gritty reboot” I suppose it can’t be that bad, right?

Anyway, this has very little to do with the bands I’m writing about here today, other than to act as a cheeky little segue into me saying that today’s article is brought to you by the letter V and the number 4. Continue reading »

INFERNO FESTIVAL 2019: DAY 4

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Apr 262019
 

 

(In what has become an annual tradition, our man from the UK, Andy Synn, attended Inferno Festival on April 18 – 21, 2019, in Oslo. We have been posting his reports on the event this week, day by day, accompanied by a few of his photos, and this is the final installment.)

 

The fourth and final day of Inferno Festival this year was a tale of woe and suffering… for me anyway… which began the previous evening.

By the time I got back to my hotel after Taake the night before I was already spiralling pretty hard. I had a raging fever, my legs were barely holding me up, and every single part of me felt simultaneously frozen and on fire and covered in sandpaper. For the next fourteen hours (trust me, I counted them) I was unable to sleep, unable to rest, and unable to do anything but sweat and shiver and curse my own existence.

Thankfully I eventually managed to drop off, as otherwise I think I might honestly have gone insane, although by this point it was early Sunday afternoon, which made it extremely unlikely I was going to see all the bands I wanted to. But I did manage to see some. Continue reading »

INFERNO FESTIVAL 2019: DAY 3

 Concert Reviews  No Responses »
Apr 252019
 

 

(In what has become an annual tradition, our man from the UK, Andy Synn, attended Inferno Festival on April 18 – 21, 2019, in Oslo. We are posting his reports on the event this week, day by day, accompanied by a few of his photos.)

 

What can I say about the third day of this year’s Inferno Festival?

Quite a lot, as it turns out, although, for various reasons, still not as much as I’d hoped. Continue reading »

INFERNO FESTIVAL 2019: DAY 2

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Apr 242019
 

 

 

(In what has become an annual tradition, our man from the UK, Andy Synn, attended Inferno Festival on April 18 – 21, 2019, in Oslo. We are posting his reports on the event this week, day by day, accompanied by a few of his photos.)

Day 2 of this year’s edition of Inferno Festival started off on a promising note, as I woke up feeling heartily refreshed and full of piss and vinegar… and once I’d been to the bathroom, emptied my bladder, and brushed my teeth, I was still feeling pretty fresh, so was able to make it down to the gym for an hour, then off into the centre of the city to have a wander and find some food, before finally making my way back to Rockefeller where, over the course of the evening, we’d all be treated to at least three headline-worthy (or almost headline-worthy) performances, perhaps as the universe’s way of making up for yesterday’s slightly lacklustre finale! Continue reading »

INFERNO FESTIVAL 2019: DAY 1

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Apr 232019
 

 

(In what has become an annual tradition, our man from the UK, Andy Synn, attended Inferno Festival on April 18 – 21, 2019, in Oslo. Beginning today we will post his reports on the event, day by day, accompanied by a few of his photos.)

This year’s edition of Inferno Festival was a funny one for me, for a couple of reasons.

For one thing the allure of the headliners simply didn’t seem as great this year (although the undercard definitely provided more than its fair share of gems), with only the highly-anticipated Hypocrisy headline slot on the Friday really standing out to me (which, let me be clear, is no judgement on the festival organisers, or the other bands themselves, and merely a reflection of my own mindset where Dimmu, Bloodbath, and Opeth are concerned).

More importantly, however, this was the first year where I’ve attended the festival and NOT been able to see all the bands I wanted to, as I started to develop a really nasty fever on the Saturday, and ended up spending the next sixteen-or-so hours simultaneously burning up and freezing to death while my body tried desperately to sweat out whatever was poisoning it, and even now I can count the number of hours of sleep I’ve had since then in the single digits.

Still, I can’t complain too much, as I managed to see almost all the bands I really wanted to watch over the course of the weekend, and can only apologise to the ones I missed. Continue reading »

XAON: “SOLIPSIS”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Apr 192019
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the Swiss metal band Xaon, which was released on April 12th by Mighty Music.)

Somewhere along the way we’ve developed a bit of a reputation here at NCS as a site that primarily covers Black Metal (I suppose the fact that my last three reviews were for Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Skald In Veum, and Mephorash might have contributed to that a little).

So, despite the fact that I’m currently in Norway, the home of Black Metal, I decided it was about time to write about something of a less corpse-painted colour, in this case the new album from Swiss Symphonic Melodeath maestros Xaon. Continue reading »

MEPHORASH: “SHEM HA MEPHORASH”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Apr 172019
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the Swedish band Mephorash, which will be released by Shadow Records on April 18th.)

Black Metal, as we all know, contains multitudes. And within these multitudes it also contains (and practically revels in) a multitude of contradictions.

For instance, despite the genre’s seemingly endless (and not entirely unjustified) fixation on issues of authenticity and artistic purity, it’s also one of the most image-obsessed styles of Metal in existence.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. In fact I have a lot of respect for those bands who go to the extra effort of ensuring that their visual aesthetic – from their album art, to their promo shots, to their stage get-up – both reflects and complements their musical identity.

Oh, I’ve definitely seen it go very wrong in the past… just throwing on some cheap robes you bought off Amazon doesn’t suddenly make you more “occult”, and no amount of corpse-paint is ever going to make someone like Carach Angren look or sound any less embarrassing… but those bands who really go the extra mile, bands like Mephorash, who match their appearance to their art in every possible aspect, truly offer something a cut above the standard Black Metal experience. Continue reading »

SKALD IN VEUM: “STRIDSLYSTEN”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Apr 152019
 

 

(In this post Andy Synn reviews the new album by the Swedish black metal band Skald In Veum, which was released on April 12th.)

Although I’m not at all religious myself, and have probably broken several key commandments in my time (I’ve definitely coveted my neighbour’s ass on a few occasions), I have to admit I’m still endlessly fascinated by those bands who manage to bring some proper Old Testament fire and brimstone to Black Metal.

After all, while these days it’s become more of a mainstream-friendly corporate conglomerate, the roots of Christianity are awash in just as much blood and dirt, and home to just as many devils and demons and strange superstitions, as any other major (or minor) religion, and the various artefacts and apocrypha left over from this period have provided fertile inspiration for both believers and unbelievers alike over the years.

All of which brings us nicely to Stridslysten, the debut album from Swedish celebrants Skald In Veum, whose particular approach is less “turn the other cheek” and more “rain of fire, pillars of salt”.

So hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen, it’s about to get biblical… Continue reading »

DARKENED NOCTURN SLAUGHTERCULT: “MARDOM”

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Apr 122019
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the German black metal band Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult.)

The name Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult is one of those monikers that, once you’ve heard it, you’re unlikely to ever forget.

Unfortunately it’s been my experience that, even amongst the Black Metal faithful, the band’s name is somehow still more famous than their music.

Thankfully, with the release of their sixth album (which comes out today on War Anthem Records) I’m hopeful that this might just be about to change, as Mardom is not only a fantastic continuation of their already impressive legacy, and a near-perfect jumping-on point for new fans, it’s also one of the best Black Metal albums I’ve heard so far this year. Continue reading »

HATH: “OF ROT AND RUIN”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Apr 112019
 

 

(Here’s Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by New Jersey’s Hath, which will be released on April 12th by Willowtip Records.)

You know what I think? I think the whole Europe vs the USA “rivalry” (for want of a better word) in the Metal scene never really went away, we just all agreed, implicitly at least, to stop talking about it as much.

Of course I’m not suggesting that there’s some huge, unbridgeable divide between the two sides of the Atlantic, or that the scions of “European” and “American” Metal are some sort of monolith, but there’s still certain unconscious beliefs and biases at play, subtly encouraging you to “root for the home team”, even now.

Heck, I can think of several examples off the top of my head where some of my US colleagues have been full of praise for a specific band or album, when all I can think is “but this just sounds like early Emperor” or “these are just a bunch of leftover At The Gates riffs”… and I’m sure the exact same sort of thing has occurred the other way around when I’ve been pushing a band from this side of the pond which they simply don’t see as being a particularly big deal.

All this is, I suppose, a long-winded way of saying that if you’ve been looking for the American version of Slugdge… well, Of Rot and Ruin has got you covered, bro. Continue reading »

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