ANTIGAMA: “METEOR”

 Album Reviews  9 Responses »
May 312013
 

(NCS contributor Austin Weber returns with this review of the sixth studio album by Poland’s Antigama.)

If the metal-as-noise paradigm has any truth to it, grindcore has always pushed that maxim relentlessly, essentially willing you to find something enjoyable within such abrasive sounds. Of course the best grindcore bands have always had a knack for rising above mere raw aggression to take grind to a refined, more delicately controlled state of chaos. As a group, Poland’s Antigama have wisely merged the two schools of thought, which means they do spend time assaulting your ears in noisy fashion, but  do it with a more developed manner of songwriting with more structure, which I will dub “grown up grind”. They’ve been on this path since 2002 and over the course of numerous full-lengths and splits they’ve gotten consistently better and more disturbing with each release.

Meteor feels like the work of a band who are smartly aware of the current grind landscape and subtly bringing to their music certain sonic comparisons to the best elements of several top-tier grind bands. They’ve managed to channel the essence of Kevin Sharpe’s (Brutal Truth) deep, barked enunciations as well as having an influence from their death-metal-meets-punk riffs. They also have more than a few toes dipped in the Pig Destroyer school of deathly diverse riffing and complex suffocating drumming, and they tie all this together with a production reminiscent of Mumakil.

The end result is murderous and catchy but with an oddball side to it that is uniquely Antigama. From the very beginning they always had an experimental nature that’s set them apart from the pack. However, they’ve been greatly refining this aspect of their sound for some time, culminating in out-there extremes like “Paganini Meets Barbaplex” and the ambient film score feel of “Black Planet”. the closer off their last record, 2009’s Warning.  Continue reading »

CARNIVOROUS MUSIC

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Apr 192012
 

This photo seemed appropriate for this post. (Thanks to Alfonso for sharing it on FB.) It’s a pic of what two fishermen pulled up in their net from Mexico’s Sea of Cortez on Sunday. Fortunately for them, it was already dead. This Great White shark measured almost 20 feet long and weighed an estimate 2,000 pounds. It took 50 people to help pull the carcass ashore. More details can be found here.

And that’s about all the introduction I can afford for this post, except to say that I’ve rounded up a bunch of new flesh-eating music and am throwing it at your head. Here’s what I caught in my net, in no particular order:

New videos from Cryptopsy (Canada), Fester (Norway), Mordbrand (Sweden), and In Mourning (Sweden), plus new songs from Carach Angren (The Netherlands) and Antigama (Poland). That ought to hold you . . . and eat you. (To learn more about each band, click on their names.) Continue reading »

2012 METAL IN THE FORGE (PART 2)

 Forthcoming Albums  35 Responses »
Feb 042012
 

January ended four days ago, so it’s past time for our usual monthly round-up of news about forthcoming albums. I have to confess that this list is even more spotty and sporadically assembled than usual — which is saying something. Various distractions prevented me from keeping a sharp eye out for news about new releases, so I have no doubt this list is incomplete.

Here’s how this round-up usually works: In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, I collect news blurbs and press releases I’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like at NCS (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, I 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 earlier than the last 30 days, we probably 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. For example, on this list you won’t see such notable releases as the forthcoming albums from Meshuggah, Enthroned, Unleashed, Psycroptic, Goatwhore, Asphyx, Naglfar, or Autopsy, because we’ve mentioned them elsewhere. Or at least I think we did.

Having said all that, please feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what I missed when I put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about, even if you don’t see them here! Continue reading »

POLSKIEGO EKSPORTU

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Nov 092011
 

(Today’s first guest post was contributed by UK-based grind wizard Alex Layzell, who shines the spotlight on Polish grind.)

Good day No Clean Singing Collective. Now, Grind isn’t a genre many are fond of, but hopefully this short expose may do something to kindle that flame and spark your interest in what truly is a glorious genre, and for those of you wanting to feast further on such glory, feel free to benefit from my own useless attempt to explore this art form over at Grind to Death.

Today I will be taking you through an informative journey of exploration, with the subject being Poland’s ever so wondrous Grind export. As a country, Poland isn’t really one that immediately conjures up significant Grind prestige. Even amongst devout fans of the genre, naming good Polish Grind bands might press them somewhat. However, there are treasures to be found. Now hold hands and journey with me through the rough and tumble badllands of Poland’s Grind scene. Those with weak heart conditions may wish to abstain, an admonition that goes double for any who don’t like the idea of the musical equivalent of a nail bomb subjecting you to aural punishment.

SQUASH BOWELS

First up are Poland’s woefully underrated purveyors of Gore, Squash Bowels (whose logo is pictured above). Their 2009 Willowtip Records debut Grindvirus is mandatory listening for all — and this is coming from someone who 99% of the time has a deep-rooted loathing for Goregrind. Rather than offer anything explosively truculent, they opt for a slick offering of superior songwriting, bringing the groove to grind, a formula sadly neglected though successfully achieved here through exceptional stylistic hardships — a testament to the band’s punk-driven superiority. It’s contagious and addictive — you have been warned! Continue reading »

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