AN NCS PREMIERE: DRAGHKAR — “AT THE CROSSROADS OF INFINITY”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 092020
 

 

At the Crossroads of Infinity is a lofty title for what turns out to be an ambitious album, a multi-faceted work of savagery and wonder, of awe-inspiring spectacle and wide-ranging emotion that sinks deep into bitter soil as well as extending its grasp out into the mysteries of the cosmos. That album is the debut full-length of the death metal band Draghkar, which will be released on July 27th by Unspeakable Axe Records, and today it’s our privilege to present an exclusive stream of the title track.

We also had the pleasure of premiering the band’s last outing, an eye-opening 2018 EP named The Endless Howling Abyss. Since then the band’s founder, southern California guitarist Brandon Corsair, has assembled a new line-up around him, which features a lot of well-known names in the metal underground, including vocalist Dan Butler (Vastum), guitarist K.S. Kuciemba (Drawn and Quartered), drummer Phil Segitho (Ecferus), and bassist Cameron Fisher. Together, they provide a powerful complement to Brandon‘s guitar performances and songwriting. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DRAGHKAR — “THE ENDLESS HOWLING ABYSS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Jul 202018
 

 

After releasing a 2017 demo and a pair of 2018 splits on the Blood Harvest label (with Desekryptor and Ossuarium), the Los Angeles-based death metal trio Draghkar are now just one week away from the release of a new EP, appropriately named The Endless Howling Abyss. It’s a four-track effort that will be available digitally, with a CD release by Craneo Negro Records and a cassette tape release by Nameless Grave Records, but we’re giving you a chance to stream the EP today.

While Draghkar’s first release spawned references to old school, cavernous death metal in a kindred spirit to such modern practitioners as Grave Miasma and Tomb Mold, the new EP is a more violent and hard-charging affair that draws influence from early Greek black and death metal, as well as the likes of such other old-school progenitors as Molested and Mercyful Fate. The music on this outing displays a kind of wild, ecstatic savagery, with a feverishness that matches its cruelty. Continue reading »

QUICK HITS: DRAGHKAR AND SCULPTURE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jun 102018
 

 

As explained yesterday, I’m trying to catch up on a lot of new songs that have appeared over the last couple of weeks that I wasn’t able to write about due to an assortment of distractions from my NCS duties. In lieu of the usual longer SEEN AND HEARD round-ups, I’m attempting to post shorter “playlists” on a daily basis for the next week or so. Shortening the collections to two songs per post may increase the odds that I’ll actually follow through on the idea. Getting completely caught up is, of course, an impossibility, in part because the coming days will undoubtedly bring even more new things I’d like to recommend.

DRAGHKAR

The first song I’ve chosen for today is “Swallowed By the Dark“, the first track revealed from The Endless Howling Abyss, which is a new EP by the death-worshipping L.A. trio Draghkar. It’s set for release on July 27 and comes on the heels of a 2017 demo and a split released by Blood Harvest this past April with the Indiana group Desekryptor. Continue reading »