Sep 032016
 

KYPCK-Zero

 

Yesterday, to end the work week, I picked new (or newish) songs from five bands to recommend out of a much bigger group of new stuff I thought was good. To celebrate Saturn’s Day, I’ve picked four more from that original group and added one older EP that I finally got around to checking out.

KYPCK

Formed back in 2007 and naming themselves after the Russian city of the same name, KYPCK (pronounced “kursk”) are Finnish but led by a vocalist (Erkki Seppänen) who is fluent in Russian and sings in that language. His bandmates include two former members of Sentenced: guitarists Sami Lopakka (who uses a six-string guitar made from an AK-47 assault rifle) and Sami Kukkohovi, along with bassist Jaakko Ylä-Rautio and drummer Antti Karihtal. Their discography, such as it existed at the end of 2014, was the subject of the 53rd edition of THE SYNN REPORT at our site. Continue reading »

Oct 222015
 

nagasaki-explosion

 

(This is Part III of a three-part article prepared by our Russian friend Comrade Aleks. Part I is here, Part II is here.)

This third part of an article that has mainly told the story of World War II’s Eastern Front was supposed to appear earlier, but for some reasons I couldn’t rush. Its structure isn’t so straight, but the main subjects of this part aren’t battles, but the dirtier side of War, War Crimes.

It’s impossible to believe that such things were done by human kind in the period from 1941 ’til 1945, yet these crimes in different forms continue to the present days. You’ll not find here my point of view – only facts from the internet which you can easily check, and mostly extreme and brutal musical points of view on the events of World War II.

Here we have tracks from KYPCK, 1349, Slayer, and Jucifer (again), and you’ll also find exclusive comments by such bands as Winterborn (with fierce and sudden audio help from Impaled Nazarene), The Committee, Cirith Gorgor, and Endstille — along with their music.

I have no quote of Erich Maria Remarque for this time. Just never forget. Continue reading »

Dec 312014
 

 

(Andy Synn brings us the 53rd edition of The Synn Report, reviewing the discography of KYPCK.)

Recommended for fans of: Crowbar, Ghost Brigade, Pallbearer

Well, it looks like we have just enough time left in this year to sneak in one last Synn Report. But what band should I cover?

Thrashy prog/power metal? Technically twisted Death Metal? Creepy industrialised Black Metal? Razor-sharp Melodeath? Groovy Nu-Metal? (all of these are potential future entries, don’t you worry…)

No, I’m thinking we need to celebrate the death of the year, and the dawning of a new one, with some Russian-themed Doom Metal from Finland. How does that sound?

Formed back in 2007 and naming themselves after the Russian city of the same name, KYPCK (pronounced “kursk”), these Finnish fatalists have distilled some truly deep and deathly Doom and gloom from the historical antagonism between Finland and Russia, grooving and grinding their way through three albums worth of songs dealing with themes of pain and loss and the futility of war. Continue reading »

Jul 152014
 


Eye of Solitude

(Today our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks brings us Part 4 of a six-part series in which he puts the same five questions to doom bands from around the world, and introduces us to their music at the same time.)

Sometimes I use this unpopular “quiz” format because there are too many interesting bands that I would like to bring to light, and in my opinion it’s a good way to spread some news and to get new points of view on a few issues (including even some political questions). The list of questions I put to the bands is below:

1. What is the band’s latest news and what are your plans for the near future?

2. What do we get (in the broadest sense) from the release of your last album?

3. What is the best response that your band has ever received?

4. What role does the church (or any other religious organization) play in your life or (let’s take it wider) in the life of the heavy scene? Is there any spiritual, religious, or antireligious component in your songs?

5. What does the Media in your country tell about the situation in Ukraine? And how do you see that situation? Some people from other countries have asked me strange questions about Russia’s policy, and let me say that I have a few friends in Ukraine and my colleagues have relatives there, and believe me, there’s no media in ANY country that is showing the problem as it really is. We can watch as the Cold War turns into real warfare.

Today, we bring the answers to these questions from Eye Of Solitude (United Kingdom), Father Merrin (France), Grimpen Mire (United Kingdom), KYPCK (Finland), Narrow House (Ukraine), and Vin De Mia Trix (Ukraine). Continue reading »

Feb 212014
 

I apologize for the lack of creativity in the title of today’s (somewhat) alliterative round-up, but since everything I’ve selected comes in video form it seemed logical. I thought about “Friday Phlegm”, but not all the vocals in these babies are phlegmy. There are actually a lot of exceptions to our rule in here.

ASTROPHOBOS

The name of this first song and video is “Soul Disruptor”, and that’s truth in advertising. It comes from the debut album Remnants of Forgotten Horrors by the Swedish black metal band Astrophobos. The album was released last month by Triumvirate Records and is now available on Bandcamp.

I’ve not heard the whole album, but I have read Madame X’s review of it at Angry Metal Guy, and her comparisons to Naglfar and Dissection seem spot-on based on “Soul Disruptor” (and by the way, those are stellar bands with which to be compared, in my book). The music is both searing and melodic, both skin-scarring and blood-pumping. And the video is quote good, too — as long as you’re not prone to epileptic seizures or subliminal suggestion. Continue reading »

Feb 042014
 

I’m in catch-up mode for new things. This is the second round-up of news and new music for today, and there will probably be a third. The first one is here. The following collection should keep you off-balance.

SEPTICFLESH

Yes, it appears that the band have decided to join the two words of their name into one, but a rose by any other name will smell just as sweet. Or, in this case, will sound just as sweet. I saw this announcement on the band’s Facebook page this morning:

“We have completed the recordings of our upcoming full length album. The album will consists of 10 songs that were recorded once again at Devasoundz Studios Athens Greece and at Prague with the collaboration of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. The album will be released this summer via Season of Mist for Europe and via Prosthetic Records for America.

“We are really exhausted, but also very proud from the result. We worked very hard with Logan Mader (former MACHINE HEAD and SOULFLY guitarist that has worked considering album sound, with bands as CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, FEAR FACTORY, GOJIRA) to bring you the ultimate death metal soundtrack for your darkest dreams. The compositions are progressive with a lot of emotional peaks, while at the same time the songs sound very aggressive. Also we had the chance to work for the first time with a full children choir, beside the regular adult choir, and that helped us dive deeper into darker cinematic atmospheres.”

Continue reading »

Jan 012011
 


HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Did you see what we did?  We had to change the logo for this edition of SICKNESS.  Because 2010 is behind us, and the new year lies ahead.

We spent the last 30 days, as we’ve been doing for the last year, collecting news blurbs and press releases about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like, or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know them yet. And in this post, we’ve cut and pasted the announcements and compiled them in alphabetical order.

All of our previous monthly updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages, and because we’re not keeping a cumulative list, you might want to check the last couple months of these posts if you want to get a full picture of what’s coming. The list that follows, in alphabetical order, are albums we didn’t know about at the time of our last installment when November ended, or updated info about albums we’d previously heard were on the way. And be forewarned: This is a really long list. There’s a massive slag of new metal coming our way, and man, does it look hot.

So, without further ado, let’s get started. See if there’s anything on the list that makes you moist, or tumescent, or just generally slobbery.

ABORTED: “Good news is that we are starting pre-productions for our upcoming record on January 4th. This means we will demo all the songs for the record, make sure everything sounds good and make the necessary adjustments to make sure they are all more lethal than a chainsaw in Mr. Leatherface’s hands. We’re all very excited about the material thus far and can’t wait to get this over with and proceed to the actual recordings later this year. Expect a fall 2011 release through our culprates in mayhem Century Media.”

AGNOSTIC FRONT: “The Godfathers of New York Hardcore, Agnostic Front, have just finished recording their highly anticipated follow up to their 2007 release, Warriors. The yet to be titled album features 13 new powerful and anthemic songs laid down by Erik Rutan (Madball, Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse) at his Mana Recording Studio in Tampa, FL under the watchful guide of producer Freddy Cricien of Madball. The record was mastered by Alan Douches (Nile, Mastodon) and will be released in Europe of March 4, 2011 and in North America on March 22, 2011.”

(the list continues after the jump . . .)

Continue reading »