SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): CARPE NOCTEM, CRIMSON THRONE, AKVAN, PURE WRATH, NOCTEM AETERNUS

 SHADES OF BLACK  10 Responses »
Sep 162018
 

 

As you can see, I had enough time yesterday and this morning to pick twice the usual number of selections for this Sunday’s column. Maybe this will make up for the likelihood that there will be no S.O.B. column next week because this SOB will be going on a short vacation next weekend with Ms. Islander and some friends.

Although I had time to assemble a two-part collection this week, that only somewhat eased the agony of picking from among such a massive number of deserving advance tracks and new releases. I wish I could have done more.

CARPE NOCTEM

I christened May 2012 “Iceland Metal Month“, calling attention to a series of posts I wrote which exclusively focused on metal bands from Iceland, a country that I wrote was “starting to seem close to Finland in the ratio of killer metal bands per capita of population”. Now, almost five and a half years later, it no longer seems like a close call, particularly in the genre of black metal. Continue reading »

AN NCS DOUBLE PREMIERE: ONIRISM (“ASTRAL FOREST”) AND PURE WRATH (“THE DARKEST STAGE OF TWILIGHT”)

 Premieres  1 Response »
Nov 152017
 

 

Beginning on December 1, the Mexican label Throats Productions will release Endless Journey, an album-length split by a beautifully matched pair, two striking atmospheric black metal bands we’ve praised here in the past — Onirism from France, and Pure Wrath from Indonesia. Today we bring you the premiere of two substantial songs from the split, one by each band.

ONIRISM

I first came upon Onirism in August of this year, through an advance track from a new EP named Sun, which was released by Naturmacht Productions the following month. That was the second EP released by this project, after The Well of Stars in 2016, a year that also saw Onirism’s release of a debut album, Cosmic Dream. The project is the work of a single creator, Antoine Guibert (aka Vrath), whose work is also present in the music of Catacombes, Hentgarm, KerIfern, and Belenos (with whom he has been a live performer).

When I heard the first music of Sun, I wrote: “Onirism isn’t the first band to combine utterly enthralling and transcendently beautiful sounds with the kind of savagery that makes you want to hide under your bed, but holy hell, they do it well.” And a similar kind of union occurs within this new song from the split, “Astral Forest“. Continue reading »

ANDY SYNN PRESENTS: REVIEWS IN HAIKUS (COLDFELLS, PURE WRATH, ROSK)

 Album Reviews, Reviews In Haikus  10 Responses »
Jun 162017
 

 

(We present another edition of Andy Synn’s three-line reviews.)

With Islander and associates currently knee-deep in the complexities and logistics of this weekend’s Northwest Terror Fest, it looks like it’s fallen to me to try and keep the lights on around here.

Honestly, the things I do for this place…

Anyway, to keep things ticking over, here’s a little something to highlight three bands who have, so far, slipped between the cracks of our usually comprehensive coverage (other than a couple of mentions in some round-ups), all of whom lean towards the darker, more atmospheric side of things. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: OFERMOD, SIELUNVIHOLLINEN, PURE WRATH, ARS MAGNA UMBRAE, NADDRED, FOVITRON, TIIL SUM

 SHADES OF BLACK  10 Responses »
Feb 262017
 

 

As ever, I’m up to my eyebrows in new music drawn from a black vein that I want to recommend. For this SHADES OF BLACK episode, I’ve picked two songs from forthcoming releases and five complete new albums and EPs. I have pitifully few words to offer in praise of those complete releases. They deserve more, but I haven’t yet figured out how to stop time or even slow it down, and a few sentences of introduction are all my time allows me at the moment.

Please do try to allocate some of your own time to the music in this large collection. As as is often the case, I made these selections to provide a diversity of styles within the multifaceted genre of black metal.

OFERMOD

Sweden’s Ofermod includes members of such bands as Serpent Noir, Nefandus, Head of the Demon, and Mortuus (among others). The band’s first EP was released in 1998 and their subsequent releases have included two albums (in 2008 and 2012) and a 2014 EP (Serpents Dance). They are now at work on a new album named Sol Nox that will be released by Shadow Records at some point later this year, which will include lyrics written by Dr. Thomas Karlsson, founder of the draconian Order Dragon Rouge. The striking artwork was created by Cold Poison. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DEATH LIKE MASS, PURE WRATH, KAOSOPHIA, AGONIE, INFERNAL COIL, NYSS

 SHADES OF BLACK  1 Response »
Dec 252016
 

burning-tree

 

To all of you who may be celebrating this day, for whatever reason, all of us here at NCS hope you have a joyous Sunday.

Actually, I have no idea whether any of the other miscreants at NCS hope that. For all I know, they hope you contract leprosy. And I’m just saying that because I’ve seen other people say it. So I said it.

With that out of the way, let’s move right into the main objective of this post, which is to put this holiday to the torch, musically speaking of course. And perhaps these gifts will also add to your joy. Continue reading »