AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BLACK ANVIL — “MILES”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Feb 262019
 

 

On March 4, 2014, Selim Lemouchi took his own life at the age of 33. As the founding member and guitarist of The Devil’s Blood, in which he was joined by his sister Farida, Lemouchi created emotionally powerful occult rock music that was beautifully evil and haunting, a combination of darkness and grandeur that reflected and channeled Lemouchi‘s Satanic spiritualism. The music made strong and lasting connections with many listeners, and led to friendships among fellow musicians, among them, members of New York City’s Black Anvil. Their new EP, Miles, was created as a tribute to him.

Initially, Miles consisted of just the title track and a cover of Mercyful Fate‘s “A Corpse Without Soul”. Work on it was put aside for a time while Black Anvil focused their efforts on their 2017 album, As Was. After returning to Miles, the band wrote and recorded one more original song, the opener “Iron Sharpens Iron”, and recorded a cover of The Devil’s Blood‘s “Everlasting Saturnalia” to round out the EP. Working with their friend Steve Macioci of STB Records, the band have readied Miles for release in March, in remembrance of, and dedication to, their lost friend Selim Lemouchi. We have a full stream of the EP for you today. Continue reading »

YOU’RE THE BEST AROUND, NOTHING’S EVER GONNA KEEP YA DOWN

 LISTMANIA 2013  22 Responses »
Dec 022013
 

(Guest writer KevinP gets a jump on our year-end list series with an assortment of favorites from the year that’s drawing to a close.)

Before I go through my Top 25 Metal Albums of the Year, I felt morally obligated, for some reason or another, to compile a list of my “Other Best Stuff of 2013”, so here goes.

BEST METAL COUNTRY:  FRANCE

Yes, that’s right, I just said FRANCE.  No, this isn’t a Nickelodeon You Can’t Do that On Television “Opposite Sketch” (which was a Canadian show, but they have a bunch of Frenchies there, so it’s all tied together).

Why France. you say?  Well, how about stellar albums by Otargos, Pyrapisme, Monolithe, Blut Aus Nord, Peste Noire, Ataraxie, Temple of Baal, Supuration, Svart Crown, Aosoth, Seth, Year of No Light, Dunkelnacht.  And I’m still waiting on Impureza & Loudblast before year’s end.  Capisce? (Italian word, both countries are in Europe, just roll with it, okay?) Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SELIM LEMOUCHI (THE DEVIL’S BLOOD); THE DECIBEL TOUR

 Interviews  5 Responses »
Jul 022012
 

Photo by Sandra Ludewig

(On April 11, 2012, BadWolf interviewed Selim Lemouchi, the guitarist and composer for Dutch occult rock band The Devil’s Blood.)

Selim, the creative force behind The Devil’s Blood, loves to talk. His English really is eloquent, and, though it may not be clear from the interview below, he spends a great deal of time thinking before he answers a question. His responses echo the music he writes; both unfold in long passages that dwell on ugly subjects, but do so with lush beauty.

The first night of the Decibel Magazine tour, we spoke at length about Selim’s satanic beliefs, the role of music in religion, the American government’s war on terror, and the creative process behind making psychedelic doom metal/classic rock revival jams.

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It’s your first date of the tour and you’re fresh now, clean of blood. How do you feel?

Not really clean yet. I haven’t had a shower in four or five days. Coming here and charging up for the tour was a really exhausting experience. A lot of financial issues needed to be taken care of. We all felt pretty tired and beat-up. From note one all of that was gone, and the powers that we seek to invoke became awakened in us immediately. So we ran with it—we ran with the wolves and howled at the moon and the moon answered. Tonight was an auspicious start to an auspicious tour.

 

This tour is groundbreaking in America because I don’t think i’ve seen a tour in my lifetime so dedicated to satanism.

It would have been ridiculous to do it any other way. For us to tour with bands we don’t respect in an ideological sense is something we would not look forward to, especially if it’s twenty-five or more events. We feel very strongly about what we’re saying, and I know for a fact the other bands feel very strongly about what they are saying. I’ve said in the past we disagree on many points and come together on many others. To be able to grant four unique entities a stage to transform into an altar is something that has been lacking in music for a long time. We’ve seen too many fashion statements, too many gimmick bands. Too many people only concerned with the bottom line. For us the only thing that is interesting is to speak with his words and see with his eyes and to use our hands to do his work. When that’s possible it’s a very blessed occasion. Continue reading »