Dec 302018
 

 

Here we are, nearing the end of that strange seven-day period that begins with the Christmas holiday and ends with New Year’s Day, when many of us have more lazy free time than usual but also experience something like sensory overload from an onslaught of family, friends, food, drink, commercialized excess everywhere you turn, and the looming dread of a new year beginning with a return to jobs and no more holiday reprieves on the visible horizon. It can be both a joyous time of year and a depressing one, more of the former than the latter if you’re lucky, but with both conditions defined with greater intensity than the plodding progression of a normal week.

Even as odd and disorienting as this annual occurrence usually is, the one we’re in the midst of now has struck me as even more bewildering, even comically so, from my perspective as an obsessive fan of extreme music with a compulsion to share recommendations. On that front at least, things are supposed to slow down, with fewer albums being released (given the likelihood they’ll be overlooked against the background froth of so many other holiday diversions) and something of a pause in the promotional activity around albums slated for release in the new year, including the debut of new songs. And while that has in fact happened to a degree, it’s been a smaller degree than usual, especially in the genres of music that are the focus of this column. Continue reading »

Aug 292013
 

(Guest writer BreadGod returns to NCS with a review of two releases by Brazilian band Thy Light.)

Thy Light is a depressive black metal band that formed back in 2005 and released their first demo, the rather awkwardly named Suici.De.pression, two years later. It became quite popular in the depressive black metal scene, and after listening to it, I can see why.

The album begins with the title track, which is a beautiful and wondrous piano piece. It sounds rather joyous, which stands in stark contrast with the black metal that is to follow. I am unable to adequately put into words just how amazing the piano piece is. You’ll just have to listen to it for yourself.

Not only is the piano superb, but so is the black metal. Since this was all recorded by one guy, I’m pretty sure he used a drum machine, but the drum machine is pretty well-programmed. They keep to a moderate-to-slow pace and their structures are simple. One thing I really like about them is how prominent the snare is. This helps make the drums sound so real. I also like the double-bass they play on occasion. It doesn’t sound mechanical like it does in so many other bands. The double-bass here gives the music much more impact. Continue reading »