LISTMANIA 2021: A YEAR-END LIST FROM TODD MANNING

 LISTMANIA 2021  4 Responses »
Dec 242021
 

 

(NCS contributor Todd Manning wades into our year-end LISTMANIA series with his picks for the year’s 12 best releases.)

Another year has came and went and somehow we as a species are still here. Maybe the apocalypse won’t arrive until we beg for its sweet release. Well, at least there’s always more metal to obsess over.

I can’t believe this is my sixth year contributing at NCS. Usually my lists oscillate between the experimental and the outright darkest and brutal shit there is. This year, while there are certainly those elements, things feel more varied. Just a little bit… Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: MYRDØD — “THE MOURNING HOLLOW”

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Dec 152021
 

 

(Todd Manning provides the following introduction to our premiere of the new album by Myrdød, whose release is imminent.)

Emerging from the rural nether-swamps of Pennsylvania, the duo known as Myrdød are set to release their full-length The Mourning Hollow on December 17th courtesy of Wise Blood Records. Originally formed by the mysterious Søppelskaler, the project released several singles before enlisting collaborator Fractal Creature.

While many bands claim both death and black metal influences, Myrdød truly blend the two genres and not in a fanboy sense. The Mourning Hollow reeks of pure death mysticism.  Søppelskaler states the following: Continue reading »

VHS: “I HEARD THEY SUCK… BLOOD”

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Nov 292021
 

 

(Here’s Todd Manning‘s review of the new album by Ontario-based VHS, which is set for a December 3rd release by Wise Blood Records.)

Halloween lasts all year long unless you’re a poser. So it doesn’t really matter that Canada’s death fiends VHS aren’t dropping their album I Heard They Suck…Blood until December 3rd, the shit is going to hit you the same regardless. Like Halloween, the influences VHS lean on feel eternal in Metal’s history. Take one part Scream Bloody Gore, mix in some early Autopsy, Repulsion, and more recently Exhumed, and you have a fist-pumping, gore-spewing recipe for old school death metal.

While not exactly breaking the mold, VHS take the sound of their predecessors and make it their own. They look to a time when death metal’s DNA still had a lot of thrash mixed up in it. Not the polished excellence of the Bay Area bands, but that nasty sound pioneered by Kreator and early Slayer. Oftentimes, such as on “Fake Blood and Push-Up Bras”, a track that features Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad, things take on an almost punk feel. For those sections, the Autopsy influence gives way to Abcess, yet when they do slow down, the evil melodies of Chris Reifert’s home base return. Continue reading »

LLNN: “UNMAKER”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Sep 202021
 

 

(Todd Manning reviews the third album by Copenhagen’s LLNN, which will be released via Pelagic Records on September 24th.)

Seems like not so long ago “Neur-Isis” was the hottest sub-genre in Metal. It saw vicious Sludge Metal re-purposed into a widespread and cinematic apocalyptic feel, and there were also heaping servings of Post-Rock to set the mood. While Neurosis and Isis put out some of the most fascinating and important Metal albums in recent memory, their legions of imitators did not fair so well.

The aforementioned Post-Rock sections so skillfully employed by those two bands became an overwhelming obsession for many of the imitators and eventually the music lost much of its visceral impact. While Copenhagen’s LLNN certainly fall under the “Neur-Isis” umbrella, they understand that heaviness is the top priority. Their latest full-length, Unmaker, is both epic and crushing. Continue reading »

SUPREME CONCEPTION: A REVIEW OF “EMPIRE OF THE MIND” AND THE PREMIERE OF “TRANSGRESSION II: SELF-DISCOVERY”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Jul 222021
 

 

(In this article we present Todd Manning‘s review of a new EP by the Czech band Supreme Conception which will be released on August 6th, and our premiere of a track from the EP.)

It’s easy to get Tech-Death wron;, endless flurries of indistinguishable notes make for unremarkable material. It’s a good thing then that Supreme Conception avoid the genre’s pitfalls on their new EP Empire of the Mind. The trio consisting of Michal Kusak (ex-Imperial Foeticide) on vocals, Martin Meyer (Heaving Earth) on guitar, and Aaron Stechauner (ex-Rings of Saturn) on drums, display plenty of instrumental prowess on these five songs, but also manage to create an engaging listening experience as well. Continue reading »

SEPUTUS: “PHANTOM INDIGO”

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Jun 302021
 

 

(Todd Manning returns to NCS with the following review of the new album by Seputus, which is out now on Willowtip Records.)

Originally the brainchild of drummer/guitarist Stephen Schwegler, Seputus has had to take a backseat to real life for far too long. The idea for the group started when he was serving in the Navy, but the growth was slow due to his commitments.

Eventually, Schwegler recruited vocalist Doug Moore and Erik Malave on bass and the project began to take flight. While they managed to release the album Man Does Not Give in 2016, Phantom Indigo, which came out on June 4th via Willowtip Records, feels like the true introduction of the trio to the Metal world at large. Continue reading »

OBSOLETE: “ANIMATE // ISOLATE”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
May 062021
 

 

(Todd Manning rejoins us with the following review of the debut album by Obsolete, which was released not long ago through Unspeakable Axe Records.)

I don’t know about anyone else, but as time goes on, I find myself more obsessed with groups such as Watchtower, Atheist and Sadus. And now it’s time to add a new name to the list. Riding a fine line between Tech-Thrash and early Death Metal, Animate//Isolate is the stunning debut full-length from Minneapolis-based band Obsolete.

While some bands from the Tech-Thrash movement could create a pretty obscure sound (see Watchtower or Sieges Even’s Steps),  Obsolete never sacrifice immediacy in their quest for mind-bending technicality. The riffs stampede relentlessly, and the harsh vocals are firmly rooted in Death Metal. And while most the beats deconstruct and reassemble classic Thrash workouts, they find opportunities to squeeze in blast beats as well as softer moments. Continue reading »

BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS: “NIGHTMARE WITHDRAWALS”

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Mar 012021
 

 

(We present Todd Manning‘s review of the new third album by the New Zealand band Blindfolded and Led to the Woods, which is set for release on March 26th.)

At first glance, one might mistake a band named Blindfolded and Led to the Woods for a brutal, slam-inspired Death Metal group, but while this New Zealand-based quintet is certainly Death Metal, their take on the genre is much more nuanced and complex than their aforementioned brethren.

Blindfolded and Led to the Woods construct a sound based on the dissonance of Gorguts combined with the technical Death-Grind assault of Cephalic Carnage. While they may not be alone in drawing on such influences, what truly sets them apart is their focus on the details of their sound. Continue reading »

SWAMPBEAST: “SEVEN EVILS SPAWNED FROM SEVEN HEADS”

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Feb 222021
 

 

(This is Todd Manning‘s review of the new album by the SoCal band Swampbeast, which was released in mid-February by Translation Loss Records.)

Outsiders may not realize that there are swamps in Los Angeles, but Death Metal trio Swampbeast have arrived to show us what kind of madness lurks in those fetid waters. Their debut, Seven Evils Spawned from Seven Heads, just issued on Translations Lost Records, is a nightmarish journey of blackened Death Metal that threatens to drown the listener in a miasma of filth.

While not exactly revolutionizing their chosen genre, Swampbeast burst out the gates with a sound of their own, surprisingly well-developed given their lack of history. The hammering assault of opener “Orcs Anvil” echoes the bludgeoning of Entombed’s Left Hand Path, but they also check some Morbid Angel and Black Metal boxes as well. Second track, “The Blind God” adds the subterranean mystique of Portal into the mix to great effect. While the speed of the opener remains, a great deal of evil atmosphere works its way in. Continue reading »

MOTHER OF GRAVES: “IN SOMBER DREAMS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Feb 102021
 

 

(We present Todd Manning‘s review of the debut EP by the Indiana band Mother of Graves, which was released on January 8th by Wise Blood Records.)

Mother of Graves are not the first band to rise up from tragedy, but the pain and sadness on display on their debut EP, In Somber Dreams, is palpable. The formation of this band came in the wake of the death of a friend and former bandmate, and as founding guitarist Chris Morrison explains, Katatonia’s EP Sounds of Decay became a focal point for channeling his sorrow.

Mother of Graves take their moniker from a Latvian entity that functions as a protector of graves, but much of their inspiration comes from Britain, Katatonia notwithstanding. We are of course referring to the Peaceville 3, i.e., Paradise Lost, Anathema, and My Dying Bride. The early work of these three bands laid the groundwork for the marriage of the violence of Death Metal and the depressive strains of Gothic Rock, and Mother of Graves have learned their lessons well. Continue reading »

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