Nov 012013
 

In the realm of metal, Halloween has become a big day for news and for the premiere of new music and videos. We had more than our average number of posts yesterday in an effort to keep up, but we still didn’t even come close. So to start this post-Halloween Friday, here are five new videos that premiered yesterday.

Because there’s so much to see and hear, I’ll be cutting back on my usual verbose introductions — literally — by largely eliminating the use of verbs. In the next post, we’ll present some new Halloween Day songs that debuted in non-video form.

BELPHEGOR

The music: “In Blood — Devour This Sanctity”, a song inspired by “The Hungarian Dances” by Johannes Brahms. The album: Blood Magick Necromance (2011) (reviewed here). The video: filmed live at “Moskva Hall”, Moscow, October 6, 2013, plus assorted Belphegorian imagery.

Impressions: spine-tingling; heat lightning indoors; holy shit that drumming; satanic imperialism extends its reach; next album due May 2014, bring it! Continue reading »

Jun 282013
 

We’re about to slide right on into the weekend, and I’d like to help grease the skids with a couple of new things from two bands I’ve praised in the past. They are “Exceptions to the Rule” around here, because both include clean singing, but it’s the kind of singing that doesn’t offend me in the least. And “clean” is kind of a relative term anyway.

VENOMOUS MAXIMUS

I fuckin’ love Venomous Maximus. I fuckin’ loved their 2012 album Beg Upon the Light. I really fuckin’ loved the song “Moonchild” from that album, so much so that I included it on my list of 2012’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. This spring the band signed with Napalm Records, who are giving Beg a proper label release in North America on July 2 (as well as in Europe). And to help promote the album to a new audience, Napalm has released an official music video for . . . “Moonchild”! Hell yes.

Rather than work myself up into a new linguistic lather over the song, I’ll just quote again what I’ve previously written about it: “I mean to tell you, the central riff in this song (which slams right out of the gate) is an absolute headbanging killer. Seriously, you’d need a neck brace to keep your skull from bouncing like a basketball. And the surprise (for me) is how much I like the (mostly) clean vocals. They conjure up visions of old-school Ozzy but with some sandpapery grit emerging here and there.” Continue reading »

Jan 082013
 

Well, I’m afraid I need to take a break from our normal afternoon roll-out of the 2012 Most Infectious Extreme Metal Song list. I could explain why, but then I’d have to kill you.  Well, I wouldn’t kill you myself. I’d send out a squad of ninja lorises.  You’d probably die of old age before they got there.

Anyway, I do have something else for you. Actually, I have three new videos to share. Because time is short, I won’t say much about them other than to say I think you should watch and hear them.

OFFICIUM TRISTE

This long-running doom/death band from The Netherlands have a new album due for release on Hammerheart Records. Its name is Mors Viri, and it was mixed by Ronnie Björnström. The album features vocals by long-time Officium Triste member Pim Blankenstein, and that’s basically all I needed to know.

The video is for a new song called “The Wounded and the Dying”. It’s really just the music, but doom fans will want to hear this. Listen: Continue reading »

Jan 032013
 

This is Part 7 of our list of the year’s most infectious extreme metal songs. Each day until the list is finished, I’m posting two songs that made the cut. For more details about what this list is all about and how it was compiled, read the introductory post via this link. To see the selections that preceded the two we’re announcing today, click here.

When I started the rollout of this list, I explained that I had expanded the range of my metal listening during 2012. I even opened my mind to more music in the stoner/doom vein despite (gasp!) the presence of clean vocals, because there’s so much meat on those riff bones, and I do love a pulverizing riff.

Genre boundaries blur, and I don’t think either of the bands whose songs I’m adding to our list today clearly fit into that stoner/doom category, though there’s some kinship.  Their classic riffs bring the beef in truckloads and their vocals are (sort of) clean. In fact, ironically, for me the vocals have been a main draw for both of these bands.

VENOMOUS MAXIMUS

Houston-based Venomous Maximus are yet another band with a superb 2012 album that we never got around to reviewing. I feel especially guilty about that, given how many aural orgasms Beg Upon the Light has given me. Continue reading »

Aug 162012
 

Oh baby, have we got some hot tracks for you today. I’ve donned the biohazard suit and gathered up three new tunes that bring the nasty and bring it hard. I’m not sure how or when the lexicon of metal got to the point where “filthy” became a word of praise, but this shit is filthy. Very different styles of music, but all three songs will get their hooks in you. The music is from Venomous Maximus (U.S.), Turbocharged (Sweden), and Deiphago (Costa Rica).

VENOMOUS MAXIMUS

This first item is just good timing. Less than a month ago I discovered this Houston band via their new music video for “The Mission” (featured here), and they surprised the hell out of me — surprising in the sense that their style of music isn’t one I’m usually into, but I fuckin’ loved that song, as well as the rest of the 2011 EP from whence it came.

Now I come to find out that Venomous Maximus have a new album projected for release this fall by the name of Beg Upon the Light, and yesterday they started streaming one of the new songs — “Moonchild”. And I mean to tell you, the central riff in this song (which slams right out of the gate) is an absolute headbanging killer. Seriously, you’d need a neck brace to keep your skull from bouncing like a basketball. A definite candidate for our 2012 “most infectious song” list. Continue reading »

Jul 172012
 

In this post are two videos from recent days that I missed in my daily rounds of the interhole looking for un-missable metal, and most truly, neither of these should be missed.

THE INQUITY DESCENT

We featured a previous video from this Finnish band back in February (here).  The band was formed in late 2009 by two childhood friends — songwriter and guitarist Mikael Mannström and vocalist Mathias Lillmåns, who provides vokillz for NCS favorites Finntroll and Magenta Harvest as well. They’ve produced two EPs as well as a 2012 full-length debut on Massacre Records, The Human Apheresis, which can be downloaded here.

Their new video is for a track from the debut album called “Collector Vs. Protector”. This song veers back and forth between a mid-paced segment with a stomping killer of a riff and a more accelerated part that’s a galvanizing death ‘n’ roll ass-kicker. And Mathias Lillmåns’ scalding vocals are fucken awesome. Watch this right after the jump. Continue reading »