SEEN AND HEARD: MARYLAND DEATHFEST, NECROPHOBIC, UNCOFFINED, AND NEOLITHIC VOID

Here’s a round-up of noteworthy things seen and heard over the last 24 hours.

MARYLAND DEATHFEST

The organizers of MDF XII have been slowly announcing the names of bands who will appear at next year’s edition of the best metal festival in the US. The most recent announcement came earlier this week with four new names: Cancer, from the UK, who will be making their first US appearance since 1993; Sacrifice from Canada, who will be making their first appearance since 1992; Nocturnus (who for legal reasons must call themselves Nocturnus A.D.), who will be playing the entirety of their debut album The Key; Crowbar; and Death Toll 80K from Finland.

I have several friends who are especially hot over the return of Nocturnus, including NCS writer BadWolf, who reviewed The Key in retrospective back in July 2012 (here). There seems to be some uncertainty about which of the band’s original members will be appearing, other than drummer/vocalist Mike Browning. However, Nocturnus performed songs from The Key live in Mexico City last April. Photos of that show can be found here, and videos are on YouTube, too. I wouldn’t recognize the performers, but presumably it will be the same line-up at MDF.

Here’s one of those videos:

 

I was curious about Death Toll 80K and found a stream of two songs they contributed to a recent split. The music is deathgrind, and it sounds good:

 

 

Here’s the MDF XII line-up as it now stands (for more info, visit the official MDF site at this location):

ASPHYX (Netherlands)
AT THE GATES (Sweden)
BONGRIPPER
CANCER (UK)
CANDLEMASS (Sweden)
CROWBAR
DEATH TOLL 80K (Finland)
DIOCLETIAN (New Zealand)
EXCRUCIATING TERROR
EXTINCTION OF MANKIND (UK)
GOD MACABRE (Sweden)
GORGUTS (Canada)
GRAVES AT SEA
HEMDALE
MACHETAZO (Spain)
MGLA (Poland)
NOCTURNUS A.D.
SACRIFICE (Canada)
SARKE (Norway)
SOILENT GREEN
SOLSTAFIR (Iceland)
TAAKE (Norway)
TANKARD (Germany)
ULVER (Norway)
UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS (UK)
UNHOLY GRAVE (Japan)
UNLEASHED (Sweden)
WITCHRIST (New Zealand)

 

NECROPHOBIC

As previously reported, this influential Swedish band’s seventh studio album (and their first in four years), Womb of Lilithu, will be released by Season of Mist on October 29 in North America and October 25 everywhere else. We previously featured the album’s first advance track, “Splendour Nigri Solis”, and today Metal Underground premiered the lyric video for a second one — “Furfur”. I like this as much or more than the last. It blends hard-charging, blackened rock ‘n roll with a serpentine, Eastern-sounding melody and a couple of fireball guitar solos. The vocals slay, too.

Listen to the new song below (and I’ve included “Splendour Nigri Solis” too).

https://www.facebook.com/necrophobic.official
http://www.necrophobic.net/

 

 

 

UNCOFFINED

Uncoffined are a relatively new band consisting of Winds Of Genocide frontwoman Kat “Shevil” Gillham, who handles both vocals and drums for Uncoffined, and guitarist Glynn Hall, along with bassist Gory Sugden and lead guitarist Jonny Rot. They’ve recorded a debut album named Ritual Death and Funeral Rites, and today Terrorizer featured the album’s title track (along with a short interview). Man, is it killer.

I’ve written repeatedly about Kat Shevil’s work with Winds of Genocide, and she sounds monstrous on this track, like a cross between a zombie bear and an enraged banshee. The riffs are goddamned titanic, too — slow, morbid, and compelling. The music is an old-school doom crusher with a layering of death, and it’s a very sweet teaser for the album. Ritual Death and Funeral Rites is scheduled for release in October by Memento Mori. I’ve included the title track in two different players below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Uncoffined/196192110415782

 

 

NEOLITHIC VOID

Neolithic Void are a death metal band based in Berlin. They’ve recently begun streaming a new song named “Alchemical Throne”. I know nothing else about them. I do know that I’m diggin’ the shit out of this song, though.

The fat verse riff is murderous and irresistibly infectious, the chorus melody is quite catchy too, and the vocals melted some of the paint on my walls. It’s sort of like stoner doom goes death metal. My only complaint is that I wish the song were twice as long so I wouldn’t have to press play so many times in a row. Want more!

https://www.facebook.com/neolithicvoid