UNDERDOGS IN THE UNDERGROUND: RETURN TO THE TALENTED DEPTHS OV OBSCURE MADNESS (PART 1)

 

(Austin Weber prepared this multi-part unearthing of new music, and today he focused on releases from three bands — Buckshot Facelift, Omnea, and The Conjuration — while also urging you to go spend your time at another site!)

While I’m not quite egotistical enough to think anyone who reads this site has missed my multi-part underground music articles, I can at least speak for myself and say that I’ve missed doing them! With that in mind, there will be at least three or four more editions of this article to come. So prepare thyself for both weirdness and madness, because a heaping shitload of both will be covered by the time this article wraps up.

For the sake of brevity, I’m going to refrain from covering any obscure stuff I’ve covered or helped stream early through my other gig at Metal-Injection. But in spite of that, I urge you to peruse what I’ve covered there in 2016 so far through the following link here. You might be surprised at the stuff you uncover that hasn’t been covered here at NCS to date! Now onto the first installment of some new gems you absolutely must give a listen to.

Buckshot Facelift – Buck At The Moon

First on the agenda is the new EP called Buck At The Moon by grindcore/death metal/whatever-they-want-to-do group Buckshot Facelift, a group near and dear to myself, Islander, and others at this site.

Considering their combined pedigree consists of members from Grey Skies Fallen, Artificial Brain, Thaetas, and more, it’s always struck me as odd that these guys aren’t way more popular and well known. Especially since the music they create is consistently impressive, while always moving in new directions each time. This explorative ethos of theirs continues to hold true on Buck At The Moon. It’s a Halloween tinged pay-what-you-want EP that features two new songs and ends with a death metal inspired cover of “Pet Sematary” by The Ramones.

The release serves more as a stop-gap release than anything else, something to pique your interest until the group releases their next full-length in early 2017. While there is an air of familiarity to the two new songs that kick off Buck At The Moon, both showcase a somewhat different direction than what the band offered on their 2015 release, Living Ghosts Of The North Shore.

Pick this up today and get ready for next year, when Buckshot Facelift will return with a powerful vengeance. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

https://buckshotfacelift.bandcamp.com/album/buck-at-the-moon
https://www.facebook.com/buckshotfacelift/?fref=ts

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Omnea – Omnea

Speaking of Buckshot Facelift, without the guidance of Buckshot vocalist Will sharing this release, I wouldn’t know about their fellow Long Island metal compatriots called Omnea.

The group play a particularly strange and eerie form of technical-minded instrumental death metal that doesn’t quite fit the standard tech-death label overall. Taken as a whole, Omnea delivers a sonic experience akin to Artificial Brain or Gorguts, and I don’t mean that in a derivative sense. Omnea deliver some truly wild stuff, creating music that comes across like a mix of both deathly skronk and hyperactive experimental prog metal delivered in an instrumental death metal format.

I suppose another way to describe them that fits would be to frame their music as a war between Dysrhythmia and Ulcerate; that merging of styles definitely encompasses the massive range and mind-bending horror that Omnea unleash with seeming ease.

Whether the group will continue on as an instrumental act or not, I don’t know. What I do know is that this introductory self-titled release has me very hyped on Omnea and what I can only hope will be a bright future ahead of them.

https://omnea.bandcamp.com/album/omnea-ep
https://www.facebook.com/omneaofficial/?fref=ts

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=37451563 size=large bgcol=333333 linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

 

 

 

 

 

The Conjuration – The Silent Opera

I told you we’d be covering a lot of weird and strange music, and such a tag fits few bands better than it does the one-man progressive death metal outfit The Conjuration, whom we’ve been covering here at NCS for a few years. With each release, sole member Corey Jason has considerably upped the ante in every aspect, from the production, to the songwriting, to the ever-expansive sonic depths explored, and beyond.

Full disclosure before we go any further: I do have some black metal screamed guest spots on “Whore” from this album, which made me somewhat reticent to cover this without Islander’s blessing, so I’ll keep the write-up brief and to the point. In spite of that, I really believe in the uniqueness and refreshing weirdness that is The Conjuration.

And to date, The Silent Opera is quite possibly the finest distillation of everything the project has attempted to accomplish from its inception into the present. For that reason alone, I highly suggest you give it a spin. It’s a strange listen for sure, but quite a rewarding and well-written one at that.

If most death metal feels played-out to you, if you feel bored by most tech-death, or if the current djent-fueled “prog” scene makes your eyes roll, then you’ll be pleased at the sonic mish-mash on display here, as The Silent Opera combines all the best elements of shred-fueled death metal, experimental metal, and trve prog metal into an unholy creature made of LSD and Frankensteinian sonic love children that should please any adventurous music seekers out there reading this. Or, it may force them to order a straightjacket and hide in a closet. Who knows? The Silent Opera acts like a musical Pandora’s Box for fans of Hellraiser, and I love it.

https://theconjuration.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheConjuration

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