Well, this didn’t go at all like I expected.
First and foremost, I didn’t expect to write anything for the site today. Thanks to the revival of the Waxing Lyrical series by Sir Andy Synn (no, he hasn’t been knighted yet, but surely it’s just a matter of time, innit?), we had a Saturday post. No need for me to make one. I thought I’d just spend some time listening instead.
It happened that the first thing I explored was a new song and video by the Siberian shamans Nytt Land — and then unexpected things began to happen. I noticed a new Behemoth video in the YouTube sidebar that I hadn’t known about, so I watched/heard it. And then I noticed a new Lorna Shore video in the YouTube sidebar and thought, what the hell why not? And then the YouTube sidebars led me to Zeal & Ardor and Slaughter To Prevail. And now here we are.
With the exception of Nytt Land, I had no intention of investigating the videos you now have laid out before you. With the exception of that group and Behemoth, I wasn’t particularly interested in spending time on the music of the others (I didn’t even know who Slaughter To Prevail were, though I now realize they’re insane). And it’s true that if I’d just heard the songs I’m not sure I would have spilled digital ink about any of them. But here we are, and it’s because of the videos, all of which arrested my attention. They all made the music better.
Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that the combined audiovisual experience was more entertaining than I think the songs might have been, standing alone. That’s not really intended as a criticism, it’s just that a lot of the music here isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse, so to speak. However, I really did thoroughly enjoy this unplanned and very twisty trip down the rabbit hole, and so I’m sharing the trip with you.
On the other hand, I’m not going to provide my usual commentary or links in this round-up, only a quick summary of where the songs come from. I do want to finish the listening session I started before I got unexpectedly side-tracked. Of course, your own reactions to what’s here are more than welcome in the Comment section. I’ll be back tomorrow with Shades of Black.
Where The Songs Come From: Behemoth’s song is off their recently released EP A Forest; the Lorna Shore song is from an EP named …And I Return To Nothingness which will be released on August 13th; Zeal & Ardor‘s “Run” is a single that was digitally released last month, and will eventually appear on a forthcoming self-titled album; the Slaughter To Prevail track will appear on their new album Kostolom, due for release on August 13; and Nytt Land‘s “Ritual” is the title track to an album coming out on August 6.
One Response to “VIDEOGRAPHY: BEHEMOTH, LORNA SHORE, ZEAL & ARDOR, SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL, NYTT LAND”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
We need to talk more about Lorna Shore. Like some of you, I’ve been listening to extreme metal for almost a few decades at this point, and this band is it. As in, the band of today’s generation that carries metal into the future, and we should be damn proud of that. In my view, they have incorporated almost all the aspects imaginable. This is pure grindcore at points, than symphonic black metal. I hear Dimmu Borgir and Brutal Truth and so much more. Yes, Deathcore for the most part is tacky, but I think this is one of the bands where when people are talking about the metal scene being gatekeepers, well this is it. Cause if you like extreme metal, their is absolutely zero reason to be hating on this solid band. Even the synths could be a Sonata Arctica song!