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Apr 292014
 

(TheMadIsraeli wrote this.)

Time to revisit this shit again at my own peril.

So, I, and we, have written multiple times about Hacktivist.  For those unfamiliar with them, Hacktivst play rap-djent.   They WERE the only band doing what they do, but now it looks like we may be seeing rap-djent become a solidified “thing”.

Australia’s Devastator are the second band I’ve heard doing this kind of shit, and while the temptation is to compare them to Hacktivist solely on the fact they’re playing djent with rapping as the main vocal drive, Devastator are quite a bit different.  Their music has a more driving edge to it, far more aggressive both musically and in the tone of the vocals of Matthew “AntiMatter” Youkhana. Continue reading »

Oct 142013
 

(Victimized by technological unreliability, TheMadIsraeli has been absent from our pages recently, but returns with this review of the new album by Australia’s Circles, which is out today via Basick Records.)

I’m finally back after experiencing another hard-drive crash and trying to get back on my feet with school and all.  Thankfully I have all this week off, so expect fuck tons of shit coming your way.

This band, and this album, represent what may very well be the epitome of the dirty word/guilty pleasure/shit you just shouldn’t like as a metalhead.  I have three dreaded genre names, and these guys are in all three.  Ready?

Djent, Nu metal, and Alt metal.

I know. But bear with me.

I’ve talked about Circles before, when I reviewed their debut EP here on NCS.  For me to appropriately address this album I think I need to go into a bit of surmising.  It’s safe to say that a lot of metal heads, whether they want to admit it or not, can appreciate a good pop metal record once in awhile (think Mercenary’s Darker Days Ahead, which appeared earlier this year), though more often than not we tend to be unwilling to admit this.  Sometimes you just want something that’s heavy enough, but has the hooks and melodies that will stay in your head for days. Continue reading »

Dec 232012
 

I’m still catching up on new music and videos that I noticed over the last week. The songs from the three bands that I’ve collected in this post share a certain something, a death metal kinship, a bond forged with massive hammers and tempered in the fires of a crematorium. It’s music that is un-tempted by the flash and fireworks of modernity, quite happy to simply smash bones into splinters and scatter blood spray like a driving rain.

But although all of the songs have a primarily primal appeal, they’re all really good, really powerful, highly capable of awakening the reptile brain that dozes in all of us and getting it moving and shaking. And they each bring a special flair and style that elevates them above your standard old-school pummeling. Hope you enjoy these holiday goodies from Daemonicus (Sweden), Humanity Delete (the one-man project of Sweden’s Rogga Johansson), and Yellowtooth (U.S.) as much as I have.

DAEMONICUS

Daemonicus came together in 2006, and have recently released their second album, Deadwork, via Abyss Records. Stupid me, I’ve had the promo for this album since September but failed to pay attention until yesterday, when I heard two of the album’s tracks via the internet — an official video that debuted at the end of November for “Nothing But Death” and another song named “The Grandeur of Total Termination”. I fear that I may never manage a proper review given how backlogged I am, but I’m at least going to say something about these two songs. Continue reading »

Nov 112012
 

(In this post, Phro commemorates the 20th anniversary of Rage Against the Machine’s debut album as only Phro can.)

So, all this talk about Hacktivist has mostly been like water off a horny duck’s back to me, but it has had one interesting effect: reminding me of how great Rage Against the Machine is. Well, apparently, November 3rd was the 20th anniversary of Rage Against the Machine’s debut, self-titled album. As I read this article on Stereogum (I ended up there from a link on The Atlantic because otherwise I would have no fucking clue something called “Stereogum” existed), I realized: holy fuck balls, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album. Obviously, like many people, I’ve heard “Killing in the Name” and “Wake Up,” but that’s probably the extent of my knowledge of the album.

“Well, that’s weirder than seeing Willy Wonka fucking a dentist to death with a strap-on made of candy corn,” I thought to myself. Especially considering how damn much I loved Evil Empire, The Battle of Los Angeles, and even their covers albums Renegades. So, I figured, why not review the album with almost completely fresh ears? And that’s what I’ve done. I’m writing this stream of conscious as I’m listening to each track only once.

Enjoy! And be sure to tell me why I’m a total fucking distended asshole in the comments. Continue reading »