(Andy Synn presents three more of his favourite home-grown heroes)
Well, here we are… it’s almost time for “List Week” (there might even be a little preview coming tomorrow).
But before we get there I wanted to sneak in one last edition of “The Best of British” to highlight three recently-released albums which are sure to tantalise your musical tastebuds.
(Our Oslo-based contributor Chile had the good fortune to attend the latest edition of Oslo Deathfest on November 29-30, and he has given us the following lively report, accompanied by his photos.)
Time does fly on the wings of death. Nowhere more true than on the ice-covered streets of Oslo, where a moment of inattention takes you straight into the abyss or the pavement, whichever comes first. A bit dramatic, but that’s life. Threading slowly and with great care, walking through winter streets alone, he stops and takes a breath with confidence and self control; Friday has finally come to bring us the first day of Oslo Deathfest, the annual fest of unreadable logos.
A full year has already come to pass from the first edition of Oslo Deathfest, which aims to be a regular gathering for both the bands and the fans of that most beautiful genre of gut-wrenching riffs and crushing rhythms, namely death metal. Last year’s first edition was a success in itself and it was only normal to expect that the organisers would build on that by trying to expand the festival.
And they do. Going from nine bands in 2023, mostly of local fare, but still full of strong names, this year’s festival brings us fourteen bands of colourful, international variety from four corners of the Earth spread over the course of two days. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
What madness is this?!?
No doubt with grinning faces, Summoning Saturn Voids describe their lineup as an “intergalactic covenant” that features “clones and doppelgangers stolen from earthly bands like Aborym, Darkend, Drakkar, The Headless Ghost, and Daemoniac (plus a quite well renowned gentleman from Norway).”
Possibly still with grinning faces, but possibly not, they describe their musical mission this way:
“The Summoning Saturn Voids project was born from a desire to create a musical time machine.
“Bringing a black metal singer into the future, immersed in sidereal and cosmic sounds and then catapulting him into the 70’s, jamming with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler…. The potion thus evoked is at the same time spirited and punishing, grim and melancholic, reeking of 70’s era Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and… well, you will surely find out.” Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
In April of this year the Cleveland post-black metal band Axioma traveled to Lorain, Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie, to witness a solar eclipse. But they didn’t just witness it, they simultaneously provided their own soundtrack for it.
Building up to the eclipse and continuing through it, they performed an extensive instrumental piece on the lakeshore that they’d written for the occasion, aptly named “Live Totality“, and some friends filmed it, creating a video that includes gorgeous overhead scenes of the band’s setting and the lake.
On December 6th, through their label Stained Glass Torments, Axioma will release that song on a vinyl and digital EP that shares the song’s name. The EP includes three more subsequently recorded tracks, and we have all the songs for you to stream today. Continue reading »
Almost three years after its last album, the Polish black metal band Czarna Magia is returning with a third album named Morbid Affection To Darkness, proudly presented as an uncompromisingly evil reflection of its sole creator Balrog‘s sickness and hatred.
The album will be co-released on December 13th by Symbol Of Domination and The End Of Time Records, and today we premiere its disturbing title track. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
No matter how “niche” they may be, every genre of extreme metal includes variations on the themes that give them their names. That’s why, as time has passed, most of them have been categorically sub-divided, with an ever-increasing use of hyphenated naming conventions.
Few genres are more “niche” than funeral doom. No doubt, it has intensely devoted fans, but, with very rare exceptions, it has never been “popular” and probably never will be. In the imagination of most listeners, the music is too slow, too superficially simple, too appallingly bleak, and usually with track lengths that are too long for anything remotely approaching mass consumption.
Yet even in such a niche genre variations abound, though its popular reach is so limited that people haven’t reached very far for hyphenated or slashed sub-conventions. That doesn’t mean we can’t try, and for the sheer hell of it we will try to find one that suits Diagenesis, the latest album by the mysterious Belgian entity Until Death Overtakes Me which we’re premiering today in advance of its December 6 release by Aesthetic Death. Continue reading »
(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo weighs in below with reviews of three albums released in November 2024 that he heartily recommends.)
We’re rapidly approaching everyone’s favorite time around here (or most stressful, depending on who you ask) and that time, of course, is Listmania, where our dignified group of NCS scribes, contributors, friends, and an assortment of others all sound off on their favorite releases of 2024.
Before all that unfolds, though, I wanted to squeeze in one last monthly roundup of new music. Why? Because everyone should have something to read on the toilet if they need to avoid asshole family members during the holidays.
You’re welcome. Continue reading »
As of yesterday we are entering the final month of 2024, and that begins the final countdown to the end of the year. In the world of metal, this month we’ll also start seeing more and more lists of the year’s best releases.
Back in 2009, when this site was just a few days old, I wrote a post about year-end lists and why people bother with them. The best reason still seems to be this: Reading someone else’s list of the albums they thought were best is a good way to discover music you missed and might like.
We don’t do an “official” NCS year-end list of best albums. However, we publish the picks of each of our regular staff writers as well as a group of invited guests, in addition to lists that we re-post from a few print zines and “big platform” online sites.
Every year we also invite our readers to share their lists and we’re doing that again right here, right now. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
We’re about to venture off our usual beaten tracks (the ones we use to beat you with), but not too far off: there still seem to be devils roaming these dark woods where we’re going.
What we have for you now is a lyric video for a song from a debut album named Victory by the Armenian band ARTE-X. It will be released on December 12th by a new Armenian label, Holy Mountains Music. Continue reading »
(Andy Synn highlights three of the more unusual albums from November)
This time next week we’ll have begun my annual round-up of “The Year in Review(s)” – which means right now I’m elbow-deep in the running document (which I’ve kept mostly up to date over the last twelve-ish months) of every single record I’ve heard during 2024.
There’s no guarantee, of course, that they’ll all end up being featured next week – the “short-list” currently stands at just under 400 albums, although I’m sure that number will come down a bit as I decide that I just don’t have a strong enough opinion about certain releases to include them in good conscience (it’s not about the quantity, after all, it’s about being able to present you, our readers, with some representation of each album’s quality) – but there’s still a lot of work to be done, and not much time left in which to do it.
That being said… I do plan on sneaking in a few more reviews before “List Week” officially commences, including this triptych of unorthodox delights from last month which you may well have missed!