SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: ADVERSARIAL, ARROGANZ, BLACK TOTEM, CULT LEADER, DEAD FLESH, HENRY KANE, LILJEVARS BRANN, OU, SIG:AR:TYR, TÝR, ULTIO, VULGARIS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Mar 302024
 

It’s the 30th day of March, and 30 is about the number of new songs and videos I checked out in anticipation of this roundup, all of them having surfaced during the past week. I settled on an even dozen to share with you, and you probably won’t like all of them, even if you’re tenacious enough to go through all 12.

Why? Because your range of heavy metallic interests is probably narrower than mine (most people’s are), and the big herd below ranges pretty far and wide. On the other hand, the breadth of the range means you’ll probably find something to like.

Because there’s so much to get through, I dispensed with uploading and re-sizing all the cover art and tried to limit myself (with varying degrees of success) to more pithy expressions than usual. I also alphabetized the selections by band name.

P.S. There will be more recommendations tomorrow, Easter Sunday notwithstanding. In fact, the Easter observance just makes me more eager to char the day black. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ADVERSARIAL — “CURSED BLADES CAST UPON THE SLAVESCUM OF CHRIST”

 Premieres  11 Responses »
Jul 172015
 

Adversarial-Death Endless Nothing cover art

 

The last two releases by Adversarial have been short ones — a split with Paroxsihzem last year (Warpit of Coiling Atrocities, reviewed here) and another one with Antediluvian in 2012 (Initiated In Impiety As Mysteries, reviewed here). Both of them were stunningly good — and so I’ve had supremely high expectations for the band’s second full-length, Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism. As high as they were, those expectations were elevated even further after I saw the band’s obliterating set on the final night of this year’s Maryland Deathfest.

Sometimes, perhaps most of the time, when you have such high hopes for a new release, you find yourself at least somewhat disappointed when it finally arrives. Not this time.

Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism will be essential listening for fans of black/death. It’s Adversarial’s best work to date, which is saying something — a journey into a vortex of lightless chaos that’s both terrifying and somehow entrancing. Today we are privileged to unsheathe this black knife as we premiere one of a very strong album’s strongest tracks, “Cursed Blades Cast Upon the Slavescum of Christ“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ADVERSARIAL AND PAROXSIHZEM — NEW MUSIC FROM “WARPIT OF COILING ATROCITIES”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Dec 042014
 

 

When I first learned that Vault of Dried Bones would be releasing an album-length split by Adversarial and Paroxsihzem, entitled Warpit of Coiling Atrocities, I simultaneously experienced both a thrill and a chilling sensation, like a burst of adrenaline as the blood started freezing in my veins. I haven’t yet heard the complete results of this destructive alliance, but I have heard two of the songs on Warpit, and I got the thrill/chill all over again, big time. Now you’ll get a chance to hear them, too, as we  bring you the premiere of one song by each band from the split.

Both of these Toronto bands’ last releases came out in 2012 — Adversarial’s split with Antediluvian (reviewed here) and Paroxsihzem’s self-titled debut album. Both of them were hellholes of violence and depravity, which is to say they were excellent. So are these two songs. Continue reading »

ANTEDILUVIAN / ADVERSARIAL SPLIT

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  9 Responses »
Jul 022012
 

Late last week Nuclear War Now released a six-song vinyl split by two of Canada’s most horrifying death metal bands, Antediluvian and Adversarial. I learned this through a personal message on The Living Doorway blog. I knew the message was intended for me because JGD began his post with these words: “Attention mongoloids”.

I’ve been keeping my bloodshot eyes on Antediluvian ever since being overwhelmed by their 2011 Profound Lore album Through the Cervix of Hawaah (which I reviewed here). Adversarial is a name I’ve heard, but listening to this split was my first exposure to their music. Each side of the vinyl LP has a name: “Leviathan” is the name of the side that features Adversarial’s music, and “Lucifer” is the side that includes Antediluvian’s three tracks. According to NWN, the bands collaborated on the EP’s themes, and the six songs are meant to be heard together.

Adversarial’s music is dense and chaotic, a swirling hornet hive of grinding, distorted guitars and a nearly non-stop machine-gun snare attack. Contrasting with the vicious smashing of the instruments, the vocals are slow, ghastly, and deeper than ocean trenches. The riffs are usually blazing in their speed, and there is a complexity and unpredictability in the guitar and bass performances that’s almost hidden in the unabashed ferocity of the music. Occult guitar melodies swirl up out of the dense smoke and fire from time to time, but the songs are mainly full-tilt eruptions of annihilation.

By the way, I wasn’t kidding about the non-stop snare attack — it consumes the vast majority of the drummer’s repertoire (along with a healthy dose of brutish double-bass), but man, I do dig it. Continue reading »