AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: NEURECTOMY — “OVERWROUGHT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Nov 142023
 

(Our old friend Austin Weber again returns to NCS, and this time he’s introducing our premiere of a new album by the technical/brutal death metal band Neurectomy.)

In the immortal words of Twin Peaks: “That gum you like is going to come back in style.”

Outside of the overwhelming and well-warranted love Archspire has garnered in the scene, technical brutal death metal that both leans into and focuses on extreme shredding, chaotic tempo shifts, and is just all-in on not giving a damn about being “listenable” has largely gone out of style.

And again, I know/love Archspire, and technically, Archspire is still sort of doing this, as is Origin, but overall this type of sound is sort of a now-lost sub-genre within technical brutal death metal. For a while there, it was a very active style thanks to Viraemia, Beneath The Massacre, Anomalous, Brain Drill, and countless others. Continue reading »

FOREVER PLAYING CATCH UP (2023 EDITION) PART 3

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Nov 022023
 

(Our old friend and former NCS writer Austin Weber is returning to our page today with the third part of a multi-part series of reviews that we plan to run day after day until completed. You’ll find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)

Despite the incredible volume of music covered here at NCS, there remains a plethora of noteworthy releases yet to be shared in this space. Chalk it up to how much damn good stuff deserves the limelight and doesn’t get it because we all know this site already covers more than most as is.

As I’ve done in the past, join me for another multi-part feature that touches on music I strongly believe you should listen to—or at the very least, stuff worth checking out at a minimum. You be the judge. Onwards! Continue reading »

FOREVER PLAYING CATCH UP (2023 EDITION) PART 2

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Nov 012023
 

(Our old friend and former NCS writer Austin Weber is returning to our page today with the second part of a multi-part series of reviews that we plan to run day after day until completed. You’ll find Part 1 here.)

Despite the incredible volume of music covered here at NCS, there remains a plethora of noteworthy releases yet to be shared in this space. Chalk it up to how much damn good stuff deserves the limelight and doesn’t get it because we all know this site already covers more than most as is.

As I’ve done in the past, join me for another multi-part feature that touches on music I strongly believe you should listen to—or at the very least, stuff worth checking out at a minimum. You be the judge. Onwards! Continue reading »

FOREVER PLAYING CATCH UP (2023 EDITION) PART 1

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Oct 312023
 


Paroxysm Unit

(Our old friend and former NCS writer Austin Weber is returning to our page today with the first part of a multi-part series of reviews that we plan to run day after day until completed.)

Despite the incredible volume of music covered here at NCS, there remains a plethora of noteworthy releases yet to be shared in this space. Chalk it up to how much damn good stuff deserves the limelight and doesn’t get it because we all know this site already covers more than most as is.

As I’ve done in the past, join me for another multi-part feature that touches on music I strongly believe you should listen to—or at the very least, stuff worth checking out at a minimum. You be the judge. Onwards! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AKURION — “BEDSORES TO THE BONE”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Mar 122020
 

 

(We welcome back our old friend and former NCS writer Austin Weber, who introduces our premiere of a song from the forthcoming debut album by the formidable death metal band Akurion, as well as a bass-and-guitar playthrough video for the track featuring performances by Rob Milley and Oli Pinard.)

After many years in development, the upcoming debut album Come Forth to Me by Montreal-based death metal supergroup Akurion is finally nearing its release. The album will officially drop on Friday, April 10th, via Redefining Darkness Records.

Although I’ve already helped with a premiere for Akurion — “Year of the Long Pig” at Metal Injection — once it came to my attention that certain premiere partners fell through for today’s item, I felt a need to step in and make the official launch of “Bedsores to the Bone” happen on time.

Akurion has an immediate appeal to me as an uber death metal nerd due to its member’s multi-decade lineage spent playing in Cryptopsy, Cattle Decapitation, Neuraxis, Coma Cluster Void, and many more. That in and of itself is impressive, but honestly wouldn’t mean a lot if the current project we’re highlighting didn’t rule, but Akurion does indeed kick a tremendous amount of ass. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2017: A YEAR-END LIST FROM AUSTIN WEBER

 LISTMANIA 2017  6 Responses »
Jan 042018
 

 

(We present Austin Weber’s list of 20 favorite releases from 2017, which include excerpts from his reviews both here and at Metal Injection.)

 

While I usually do very long year-end feature focusing almost solely on obscure music for NCS each December since 2012, our overlord Islander was in need of some holiday relief so we’re sticking to a mainly Top 20-ish format this year to ease the burden he graciously undertakes of working on all our lists for publication.

I don’t really think of my year-end favorites in a ranked-number-focused way, so the order of the ranking below is fairly irrelevant, just as a heads-up. Although a Top 20 constraint means I can only list a small fraction of my 2017 favorites, I tried to balance this list by covering a number of my top favorites from this year that didn’t get as much attention and will hopefully be new to some of you. So my goal here with a capped limit of 20 was to pick the 20 releases I felt stood out most as releases I know for sure I’ll come back to a lot after the current year ends. I also urge you to check out the hyperlinked Honorable Mentions I’ve included below the Top 20 to find more killer music worth checking out. Continue reading »

CLERIC: “RETROCAUSAL”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Nov 222017
 

 

(We present Austin Weber’s review of the long-awaited (and very eagerly awaited) new album by Cleric.)

 

In 2010, the Philadelphia-based avant-garde metal band Cleric dropped one of the biggest mindfucks ever to appear in the modern metal era called Regressions. In a lot of ways, the album felt like the rightful spiritual heir to Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3, endlessly explorative and capable of churning out incomprehensibly dense and eclectic compositions that sound like nothing else out there.

It was fitting then that Regressions was put out by Secret Chiefs 3/ex-Mr. Bungle mastermind Trey Spruance’s label, Web Of Mimicry. To give you another prime example of Regressions‘ complex mind-bending insanity, a prominent Cleric trait which certainly holds true to the music on Retrocausal as well, Colin Marston once discussed their debut in an interview in the following way: “Regressions by Cleric took waaaaaay longer than any other record I’ve ever worked on. It’s also probably the most dense in terms of the sheer number and complexity of layers being heard at any given time.”

Now, with little pre-warning, comes the dawn of album number two, Retrocausal, with Cleric once again reuniting with Colin Marston to handle the recording, mixing, and mastering of another amorphous musical behemoth. Continue reading »

FOREVER PLAYING CATCH-UP (PART 7): JUTE GYTE, FROZEN EMPIRE

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Oct 202017
 

 

(We continue the rollout of Austin Weber’s series devoted to reviews of 2017 releases we haven’t previously covered. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, and Part 6 here.)

Jute Gyte – Oviri

Jute Gyte is an intriguing project in the black metal world, one I’ve been covering here at NCS for several years now, even going as far as interviewing its mysterious architect Adam Kalmbach here at NCS in 2014. The dude is beyond prolific; there hasn’t been a year since the project started that a new Jute Gyte of some sort hasn’t come out. Most years end with multiple releases.

This year the new recording is Oviri, an album-length work, a weighty experience that sets before us another exercise in extreme discomfort, massive sprawling compositions, and unreal ferocity. Continue reading »

FOREVER PLAYING CATCH-UP (PART 6): COMITY, GRIZZLY, CRACKLING DAWN

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Oct 192017
 

 

(We continue the rollout of Austin Weber’s ongoing series devoted to reviews of 2017 releases we haven’t previously covered. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, and Part 5 here.)

In spite of what the naysayers will tell you, I’m of the opinion that there’s an absolutely ridiculous amount of good metal releases coming out all the time, many of them coming from new groups or independent groups that we’re just now catching onto for the first time.

This lengthy round-up has been in the works for awhile, but I kept adding more and more to the list of what I wanted to cover. Hopefully you will find something new you enjoy in each installment.

Comity – A Long Eternal Fall

Comity are a long-running Parisian group who have always defied easy categorization and neat, simple explanations as to what they do. They’re a band I’ve been following since 2005. At that time, I was a bit late to the party when I first heard their 2002 debut The Deus Ex-Machina As A Forgotten Genius, but that ended up being a good time to get into them since they dropped a killer follow-up the next year, in 2006, called As Everything Is A Tragedy. Continue reading »

FOREVER PLAYING CATCH-UP (PART 5): KLEXOS, THE CLOCKWORK DEITY, OBSIDIAN MANTRA

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Oct 182017
 

 

(We continue the rollout of Austin Weber’s ongoing series devoted to reviews of 2017 releases we haven’t previously covered. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.)

In spite of what the naysayers will tell you, I’m of the opinion that there’s an absolutely ridiculous amount of good metal releases coming out all the time, many of them coming from new groups or independent groups that we’re just now catching onto for the first time.

This lengthy round-up has been in the works for awhile, but I kept adding more and more to the list of what I wanted to cover. Hopefully you will find something new you enjoy in each installment.

KLEXOS – DEMO 2017

Now we return yet again to dark and eerie death metal with the 2017 demo from a new project based out of Lexington, Kentucky known as Klexos. The group plays within the murky and dissonant death metal style on their 2017 demo, but does so with more of a groove and doomy feeling to it that gives the two songs on this release their own vibe. Continue reading »

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