SEEN AND HEARD: AL-NAMROOD, BLACK TUSK, DEAD FLESH, DVNE, GATECREEPER, HALNY, JORDSJUK, KULT IKON, RIITASOINTU, SIX FEET UNDER, SONS OF ALPHA CENTAURI, WARM GADGET

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Mar 142024
 

What I’ve assembled for visitors today is an even dozen songs and videos from bands spread across six countries and a variety of genres (and at least one that’s not really metal), including death metal, black metal, sludge, doom, post-metal, progressive metal, deathcore, folk-metal, and some things that are harder to pin down. If you don’t find something to like, it must be because you searched for “no spring cleaning”.

One thing you’ll figure out fairly soon is that a lot of today’s songs rock out, providing some very catchy head-movers. There’s also singing (or close to it) in some of them (gasp!). But of course I’ve sprinkled in some ravagers too, and because I’ve arranged these songs and videos in alphabetical order by band name, one of those comes first.

AL-NAMROOD (Saudi Arabia)

The first song is “Lisan Al Nar” (Tongue of Fire) from AlNamrood‘s new album Al Aqrab, to be released by Shaytan Productions on June 9th. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HIDEOUS DIVINITY, CANCER BATS, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, JONATHAN ATHON, AND WAYNE STATIC

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Nov 102014
 

A collection of things, good and bad, most of which I noticed over the last 24 hours:

HIDEOUS DIVINITY

We’ve written about every one of the advance tracks that have premiered from the new album Cobra Verde by Italy’s Hideous Divinity — in fact, we helped premiere one of those ourselves. The reasons we’ve devoted so much space to the music is that it so successfully combines explosive violence, trauma-inducing groove, and memorable strains of melody within well-structured songs.

It’s superbly performed, obliterating death metal that’s not only exhilarating to hear the first time through but also delivers the same level of adrenaline rush on subsequent listens. And there’s not a single soft spot in the whole album. Now the entire album is available for listening, so you don’t have to take anyone else’s word for its strengths. Continue reading »

BLACK TUSK: “INTERNAL/ETERNAL”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jul 022013
 

Savannah, Georgia’s Black Tusk are staring into the teeth of a July 23 release date for their new EP Tend No Wounds via Relapse Records. I’ve already got the hots for the cover artwork, which was created by Brian Mercer (Eyehategod, Lamb of God, Zoroaster). I’m getting pretty steamy over the music, too. First, there was the band’s official video for “In Days of Woe” (which debuted about two weeks ago), and then today we got another new track — “Internal/Eternal” — via Crave Online.

The new song is a crusty bucket of Southern fried riffs, alcohol-ruined vocals, and cannonball drum hits. It’s primo headbang material, but there’s something ominous about the smoke-filled air in this room, like you better finish your shot in a hurry because you’re about to get knifed.

Listen to this song after the jump (and watch the previous video, too). I’m really diggin’ it, and looking forward to listening to all 6 tracks on the EP. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (Part 1): THE DEATH TO ALL TOUR, THE HATE ETERNAL AND FEAR FACTORY TOUR, THE KVELERTAK-CANCER BATS-BLACK TUSK TOUR, DEAFHEAVEN, and GOD SEED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
Feb 272013
 

As previously reported, your humble editor’s blog time is being squeezed mercilessly by the old fuckin’ day job. There is no relief in sight yet. The consequence is that I can’t spend as much time as usual checking out new music and news. But I did make a quick survey of my typical sources last night and saw and heard many things of interest. Details about 3 new tours and 2 cool live videos are in this post, and I’ll have more goodies in a second one later today.

DEATH TO ALL TOUR 2013

In Tourism news I saw the following report on Metal Injection: The Death To All tour, which pays tribute to the late Chuck Shuldiner is returning for another run in 2013. The tour had its first run last year and featured an all-star lineup of former members of Death, “but was later plagued with drama surrounding the financials of the event, with some musicians not getting paid by one of the promoters.”

Unlike last year, the 2013 tour will feature one line-up, the Human–era lineup consisting of guitarist Paul Masvidal, bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and drummer Sean Reinert. In addition, Metal Sucks is reporting that Max Phelps, Masvidal and Reinert’s bandmate in the most recent line-up of Cynic, will be providing the vocals. The tour will focus on Human, and the three Death albums that came before it, Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy, and Spiritual Healing. Hell yes. Continue reading »

TOURISM: MARDUK, TODAY IS THE DAY, AND CRADLE OF FILTH

 Metal News  1 Response »
Dec 222012
 

Much earlier this month we reported the announcement of the VOICES FROM THE DARK tour of North America, co-headlined by Marduk (Sweden) and Moonspell (Portugal) and including the talents of Inquisition (U.S.), The Foreshadowing (Italy), and Death Wolf (Sweden) (which features members of Marduk). At the time of our earlier report, no dates had yet been announced. Now they have.

I’m gratified to see that it will be stopping in Seattle. I know this will make you happy, because I know you want me to be happy and I am indeed happy about this tour, especially because of the chance it will give me (finally) to see Marduk and Inquisition. Maybe you will be able to see this tour, too. But if not, I will still be happy, and therefore you will still be happy.

FEBRUARY

2/20 Springfield, VA @ Empire
2/21 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
2/22 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
2/23 New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
2/24 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
2/25 Toronto, ON @ Wreck Room
2/26 Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre
2/27 Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s
2/28 Saint Paul, MN @ Station 4 Continue reading »

LIVE REPORT: CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SKELETONWITCH, RED FANG, BLACK TUSK, AND HAVOK (The Magic Stick, Detroit MI, 11-16-12)

 Concert Reviews  3 Responses »
Dec 172012
 

(BadWolf and friends took in the show at Detroit’s Magic Stick co-headlined by Corrosion of Conformity and Skeletonwitch on November 16 and provides this review, with pics by Nick Vechery.)

I go to so many concerts that I forget live music is a celebration. When a band plays, the audience takes on a responsibility to express great feeling—vocally, physically, and of course through liver deterioration. It is easier to have a good time at a show not only when the bands are good, but when there is an occasion to celebrate. In the case of Corrosion of Conformity and Skeletonwitch’s co-headlining show, my wolf pack and I had much to celebrate.

My longstanding photographer and concert partner, Sir Nick Vechery, just celebrated his one year anniversary with his wonderful Significant Other, Whitney. [HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, GUYS!] Her gift to him? Skeletonwitch tickets. At the same time, we celebrated our first year of reporting for No Clean Singing. We loaded my car up with some Pabst and Toledo arts reporter Ian Hubbard, and trekked to The Magic Stick.

The Magic Stick boasts a fine bar, plenty of room, a loud stereo, and a huge second-story smoking patio with a gorgeous view of metro Detroit. The venue sits on top of a bowling alley, another bar, and a snack shoppe (the pizza was quite delicious, if a bit greasy). It stands as one of the finest venues I’ve ever visited, and I highly recommend that any NCS readers with the opportunity to spend money there do so. In the past two months I’ve seen four concerts there and cannot wait to return. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: JAMES MAY (BLACK TUSK)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jan 112012
 

(In this interview conducted late last year, NCS writer BadWolf caught up with James May of Savannah, Georgia’s Black Tusk, whose 2011 album Set the Dial is a hell of a thing. In addition to a full touring schedule, the band also played the inaugural Metal Suckfest in New York City last November (reviewed by BadWolf here), and the live photos accompanying this interview except for the one abovewere taken at that show for NCS by Nicholas Vechery.)

BW: How are you feeling about the set you played at Suckfest?

BT: It was good. You could tell it was the first fest. It was a little chaotic getting stuff where it needed to be on time, but the overall turnout was good. We played the first night of the festival, so I’m sure they worked out the kinks on the second night.

BW: Have you played any other first fests?

BT: Maybe the Devilmech fest in Atlanta [Athens]. That might have been the first year.

BW: So how do the festivals compare to one another?

BT: Festivals are usually pretty uniform, that’s just the nature of the beast. There’s a lot of bands in a bunch of chaos. Everybody getting stuff to where they want it. From my perspective, they’re really fun to play, but as a touring band when you see a bunch of bands play every night, festivals just aren’t very much fun.

My girlfriend goes to music festivals all the time, and when I’m home she tries to bring me and I’m like “Dude, that’s what I do. The last thing I want to do is watch a bunch of bands all day.” I’m pretty sure everyone in a touring band feels the same way.

But I do like them—it’s a way for a lot of different people to see your band. Continue reading »

THE FIRST INAUGURAL METAL SUCKFEST – DAY 1, 11.04.2011

 Concert Reviews  8 Responses »
Dec 072011
 

(The METAL SUCKFEST that took place in NYC on Nov 4 and 5 was a milestone event — the first U.S. metal festival organized and co-sponsored by a metal blog, and Metal Sucks pulled together a fucktastic line-up to boot. So, NCS decided to document the event up-close and personal by sending two emissaries — NCS writer BadWolf and photographer Nicholas Vechery.  They returned intact, and this is BadWolf’s report of the festival’s first day, along with Nick’s photos. BadWolf’s Day Two report will be tomorrow, and we’ll have interviews to come after that.)

Blogs will control the entertainment industry within our lifetimes (if the industry lasts our lifetimes). TMZ will overtake Entertainment Tonight. In some ways, Pitchfork has already taken Rolling Stone’s place.  Case in point: MetalSucks just threw the first (to my knowledge) blog-driven extreme music festival on US soil, Suckfest, and NCS was there to cover it.

On November 4, 2011, suckalos—yours truly included—flocked to the Grammercy Theater in Manhattan for seven hours of thrash. NCS photographer Nicholas Vechery and I rolled in sleep-deprived and sore after a 20+ hour bus trip from Ohio. The venue –the Grammercy Theater—was indeed a theater once and remains dark and sparse.

Initially, I thought the Grammercy would be too small to fit a decent crowd, but the first day was poorly attended.  Attendees shouted “Occupy Grammercy!” between songs, but otherwise behaved themselves too well by my standards. New York headbangers seem more reluctant to mosh than when I lived in the Big Apple. I smelled a division between lineup and audience—the first day’s bands all shared a background in hardcore punk, but in general MetalSucks caters to a more technical/progressive metal loving audience. The lineup was strong, but perhaps suited for a more intimate venue. After all, who wants to see Magrudergrind behind a security barrier?

Audience aside, the first day’s bands exploded over the lower-east side with white-knuckle intensity. Continue reading »

IN THE NEWS AND IN YOUR EARS: BLACK TUSK, GODSIC, THE CROWN, DREAMING DEAD, AND AMON AMARTH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Sep 102011
 

Yesterday my fucking day job actually demanded that I work instead of blog. Amazingly harsh that they actually expected me to do something I’m being paid to do. How fucking medieval! The result is that this round-up of news and new music is appearing a day later than it should have. Like hemorroids and lung cancer, these things happen.

Despite a waning of some of the excitement that comes with being first and fast out of the shute, and instead being late and resigning yourself to watching the buttholes of all the other horses that got the jump on you, I’m forging ahead anyway, waiting for that massive kick around the last turn that will leave the buttholes in the dust.

BLACK TUSK

Yeah, the black fucking tusk, with the John Dyer Baizley cover (above) for their new album, Set the Dial. This Savannah band’s 2010 album, Taste the Sin, was one we liked and wrote about last year (here), so we’ve been waiting for a taste of the newness, which we got yesterday. It’s a new song called “Bring Me Darkness”, which coincidentally is my order of choice at the bars I frequent. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

MORE 2010 SICKNESS (Part 4)

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
May 012010
 

We’re now a full four months into 2010, and it’s time for our fourth update to the list of forthcoming new albums we posted on January 1. (See the original list here, the first update here, the second update here, and the third update here.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases that we didn’t know about on January 1 or at the time of our last three updates (or that we’ve found updated information about) — and the new sickness is still spreading in epidemic proportions.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway), these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted blurbs from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and put reminders on your calendar. Or if you’re old school like us, just get em tattooed someplace you can see without a mirror (because reading stuff backwards is hard).

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS: “Abigail Williams have completed recording of individual performances for their still untitled second full-length. Captured at Conquistador Studios in Cleveland, Ohio, eight new songs were laid down with vocalist/guitarist Ken Sorceron and engineer Cole Martinez controlling the audio takes. The songs are currently being mixed by Peter Tagtgren (Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, Celtic Frost) and are expected to be completed later this month.”

ABYSMAL DAWN: “Los Angeles-based metallers ABYSMAL DAWN will enter Trench Studio in Corona, California in May with producer John Haddad (PHOBIA, INTRONAUT, HIRAX) to begin recording their new album for a tentative fall release via Relapse Records. The follow-up to Programmed To Consume will be mixed by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, VITAL REMAINS, CANNIBAL CORPSE) at his Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.”  (the list continues after the jump .  .) Continue reading »

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