AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BLURRING — “CLOUD BURNER”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Apr 242017
 

 

(Austin Weber brings us the full streaming premiere of the new EP by Blurring, along with an introductory review.)

 

After the breakup of Brutal Truth, the band’s members have continued on in multiple outfits, one of the finest of which is Rochester, New York-based technical grindcore act Blurring.

Blurring is a new vehicle for legendary bassist Dan Lilker (Brutal Truth, Nuclear Assault, former founding member of Anthrax, countless others) and multi-instrumentalist Erik Burke (Sulaco, ex-Kalibas, ex-Lethargy, countless others) on drums, combining their immense talents with other like-minded top-notch musicians to form one of the absolute best grindcore bands currently active.

While the band had some demos and other releases preceding their 2015 self-titled album, it was that release that really got me hooked on their complex and disturbing brand of grindcore. Some of you might have caught my review for it here at NCS; if not, now’s your chance to check out Blurring — don’t fuck up. The band is set to release Cloud Burner on April 28th, a fantastic five-song EP that we’re streaming early in full today. Continue reading »

BLURRING: “BLURRING”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
May 082015
 

 

(Austin Weber reviews the debut album by Blurring, which features a lot of impressive veteran names in the line-up.)

While we are only now entering the fifth month of 2015, it’s already been one hell of a year for what I would dub sophisticated and or eclectic grindcore — from Theories’ debut, to the new Oblivionized, the new Antigama, the new Cloud Rat, and the just-released album Romantic Love by Dendritic Arbor. That alone is more cream-of-the-crop grind then we are typically graced with in a single year! While my eardrums are already thoroughly decimated by all these impressive grind releases, there’s another band called Blurring who are right up there at the top as well. Fans of our site may remember I last wrote about Blurring last year, and I’ve been anxiously waiting for the band’s self-titled debut ever since.

The band is a by-product and reflection of the famed and rightly lauded Rochester, N.Y., grind scene, and their line-up is jaw-dropping, with people from many of the best grind bands ever, period. First you’ve got Dan Lilker, who played in Brutal Truth and Nuclear Assault, among others. Then you’ve got two former guitarists from the almighty Kalibas, Scott D’Agostino and Matt Colbert, plus drummer Eric Burke (who is also well-known as a guitarist) of Sulaco/Lethargy fame, along with countless others. And the group is rounded out by vocalist Mark Weldin, who used to play in a band called Warblade.

When you have a band with as much pedigree as these guys have, the end result is likely to be terrifying, in the best way possible of course. But enough of me drooling over the awesome absurdity of their line-up, let’s get on to the music. Continue reading »

REMNANTS OF 2013 (PART 1)

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
May 132014
 

(Austin Weber puts the spotlight on a big load of 2013 releases that he feels were overlooked.  This is Part 1 of a four-part piece; we’ll have the other parts on each of the remaining days this week.)

At a certain point, from time to time, trying to cover a lot of different bands in a single article can feel like a chore — a chore similar to an ugly child left in the ICU, one whom I have finally found the time to visit and finally snuff out! But I hope the emotional reaction you have is different from how it felt to complete another mammoth article. [Editor’s intrusion: I’ve divided this piece into four parts in an effort to make the readers’ emotional reaction more pleasurable.]

Much like last year, when I compiled a Remnants of 2012 post, I once again found some music I felt the metal scene greatly overlooked. Unfortunately, I’m overloaded in my life right now, so I don’t have time to write as much as I would like about each of these releases. A few of them are also from 2012, deal with it. And a few aren’t metal, deal with that too. Enjoy! Continue reading »