(Andy Synn covers four excellent bands as part of today’s article)
So today I present you a split review for a pair of splits featuring two pairs of bands… but don’t worry if that sentence is already making your brains start to hurt, all you really need to know is that you’re about to hear some seriously heavy music.
And, in the end, isn’t that what we’re all here for?
(Andy Synn offers his thoughts on the upcoming new album by Body Void)
Continuing with this week’s theme of posting articles about the most abrasive, horrible music of the year… here’s a few words (and then a few more words) about Body Void‘s most abrasive and horrible album yet.
Consider yourselves warned.
Bandcamp Friday’s are ideal days for roundups such as this one, because people can immediately act on what they like in a way that yields more money to labels and bands from that platform.
Unfortunately, the random chaos of the cosmos often seems to conspire against me on these days (forget about the fact that conspiracies aren’t random), and it has happened again today, thanks to a huge distraction from my fucking day job.
I’ve managed to pick a few — a very few — recommendations in the small slice of time available to me. I’ll have more tomorrow, perhaps enticing enough to go on your wish list for the next time Bandcamp lets more money slip through their sticky fingers.
CHOROSIA (Austria)
I’m leading off with a just-released video for a song by Chorosia from their new 35-minute EP, and I’ve made that choice for two reasons: First, it lets me put Orion Landau‘s stunning artwork for the EP at the top of our page. Second, the song is an out-of-the-ordinary blend of sludge, doom, and progressive metal that proves to be thoroughly captivating. Continue reading »
(It’s the end of the fourth month, so here’s Andy Synn with four killer cuts you may have missed)
As we come towards the end of the month… I take a look at my life, and realise there’s nothing left.
No, wait, sorry, that’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”. Let me start again.
As with every month, April was filled with delights, disappointments, and a diverse array of albums which we simply didn’t have time to cover.
So, in what may or may not end up becoming something of a regular feature, I wanted to dedicate today’s article to providing some short but sweet summations of a handful of high-quality records which might have flown under your radar over the past several weeks.
(Here’s Andy Synn’s review of the horrifying new EP by San Francisco’s Body Void, which was released on March 15th by Seeing Red Records, Dry Cough Records, and Crown and Throne Ltd.)
I’m not sure if any of you have noticed, or if it’s bothered you at all, but the majority of my writing over the last several weeks has focussed on covering a variety of big names, famous faces, and iconoclastic figures… plus the occasional up-and-coming contender… which has left surprisingly little space for the more underground or esoteric bands which NCS has generally been more famous for covering.
Does this mean I’m… whisper it… on the verge of selling out?
Hell no. It just means that I happened to have listened to a fair few artists/albums who (deservedly) have also been receiving a lot of coverage elsewhere recently, and that I felt like writing about them.
But for those of you who might have been a little concerned, fear not, as it looks like this week is going to be all about the underappreciated and the underground, kicking off with this quick smash ‘n’ grab review of the new EP from Body Void. Continue reading »
The second annual installment of Austin Terror Fest took place in the heart of Texas on June 15-17, 2018, proudly co-sponsored by NCS. It featured performances by 30 bands from around the U.S. (and outside it). It was a great event, and we’re already anxious for ATF 2019 (and yes, work is already under way to present the third edition of the festival next year). We were very fortunate that New Orleans-based photographer Teddie Taylor was there to document the fest through her lenses, and to share her photos with us so that we, in turn, can share them with you.
On Wednesday we presented photos from the first day of the festival, and today the focus is on the performances that took place on the second day, with sets by a dozen bands alternating between indoor and outdoor stages at Barracuda in Austin. And without further ado, here’s our selection from the many great images that Teddie captured during these performances: Continue reading »