AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BRAIN DRILL — “INFINITE OBLIVION”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Apr 122017
 

 

(Austin Weber introduces our premiere of a video by the electrifying Brain Drill from California.)

At this point, most people know Brain Drill and have long since formed an opinion either for or against the band and their frenetic and over-the-top style of technical brutal death metal. As such, I’m not here to preach at length to the unconverted, but I will say this: I think last year’s comeback album from the group, Boundless Obscenity, was by far their strongest effort to date.

In particular, I felt the band really stepped up their game, both rhythm-guitar-wise, with tastier, more complex riffs, and also in the songwriting department. Since it was the band’s first release as an independent band since parting ways with Metal Blade Records, it didn’t get as much press as it should have, though we certainly covered it here at NCS more than once! So we’re here today to premiere a new music video for their song “Infinite Oblivion” to give the band another boost and spread the word about music that deserves more attention. Continue reading »

BRAIN DRILL: “BOUNDLESS OBSCENITY”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Jul 042016
 

Brain Drill-Boundless Obscenity

 

(To celebrate Independence Day, we would like to drill your heads, and Austin Weber would like to review this new Brain Drill album — and we are both getting our wishes!)

While not the first of their ilk, preceded by Origin and to degrees Cryptopsy and several others, California natives Brain Drill ushered in a new dimension of hyper-frenetic technical death metal upon their unholy birth in 2006, bearing instant fruit with an initial EP that year entitled The Parasites. From there the group linked up with Metal Blade Records for two over-the-top-yet-face-melting albums, 2008’s Apocalyptic Feasting and 2010’s Quantum Catastrophe.

After Quantum Catastrophe the band seemed to drift away, but founding member and main composer Dylan Ruskin announced about a year ago that a new album was in the works — and it has now arrived. Continue reading »

BRAIN DRILL!

 Metal News  No Responses »
Apr 202010
 

Hey, sorry we made that album cover (above) so big.  We know it must have come as a shock when you opened up this page and saw that gruesome piece of mind-fuckery. We just couldn’t help it. We have to have our fun where we find it.

Yeah, so that’s an album cover. Not just any album cover, but an album cover by Pär Olofsson, who’s done the album art for bands like Immolation, Miseration, Revocation, Arkaik, Immortal, The Faceless, Winds of Plague, and many others. We put up a whole bunch of his album covers for your viewing pleasure here not too long ago (scroll down when you get to that link).  Have to say that none of them really looked anything like the one above.

You may ask, “What’s it a cover for?” It’s a cover for an album called Quantum Catastrophe. You may ask, “Who’s the band?” The band is called Brain Drill. But of course it is. That’s a really accurate name. If you heard their 2008 debut album, Apocalyptic Feasting, you know what we’re talking about. The new one, the aforementioned Quantum Catastrophe, isn’t officially out yet. It’s not due for release (on Metal Blade) ’til May 11. But you don’t have to wait until then for a taste.  (more after the jump, including some audio and video tastes . . .) Continue reading »

MORE 2010 SICKNESS (Part 3)

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
Mar 312010
 

We’re now a full three months into 2010, and it’s time for our third update to the list of forthcoming new albums we posted on January 1.  (See the original list here, the first update here, and the second 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 two updates — 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).

ANAAL NATHRAKH: “U.K. extreme metallers ANAAL NATHRAKH have commenced work on material for a new album, tentatively due before the end of the year.”

ANNIHILATOR: “Canadian thrash metal veterans ANNIHILATOR will release their 13th, self-titled album in Europe on May 17 via Earache Records, in Japan through Marquee and in Australia via Riot Entertainment.”

ARISE: “A two-minute video trailer for The Reckoning, the fourth album from Swedish death/thrashers ARISE, can be viewed below. Due on March 22 through Regain Records, the CD features guest appearances by Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY, ex-CARNAL FORGE), Mikael Stanne (DARK TRANQUILLITY) and Jake Fredém (NOSTRADAMEUS).” [NOTE: the album is now scheduled for release on April 6.]

(more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

MORE 2010 SICKNESS (Part 2)

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
Feb 232010
 

We’re now almost two months into 2010, and it’s already time for our second update to the list of forthcoming new albums we posted on January 1.  (See the original list here and the first 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 update about a month ago — and there’s a lot of them.

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 over the last month about forthcoming new releases:

1349: “Prosthetic Records will release the brand new album from Norwegian black metal legends 1349 in North America via an agreement with Indie Recordings. The new CD, which promises ‘a return to the band’s more traditional, raw-yet-technical black metal sound,’ is due on April 13. In support of the yet-to-be-titled record, 1349 will embark on a North American tour in April and May as the support act for CANNIBAL CORPSE (alongside SKELETONWITCH and LECHEROUS NOCTURNE).”

ABACABB: “ABACABB are currently out on the road headlining the Hot Dice On Black Ice Tour featuring Upon A Burning Body!. The tour just hit Texas and will be in California this weekend. Following the tour ABACABB will enter the studio with producer Will Putney at Machine Shop in New Jersey and will have a new album to be released sometime this summer.”

AEON: “Swedish death metallers AEON have set Path Of Fire as the title of their third album, due later in the year via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded in September 2009 at Empire Studio in Östersund, Sweden and was mixed the following month at Mana Recording Studios in St, Petersburg, Florida by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE). The mastering was handled by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (CONVERGE, HATEBREED, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) in New Windsor, New York.”

AMORPHIS: “AMORPHIS will release its first-ever live DVD, Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes, in early June via Nuclear Blast, in time for the band’s 20th anniversary. The filming took place on November 20, 2009 at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland, where AMORPHIS was supported by STRATOVARIUS and BEFORE THE DAWN. In addition to the full-length live show, the anniversary DVD will include plenty of bonus material documenting the band’s impressive career.”   (much more after the jump . . . ) Continue reading »