SEEN AND HEARD: STRIKER, BYZANTINE, 1349, DROWNED, DEATHEMBER, JUCIFER

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Jul 052014
 

Happy Fourth of July Hangover Day. Hope none of you American readers lost any fingers in a gunpowder accident, put out an eye with an errant sparkler, or lit off a bottle rocket in your ass. I have some news items and new metal for you that I spotted over the least 24 hours. This is a big collection, but what else have you got to do?

STRIKER

Striker are from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Metal Archives says they are a power metal band. This means the odds are very high that I won’t be able to stand their music. However, the cover art for their new album City of Gold is so goddamned awesome that I may be forced to listen to at least one song whenever the first advance track appears. You can click the image above to view a larger version of the piece, which is by one of my favorite metal artists, Berlin-based Eliran Kantor.

The album is due from Napalm Records on September 9 in North America (Aug 29 in Europe, September 1 in the UK). If anyone can give me a reason to bury my prejudices and listen to a Striker song, I will try to keep an open mind.

https://www.facebook.com/strikermetal Continue reading »

ROUND-UP: BURIAL HORDES, DROWNED, REPTILIAN SHAPE SHIFTERS, CALIGULA’S HORSE, FALLUJAH, AND REPTILIAN DEATH

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Jul 282013
 

Your humble editor has had a busy weekend and this Sunday is going to be busy too, so this will probably be today’s only post. I did find a little time to browse e-mail and wade through the interhole in search of new things yesterday and this morning. As usual, I found many, and have collected a big group of them in this post. As you’ll see (and hear), it’s a diverse mix, including some not-metal. I’ll have to keep the verbiage brief because time is short. I know that will traumatize most of you, and I’m already grieving for your loss.

BURIAL HORDES

I first happened upon this Greek band in January after discovering their split release with Enshadowed, which is excellent (reviewed here). They have a new album on the way, entitled Incendium. I haven’t yet seen a release date, but the band have recently uploaded the opening track — “Unleash Havoc”. It’s a very cool song, raw and ravaging, bestial and atmospheric. Listen:

https://www.facebook.com/BurialHordesOfficial

Continue reading »

UNDERGROUND METAL FOR THE TRVE CURMUDGEON (NO. 2)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Nov 302011
 

(Brutish friend of NCS, SurgicalBrute, brings us a further installment in what may be turning into a continuing series.  This time he’s spotlighting Drowned (Germany), Speedwolf (U.S.-Denver), Depravity (Finland), and Grá (Sweden).)

I remember when I first got into metal I was trying to absorb everything. I’d see names like Dismember, Overkill, and Darkthrone tossed around message boards and off I’d go to check them out. I was discovering new bands every day, and even if a band didn’t appeal to me the first time around, I would do my best to give them a fair try because my tastes were always changing.

It was around this time that I discovered something fairly simple….I hate technical metal. Bands like Nile, Meshuggah, and Necrophagist. I tried them over and over again, and while I can appreciate the skill of the muscians involved, more often than not, it sounds so cold and clinical that it comes across flat to my ears.

I think that’s why I eventually found myself gravitating toward the darker underbelly of metal. While the music is rarely complex, it’s the raw energy these bands bring with them that I enjoy so much.

So, in an effort to bring a few more of these bands to wider attention, it’s time for another dose of underground metal. \m/ Continue reading »