SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): EASTERN FRONT, FLUISTERAARS, INSONUS, SURTR

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  15 Responses »
Oct 022016
 

We didn’t have an actual music post yesterday, so I’ve doubled up on this Sunday’s Shades of Black installment. In Part 1 I’ve selected three new songs, the first of which comes with a video, plus a full stream of a new demo. I’ll post Part 2 later today after I’ve finished writing it, barring a meteor strike on my house or an armed insurrection in the loris compound.

EASTERN FRONT

The British black metal band Eastern Front released their third album Empire (via Cacophonous Records) two days ago. Since their last album, 2014’s Descent Into Genocide, they’ve had a change of vocalists, with frontwoman Marder replacing frontman Nagant. On the official release date, the band also debuted a video for the third track on Empire, “The Fire Consumes“. Continue reading »

WORLD WAR II (PART I)

 Mosh Pit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Sep 222015
 

Stalingrad

 

(This is the first of a two-part article prepared by our Russian friend Comrade Aleks.)

We are used to horror lyrics in metal and especially in extreme metal music. Different reasons push different bands to write about it, and I’ll let someone else write about that who knows this topic better than I do. Today I have for you a compilation of tracks dedicated to World War II, mostly to the Eastern Front. 70 years ago the War ended, and today there is still a lot of discussion born in Russia, the East, the EU, and the USA about how it truly was, and how it could have turned due to some specific circumstances. I will not tell you my point of view — but just provide brief historical excursions, music, and sometimes the comments of death, black, and doom bands about it.

Here you will find exclusive detailed comments from Martin van Drunen of Hail of Bullets and some stories by participants in Skyclad, Altar of Oblivion, Mental Home, Eastern Front, Dark Lunacy, and Sodom.

Why the Eastern Front? Because a damned lot of things happened here, sooth to say. My grandfather was recruited in January 1943. He was 17 years old, and German aviation had bombed his village near Leningrad / Saint-Petersburg. He took part in breaking the Leningrad siege and in a Finnish company where he was wounded. The War touched nearly every family here, and we must remember. I’m thankful for all these bands who remind us about it. Continue reading »

VIDEOGRAPHY: WRETCHED, EASTERN FRONT , DOMINIA

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Jul 012014
 

Yesterday I posted three videos that I liked despite the fact that they weren’t exactly in our wheelhouse or down the middle of the NCS fairway or [insert other sports cliches]. For those of you who might have wanted something mo metal, I have the following three videos that appeared since I wrote that earlier post.

WRETCHED

The first video is for the song “Wetiko” from the album Cannibal by North Carolina’s Wretched. DGR praised the album in his review for us earlier in June.

The well-made video (directed by Eric Richter) focuses on the band performing (as well as some self-satisfied assholes behind a pulpit). It effectively combines slo-mo footage with seizure-inducing bursts of speed. Also, frontman Adam Cody looks really, really pissed-off. Also, lots of skulls.

The music, of course, is a blast of manic intensity. Catch it next. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (Part 1): DEATH VOMIT, EASTERN FRONT, FŌR, FÓRN

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  2 Responses »
Jun 292014
 

This is another weekend round-up of recommended new music. A particular kind of new music. The kind that will wreck your head on the shoals of savagery and cast your soul into outer darkness. This collection turned out to be so large that I divided it into two parts; the second part will appear soon. The bands are presented in alphabetical order, which is about the only kind of order you’ll find here.

DEATH VOMIT

NCS supporter Utmu pointed me to the first song presented here. It comes from Gutted By Horrors, the debut album of a Chilean band named Death Vomit that’s due for release on July 1, 2014, by the Spanish label Xtreem Music. The song is “Indestructible Abominations”. It’s a noxious cloud of utterly destructive black/death war metal, whose gargantuan grinding riffs spread a morbid melody like the plague while the vocalist renders inhuman echoing howls and soul-devouring roars. Attractively obliterating music.

I’m including a stream of the song in two different players. The album will be available for order on CD at the Xtreem Music site. Based on past experience, I’m guessing Xtreem will eventually put the album on their Bandcamp page (here) as well. Continue reading »

STILL MORE DIVERSIONARY TACTICS: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, EASTERN FRONT, AND TAAKE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Mar 062011
 

We seem to be stuck on triads. On each of the last two days, we featured the music of three bands. This being the third day, it appealed to our rudimentary desire for symmetry to feature three more. A triad of triads. Today, we’ve got a fairly new video of Fleshgod Apocalypse (Italy), a song from the recent U.S. label debut of Eastern Front (UK), and a not-new video of a not-new song from a not-new band — but one we finally decided to check out — Taake (Norway). Let’s get right to it:

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

Don’t know how I missed this.  On February 21, a video appeared on YouTube of Fleshgod Apocalypse performing live at The Bonecrusher Fest 2011 in Utrecht, Holland, the night before. If there were such a thing as an official NCS “mascot”, this band would be it. We’ve probably dropped their names in posts and comments more than any other band.

We fantasize about offering them vast sums of money to come live in Seattle and be our official house band, y’know, after one of those stupendous offers of cash from Nigeria or Ghana or Mali or Hong Kong materializes — which we know will happen if we’re patient and continue to lead a clean, godly life and do good works for those less fortunate than ourselves. Can I get a big “Amen!”?

No, no, no, I did not ask for a big “Hail Satan!” Let’s try that again:  Can I get a big “Amen!”?

Well, I can tell that ain’t gonna fuckin work with this crowd, so let’s just go back to FA.  (after the jump . . .) Continue reading »