Elemental Nightmares Archives

ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES RACES TO THE FINISH LINE

Dec 262014

We’ve been writing about the Elemental Nightmares music project since July 2013, when it was barely more than a bright idea. We followed its progress closely and posted about each of the first four splits when they were released (and even premiered two of the songs from one of the splits). And then, in a big rush, Elemental Nightmares released the last two splits over the space of the last two days, with Parts VI and VII coming on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, respectively. (This accelerated finish was actually part of the release schedule as it was announced back in August, but still caught me by surprise.)

For those who haven’t yet heard of this project, it began as a vinyl subscription series and changed a bit as time passed. In its final (and now complete form), it has released seven 10″ vinyl splits featuring songs from 28 up-and-coming bands, most of which we had previously written about at this site. Each release has featured one segment of a single large piece of art, and you can now see the complete work at the top of this post (click the image to view a larger version). It’s fantastic.

I subscribed to this series as soon as I could and have relished the arrival of each installment. Later, Elemental Nightmares began offering each split for sale on a standalone basis, and the music is also available for download on Bandcamp. I’m not sure whether vinyl copies of each split are still available, but if they are, they can be acquired via the Elemental Nightmares online store, here: Continue reading »

ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES-IV: CANOPY, HARASAI, KALL, OBITUS

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 2 Responses »

Oct 242014

Today the Elemental Nightmares project released the fourth of the seven vinyl splits in the series, with a fourth segment (above) of what will eventually become one massive piece of artwork for the series as a whole — and as of today it’s also now available for download on Bandcamp.

I’ve been especially looking forward to this split because it features two old favorites of this site — Canopy and Obitus — as well as two new ones, Harasai and Kall.

Last summer we had the pleasure of premiering the tracks by Canopy and Harasai, and I’m going to include the accompanying write-up below, along with thoughts about the Obitus and Kall tracks. In a nutshell, this is a great quartet of pleasingly diverse songs. Continue reading »

ONE FINAL ROUND-UP: BETHLEHEM, ENCOFFINATION, SKÁLMÖLD, ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 1 Response »

Sep 272014

As explained here, I’m taking a 10-day hiatus from searching for and writing about new song and video premieres, in order to make time for reviewing some albums I absolutely need to say something about. Before doing that, however, here’s one last batch of new things I found over the last couple of days that I thought were worth sharing.

BETHLEHEM

Germany’s Bethlehem, whose debut album may or may not be responsible for that amorphous genre label “dark metal”, have a new song up for streaming, the name of which is “Ein Kettenwolf greint 13:11-18”. All I really have to say about this depressive ballad is that I’d listen to more rock music if it sounded like this. Warning: clean singing to come…

The song will appear on the band’s sixth album Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia (fear of the number 666), which is their first in about five years. It will be released by Prophecy Productions on Oct 10 (Oct 14 in the U.S.) and is available for order here. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: SUMAC, ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES II, THE HAUNTED, PYRE, SONNE ADAM, MORNING MODE, FALLOCH

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 5 Responses »

Aug 262014

I haven’t written one of these round-ups since late last week, and much has happened on the metal front since then, so I’m cramming quite a few items into this post that I thought were worth sharing. It’s a jumbo-sized playlist that should appeal to many tastes (and I still didn’t include every good thing I found!).

SUMAC

In late July, the super-talented drummer of Vancouver’s Baptists, Nick Yacyshyn, gave an interview to CVLT Nation in which he mentioned that he had recently spent a week writing, rehearsing, and recording with Aaron Turner (Old Man Gloom, Mamiffer, and Isis [the BAND, ferchrissakes]. He also posted a photo of Aaron Turner’s drum kit on his Facebook page, and he further mentioned that Brian Cook of Russian Circles, These Arms Are Snakes, and Botch was also involved in the project.

This juicy piece of news wasn’t widely reported, but yesterday brought further details via a Facebook announcement by Profound Lore. According to that announcement, the project’s name is Sumac; its core members do indeed consist of Yacyshyn, Turner, and Cook; and Profound Lore will be releasing Sumac’s “monumentally heavy debut album” in early 2015.

I’d call that some hot shit news. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES I (WILDERNESSKING, OAK PANTHEON, KESS’KHTAK, LIBER NECRIS); DECAPITATED; WINTERSUN AND NUCLEAR BLAST

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 7 Responses »

Aug 022014

To pick up where my last post left off, the aircraft that I boarded yesterday in Seattle did in fact land in Denver, where I and my personal security detail spent the evening drinking beer, eating pizza, and air-guitaring at the Black Sky Brewery in preparation for the sonic holocaust that will begin today (otherwise know as the Denver Black Sky fest).

Because time is short (or more accurately, the time not spent drinking, eating, jawing, and sleeping), this little round-up will be less fulsome than I would like — but still worthwhile, I hope.

ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES — I

We’ve been writing about the Elemental Nightmares project since early days, and it is now a reality. Today Elemental Nightmares released the first of seven 10″ vinyl splits for digital download; the physical copies will start shipping on August 7 or 8.

The first split includes songs by Wildernessking (South Africa), Oak Pantheon (Minnesota), Kess’khtak (Switzerland) Liber Necris (UK), and it features that stunning artwork you see at the top of this post (all of the individual pieces of art for the seven splits, when placed next to each other, will eventually flow together to form one large piece of art). The work was created by Düsseldorf artist Alexander Leybovich (whose web site is here). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CANOPY AND HARASAI (AN ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES SPLIT)

Premieres 4 Responses »

Jul 282014

I’ve been following the progress of the Elemental Nightmares project since before it became public, writing about it for the first time in July 2013. It began as an effort to raise money for a subscription series of 13 splits on 7″ vinyl (with digital download options) featuring one exclusive song each by 26 up-and-coming bands from around the world. As the project evolved, the format changed, so that it will now consist of 7 splits on 10″ vinyl, with each split containing four songs instead of two. And, because of the new format, there will be 28 bands instead of 26.

In addition, Elemental Nightmares has offered the splits for sale on an individual basis, as well as subscriptions to the series as a whole, and the digital-only option is still available. To see the names of all 28 bands and for more info about purchase options, go here. The first of the splits will be released in early August; you can find the entire preliminary release schedule later in this post.

Earlier this year Invisible Oranges) premiered four songs that will appear on the fourth installment of the series, featuring music from Porta Nigra (Germany), Membaris (Germany), Ashencult (Philadelphia), and Vuyvr (Switzerland).Today, we’re delighted to premiere two songs of melodic death metal from one more of the 7 splits. The bands are Sweden’s Canopy and Germany’s Harasai. Continue reading »

AN ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES SPLIT: PORTA NIGRA, MEMBARIS, ASHENCULT, AND VUYVR

Album Reviews, Metal News, SHORT BUT SWEET 6 Responses »

Feb 242014

Last Friday, Elemental Nightmares announced that instead of releasing 13 splits with 2 songs per side, they will release 7 splits on 10″ vinyl, with each split containing four songs instead of two. And, because of the new format, there will be 28 bands instead of 26. In addition, as previously announced, Elemental Nightmares is offering the splits for sale on an individual basis, as well as subscriptions to the series as a whole, and the digital-only option is still available.

But the best news is the announcement that the project will happen. To see the names of the original 26 bands and for more info about purchase options, go here. The two new bands will be announced soon.

And finally, Friday also brought the premiere (by Invisible Oranges) of four songs that will appear on the fourth installment of the series, and it’s a damned strong way to start off: The bands are Porta Nigra (Germany), Membaris (Germany), Ashencult (Philadelphia), and Vuyvr (Switzerland). Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: KAMPFAR, ALCEST, BABY METAL, TREPALIUM, ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES

Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 8 Responses »

Nov 292013

I may have mentioned that I’m on vacation through December 8. In addition to not writing much for NCS, I’ve also largely abandoned my daily routine of reading press releases and roaming the web looking for metal news and video or song premieres to feature on the site. However, today some of my NCS comrades gave me a slew of links that together make a tidy package of extremely diverse new things worth writing about.

KAMPFAR

First, Andy Synn wrote me as follows: “New Kampfar. Put that in your pipe and smoke it”. I tried to smoke it, but the song smoked me instead. It’s name is “Mylder”, and it will appear on this excellent Norwegian band’s new album Djevelmakt, due for release on January 21 via Indie Recordings.

If I could shriek “Helvete!” like Kampfar’s vocalist, I would, because that’s what I want to do when I listen to “Mylder”. It’s an electrifying, dynamic song — with plenty of reaping, roaring, stomping, and jabbing, but also infiltrated with an ethereal flute melody (among other unexpected elements). It’s a great combination of black metal savagery and memorable songwriting. Djevelmakt can’t come soon enough. Continue reading »

ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES: NOW OFFERING INDIVIDUAL SINGLES

Metal News 1 Response »

Oct 072013

It goes without saying that you have good taste in metal, because you are visiting NCS. And because you have good taste in metal, you really need to read this.

Elemental Nightmares is a project dedicated to producing for discriminating consumers a series of 13 splits on 7″ vinyl (with accompanying digital downloads and with an option to buy only a digital download) featuring 26 up-and-coming bands from around the world. If you’ve been visiting us for very long, you will recognize many of the names who have contributed new songs to these splits — and we’ll list them for you at the end of this post.

The important news today is that Elemental Nightmares has decided to break apart 50 of the vinyl sets and offer single vinyl splits for sale beginning now. In other words, there will be 50 copies of each split offered on an individual basis, without having to subscribe to the entire series. I still think signing up for the entire series is a wise move (I’ve done it myself), given the quality of the bands, but I understand that’s a significant investment, and I think this decision is a good one. Continue reading »

ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES: 26 BANDS, 13 SPLITS, ONE MASSIVE PIECE OF ART

Metal News 6 Responses »

Jul 112013

I’m happy as hell to help spread the word about a project I’ve been keeping quiet about since early last fall, the details of which have now finally become public. Its name is Elemental Nightmares and it’s bringing to discriminating metal fans a series of 13 splits on 7″ vinyl (with accompanying digital downloads and with an option to buy only a digital download) featuring 26 up-and-coming bands from around the world — one of whom has yet to be selected.

Each band has contributed an exclusive track, with each split including a pair of them. Each month, subscribers to the series will receive two of the vinyl splits, with three of them shipping in the final month. The artwork for the splits will be parts of a single massive piece of art.

In past posts, we’ve praised many of the 25 bands who have contributed new songs exclusive to this series: Ashencult, Canopy, Dead River Runs Dry, Eternal Helcaraxe, Feared, Hyperial, Kall, Liber Necris, Mondvolland, Oak Pantheon, Obitus, Porta Nigra, Satyros, Septekh, and Wildernessking. The chance to hear new music by bands of this caliber is exciting, and given how good they are, I’m eager to discover music by the bands in the series whose music I don’t yet know. A complete list of the participants in the series appears later in this post.

Three other aspects of this project are important. First, this is an underground endeavor (organized by Dissension Records), which means that the money necessary to finance the project must come from pre-orders. If the targeted amount is raised through the pre-orders, then the series should begin shipping in late 2013 or early 2014. The Elemental Nightmares web site provides a tracking bar that will let you see the progress of fundraising at any point in time (this project just went “live” yesterday, and as of this writing it’s already reached 13% of the target amount through word of mouth). If the target isn’t reached, then all money will be refunded. Continue reading »