RIP LG PETROV (1972 – 2021)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Mar 082021
 

Hey everyone, Andy Synn here.

We know we won’t be the only people reeling from today’s announcement but we still think it’s important to say just how saddened we all were to hear about the death of LG Petrov, the infamous, gravel-throated frontman of Entombed.

Both a beloved icon – it’s been gratifying, though still gutting, to see just how many bands and fans, people and publications, from across the scene have been deeply affected by this – and an all-round cool dude, from all accounts, LG’s ragged, instantly-recognisable roar was a huge part of a lot of people’s introduction to Death Metal, and a played a major role in Entombed‘s success down through the years, and his presence will be deeply missed.

So today we’d like to tip our hats and pour one out to a true Death Metal original, and take the chance not just to mourn his passing but to celebrate his life with a few of our favourite musical moments from the man himself.

Continue reading »

ENTOMBED A.D. : “BOWELS OF EARTH”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 272019
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Sweden’s Entombed A.D., which will be released on August 30 by Century Media.)

There are a LOT of albums being released this week, from underground underdogs like Witch Vomit to mainstream monsters like Tool.

But, what with time being both limited and linear, we’re unlikely to be able to cover everything in the next few days, which means some difficult choices need to be made.

If there’s one album I wasn’t going to let pass by without comment though, it’s the new Entombed.

You’ll note that I said “Entombed” and not “Entombed A.D.” there because, despite all the ongoing legal shenanigans, I still consider this version of the band to be the legitimate one.

Put it like this, you don’t get to leave a band and then decide to reclaim the name later on (in some cases decades later) just because someone offered you some of that sweet, sweet reunion money.

Of course, you may not agree with me on that, which is your prerogative. But, after listening to Bowels of Earth you might just change your tune… Continue reading »

AMON AMARTH’S “JOMSVIKING”: NEW ALBUM, NEW SONG, NEW NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Jan 252016
 

Amon Amarth-Jomsviking

 

On March 25, those Swedish vikings in Amon Amarth will release a new concept album named Jomsviking, and just an hour ago they premiered a video for the first advance track, a song named “First Kill”. And on top of that, they announced dates for a North American tour that begins in April, with Entombed A.D. and Exmortus along for the trip. Before that, the band will play album release shows in four European cities.

“First Kill” tells the story of a son’s banishment by his father after he takes his first life, leading him on the bloodstained path of a lone warrior and outcast. The song offers no surprises — it’s another galloping Amon Amarth ear-worm that makes me want to reach for my axe and drinking horn, though not in that order. I have no doubt it will quickly become a live staple, because it will get people fired up at shows in short order. The video is fun to watch, too. Continue reading »

FIRESPAWN: “LUCIFER HAS SPOKEN”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 072015
 

Firespawn video clip

 

I’m getting a very slow start today, having arrived home extremely late last night after going to a hell of a show in Seattle. I dragged my dragging ass to the computer and, while downing the first few gulps of coffee, tried to focus my leery eyes on the NCS e-mail in-box. One of the first things I saw was a press release about a band named Firespawn that I’d never heard of. And then I saw who was in the band, and the names made me sit up straight:

LG Petrov – vocals [Entombed A.D., Morbid, Nihilist]
Fredrik Folkare – guitar [Necrophobic, Unleashed]
Victor Brandt – guitar [Entombed A.D., Six Feet Under (live)]
A. Impaler – bass [Necrophobic, Naglfar (live)]
Matte Modin – drums [Raised Fist, ex-Dark Funeral, ex-Defleshed, ex-Infernal]

I think you’ll agree, that’s a hell of a line-up. Continue reading »

LISTEN TO THIS NEW ENTOMBED SONG (AGAIN): “VULTURE AND THE TRAITOR”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Jul 142014
 

 

Sweden’s Entombed A.D. have recorded a new album named Back To the Front, and it’s finally due for release by Century Media on August 4 in Europe and August 5 in NorthAm. As you can see, it features a great piece of cover art by Zbigniew Bielak. It also features the talents of L-G Petrov, Nico Elgstrand, Victor Brandt, and Olle Dahlstedt. Why this group are calling themselves Entombed A.D. instead of Entombed is a long story that you can read about somewhere else. What I want you to do is listen to this new song “Vulture and the Traitor” from the album.

Actually, you may be listening to it a second time, because it briefly appeared on YouTube last November. That turned out to be an unauthorized posting because it was removed after I wrote about the track back then. If you missed that clip, don’t miss this one. It has a definite old-school feel in its sludgy riff tone and in its mix of d-beat, punk, and hardcore rhythms. L-G Petrov’s completely distinctive throaty vocals are in great form, and the song also boasts a hot-as-hell guitar solo. I really am enjoying the song (again).

You can also bang your fuckin’ head to a previously released single from the album named “Bedlam Attack”, which appeared in late May; it includes some very cool off-speed sections in addition to all the curb stomping — and holy shit, those vocals… Both tracks come right after the jump. Continue reading »

ENTOMBED: “VULTURE AND THE TRAITOR”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
Nov 112013
 

Entombed’s tenth album Back To the Front — which sports the painted cover art by Zbigniew Bielak that you see above — was originally scheduled for release by Century Media last month, but in September its release was postponed until early 2014 due to “unpredictable technical problems”. Today, one of the album’s tracks, entitled “Vulture and the Traitor”, appeared on YouTube. It doesn’t appear to be an authorized debut, so it may not last long. But it’s such a good song that it’s worth checking out while you can.

For those who foolishly continue to hope for a throwback to Left Hand Path, this isn’t that. Yet it still has a definite old-school feel in its sludgy riff tone and in its mix of d-beat, punk, and hardcore rhythms. L-G Petrov’s distinctive throaty vocals are in great form, and the song also boasts a hot-as-hell guitar solo.  Whether authorized or not, this is a damned fine teaser for Back To the Front. Listen next: Continue reading »

HOWLING, BLACK CAP MINER, ENTOMBED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jul 252013
 

Just a few new things in between reviews to help kick-start this Thursday.

HOWLING

Let’s see, where shall we start? How about some death metal? Yes, death metal is always a good place to start, especially death metal inspired by John Carpenter’s 1981 classic, The Thing. And that’s what Howling gave us last night when they released “Shape-Shifting Enemy” on Bandcamp.

Howling, for those who need to catch up, is the horror-themed project of vocalist Vanessa Nocera (Skeletal Spectre, Scaremaker, Wooden Stake), guitarist/bassist Tony Proffer (Beyond Hell), and drummer Elektrokutioner (Encoffination, Father Befouled, many others). This new single comes from the band’s next album, Tear the Screams from Your Throat, which is due out in October 2013. I have high hopes for that album, because the band’s debut, A Beast Conceived, was so fuckin’ good (I explained why I think so at this location).

“Shape-Shifting Enemy” provides even more reason to anticipate the new album with relish. If you’re expecting old-school gore/death, you’ll be surprised. The mainly slow-paced song contrasts Proffer’s melodic guitar leads (and a writhing solo) with Nocera’s carnivorous growls, book-ended by unexpected guitar instrumentals. And for variety’s sake, you’ll encounter a couple of thrashing romps along the way. Continue reading »

THE CORE-LESS BREAKDOWN: A LIST

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  29 Responses »
Mar 272013
 

 (I wish I had thought of this cool idea for a post. But BadWolf beat me to it — and this is his piece.)

It’s not news to anyone reading this ( I hope) that heavy metal culture has an elitist streak. In fact, read enough comment threads on this blog and others, and you will notice a tiered system of elitism, false barricades that we, as fans, erect to keep ourselves distanced from a perceived wasteland that is ‘the mainstream.’ By virtue of reading a metal blog, I’d wager you’re already a step or two up on the elitism pyramid. By definition, as a metal blogger, I am MORE than a few steps up on the elitism pyramid. But I’m not far enough up to lose my sense of perspective.

There is an appropriate amount of ironic self-distancing when appreciating art. The top of the elitist pyramid? Probably black metal purists, and look how even the mainstream lambasts the true corpsepaint-set as clowns. Those folks would do well to remember that most of the Norwegian attack bands abandoned the strict black metal template quite rapidly. Ihsahn is in a prog band now. Mayhem put electronica all up in their second album.

But at the same time, from where I stand, the lowest rung of elitism is abjectly deserving of ridicule as well. And what constitutes that bottommost rung? Probably the bias against breakdown-centric bands. You can even see it on No Clean Singing—we’re covering a lot more black metal than deathcore these days. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: CANDLEMASS, ENTOMBED, LIVING SACRIFICE, AND XENOSIS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jan 052013
 

We’ve picked up a lot of new readers over the last couple of weeks, so for their benefit let me explain what others have already figured out about our news reporting: We make no effort to be comprehensive. We don’t cut and paste every press release we get. Actually, we don’t cut and paste any news releases. We write our own thoughts, and what we write about is filtered through my mind and occasionally the minds of our other writers when they message me about something they think is interesting.

So, for better or worse, what you see here is what we think is interesting, according to our tastes. And here are a few items I saw and heard over the last 24 hours that interested me.

CANDLEMASS vs ENTOMBED

Candlemass and Entombed are two Swedish bands who have reached near-legendary status in distinctly different corners of the metal spectrum, Candlemass in the realms of doom and Entombed in the fields of death metal and death ‘n’ roll (though over time Entombed has plowed other fields as well).

Someone at Sweden Rock Magazine, the country’s top-selling music magazine, had the bright idea of asking each band to cover one of the other band’s songs. The result will be a CD single exclusively included with the magazine’s 100th issue that will be sent to subscribers on January 8. For now at least, it won’t be available elsewhere. But fortunately, as of today both tracks are up on YouTube. Continue reading »

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