SHADES OF BLACK: DIABLATION, DUSK CULT, EOS, HEGEMON, LANGENNEET, LIGHT OF THE MORNING STAR, NON SERVIAM, VELKA, WITHERING SOUL

 SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Sep 122021
 


After completing the humongous two-part roundup of new songs and videos that I posted earlier today I nearly gave up on the idea of making this regular Sunday column. Just not much gas left in the tank, and the first Seahawks football game of the season is already under way. But I know some people come here on Sundays for this column, and I don’t want to completely disappoint.

So, I did here what I did with those previous roundups — skimping on the artwork and links, and abbreviating my own commentary, in the hope that mainly tossing out the music is better than nothing at all. And so, with apologies to the bands and to people who actually enjoy the usual format, here we go… presented alphabetically by band name.

DIABLATION (France)

This first song is a frightening yet entrancing one. It reveals eerie, preternatural keyboards that seem to ring from fracturing heavens, and combines those with viscerally powerful rhythms, terrorizing vocal battalions, and racing storms of searing riffage and rampantly hurtling bass and drums. The effect is nightmarish yet intoxicating, menacingly magisterial and marauding. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: EOS — “DRAUGUR”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 232020
 

 

On December 18th Brilliant Emperor Records will present the debut album from the Australian black metal band EOS, whose three members first began laying the foundations for it over a decade ago. Entitled The Great Ascension, it reflects four years of intense work completed in 2018. Lyrically, the seven songs are described as painting “nightmarish visions of man. The solemn journey through spiritual ecstasy, blood lust and pride. A stone to the face of the gods”.

What we have for you today, presented through an official video, is the premiere stream of a shattering song called “Draugur“. The band tell us this about the track’s narrative: “‘Draugar‘ tells the story of the again-walker. A revenant possessed by revenge without Mercy after he is Burnt alive. A distant voice heard only in the nightmares of man. Pestilence and famine are brought to his enemies. He swells the tongues of children. There is no end to his torment until all feel his isolation and pain”.

Unsettling words to be sure, but as you’ll discover, the music itself is even more unnerving, and yet spellbinding as well. Continue reading »

MIGRATION FEST: PRE-FEST SHOW AND DAY ONE

 Concert Reviews  10 Responses »
Aug 132016
 

Migration Fest poster

 

Here I am on a gorgeous Saturday morning in Olympia, Washington, still pinching myself to make sure what I’ve been experiencing isn’t some kind of fantasy (or more likely, incipient dementia). Yesterday was the first day of Migration Fest, and the night before that was the unofficial start of the party with a three-band pre-fest show. In a nutshell, it’s been an absolute blast so far. More words (and amateurish photos) to follow.

This is, of course, the first edition of what by all rights should become a never-ending tradition, a labor of love jointly organized by Adam at Gilead Media and Dave at 20 Buck Spin, with support from a whole bunch of their tireless friends and family members. They assembled a stellar line-up of bands, and based on what I’ve seen so far (at least from a fan perspective), they’ve been executing on the plan like a well-oiled machine. Continue reading »