SEEN AND HEARD: NIGHTBRINGER, BEYOND CREATION, INHUMAN REMNANTS, MORDBRAND, MARTYRDÖD, AND ERLING BRONSBERG

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Jul 232014
 

Here’s a typically random and diverse collection of recommended new music and metal news that I came across over the last 24 hours. It ranges from highly anticipated black metal to a metal banjo cover, with all sorts of different musical trajectories in between.

NIGHTBRINGER

The fourth album by Colorado’s Nightbringer is entitled Ego Dominus Tuus (I Am Your Lord), and it’s due for release by Season of Mist on September 20 in NorthAm (September 26 elsewhere). Yesterday, SoM revealed the cover art by David Herrerias (above), which is wonderful. At the same time, the first advance track from the album began streaming at various sites around the globe. Its name is “Et Nox Illuminatio Mea In Deliciis Meis”, which refers to a line from Psalm 139. According to the band:

“The lyrics draw heavily upon this psalm, which we feel, via a perhaps more heretical approach, elucidates symbols relevant to the ‘midnight sun’ and the ‘night of light’. Furthermore we touch upon the Greek melancholia and the sovereignty of Saturn over those of us who are born with his mark and our relation to the former concepts as well as the significance of the ‘black light’ of our Lord. It speaks much of the ecstatic furor one may enter in which wisdom is imparted both from above, below and within, via a state of ‘divine madness’. “

Should you be interested in reading the 139th Psalm, you can do so here (the song’s title refers to the phrase “and night shall be my light in my pleasures”). Whether you do or don’t peruse the psalm, I strongly recommend listening to the song (it’s streaming at Stereogum here). Continue reading »

BANJO METAL: ERLING BRONSBERG COVERS DISFEAR

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Feb 122014
 


It’s been a while since I last wrote about Erling Bronsberg, so to recap: He’s a skilled banjo player based in Örebro, Sweden, and performs with an acoustic group called Six String Yada, who play old-time American mountain music — with some metal and punk in the mix as well. Every now and then, he records a banjo cover of a metal tune on video. Yesterday he e-mailed me about a new one. This time he has picked a Disfear song named “Fear and Trembling” from their 2008 split with Doomriders, All Paths Lead To Nothing, There Is Only Death.

So, how does Swedish d-beat punk sound on the banjo? Damned good, that’s how. Erling has slowed the song into a doomy backwoods ballad that really works. Dude can sing, too.

I didn’t know this until reading his note on the video, but the lyrics are just one long quote from Søren Kierkegaard: Continue reading »

BANJO METAL REDUX: ERLING BRONSBERG COVERS GHOST’S “RITUAL”

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Jun 052013
 

Two and a half years ago I wrote a post about “Banjo Metal” that continues to be visited and still leads to the occasional e-mail contact from people interested in the subject (Google “banjo metal” and see what comes up first). That post focused on metal bands who have used the banjo in some of their songs (plus an obligatory item on the magnificent Béla Fleck). Today brought us news of a different type of banjo metal — a banjo cover of a metal song.

Okay, some of you might quarrel with applying the term “metal” to Sweden’s Ghost. Hell, I’ve quarreled with myself about that. But hey, they do sing about Satan!

The cover is of Ghost’s best-known song, “Ritual”, and it’s performed on video by Erling Bronsberg, a skilled banjo player who e-mailed me about the cover last night. He’s based in Örebro, Sweden, and performs with a group called the Black River String Band. He uses “standard sawmill tuning” for this song, which probably means something to banjo players but to me simply sounds cool. His cover is cool, too. He puts a bluegrass spin on the melody without completely losing the song’s familiarity, and the picking is tasty. Check it out: Continue reading »