FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: “OPERA”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Aug 202024
 

(DGR wrote the following review of the new album by Italy’s Fleshgod Apocalypse, which will be released this Friday, August 23rd, by Nuclear Blast Records.)

Given that Fleshgod Apocalypse have up to this point had a seventeen-year career and now six albums to their name, it’s surprising that the group have never had a straightforward self-titled release.

Often used as either the initial opening statement of a group’s career – the proverbial flag in the ground of “this is who we are as a band” – or, having become more frequent, a later-in-the-career platform for either reinvention or just outright reminder that they in fact still exist and are going strong, the self-titled does have a surprising amount of cultural cachet to it.

If you were to view the self-titled as the platform for reinvention, often the resurrection of a group or the crystalizing of a particular lineup, now would be such a time for it in Fleshgod Apocalypse‘s career, with only two of the members from the early days of their career still standing and three others now full-time members of the lineup, with a few of them having held steady in a live-lineup status since the release prior to 2019’s Veleno, and one having been such an integral part of the band’s sound and stage show that it was surprising they hadn’t been upgraded sooner. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, THE SHIVA HYPOTHESIS, FÖHN

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Jul 202024
 


Photo Credit: Francesco Esposito

For those of you who don’t treat our posts as among your daily essentials of life, or at least like a free oxygen mask in the vicinity of a chemical train derailment, I’ll mention again that I won’t have much time for metal this weekend.

Today is the start of an annual two-day outdoor gathering of toilers at my day job and their families. For some of us it began last night, something akin to an alcohol-fueled pre-fest for concert-goers. It was jolly, and left me somewhat jumbled this morning.

That relatively mild mental affliction, coupled with the fact that the real festivities will begin soon, have left me constrained in what I can do in this Saturday roundup. If you don’t see a Shades of Black collection tomorrow, you’ll know that my Sunday-morning affliction was more severe and my sleeping-in more prolonged. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, BURIAL OATH, WHITE STONES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Jun 152024
 

For this currently foggy-headed writer yesterday was a hell of a day and last night was a hell of a night. There was food grilled near hot coals, copious drinking, fire, and conversation far into the night among people who could barely understand each other. Deep underground with the oxygen cut off, a bigger bed of hot coals started cooking some things; today we will reconvene to discover the results.

Depending on those results we may eat grass and go our separate ways early, or it may be another late night. But yeah, it’ll probably be a late night regardless; there’s still plenty of beer, wine, and dry wood on hand.

And that’s an explanation for why this usual Saturday roundup is appearing so late and is so short, and a preview that Sunday’s black metal roundup may befall the same fate.

Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ULCERATE, ANAAL NATHRAKH, BEFORE THE DAWN, BENIGHTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, DISENTOMB, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, ISENORDAL, NIGHTRAGE, SINISTRO, WASTEWALKER

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Mar 082024
 

No long-winded introduction today, nor any long-winded impressions of the songs and videos either, because… there are so many of them!

Most of these choices (though not all of them) are from bigger names in the extreme metalverse. Most of them were also suggested by my NCS compatriots, because I didn’t do a great job of keeping up with new releases this week. I do plan to have another roundup on Saturday, as usual, and will dig deeper into obscurities, of my own choosing.

ULCERATE (New Zealand)

This first item is a rarity, just a news item without any music to go along with it. But it’s exciting news, and so I couldn’t resist. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: GATEWAY, VIELIKAN, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, BURNING PALACE, NUBIVAGANT, OSI AND THE JUPITER, PORTRAYAL OF GUILT

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Jan 022021
 

 

Last night I decided not to post anything today and instead spend the time trying to figure out how to begin rolling out my 2020 Most Infectious Songs list next week, and to get my shit together for when my day job starts whomping me in the head again on Monday. I have spent some time on both of those projects but my NCS obsession got the better of me, and I took a break to listen to some things on my ever-burgeoning list of music to check out. From that listening session, I picked what you’ll find in this round-up.

I have made a few compromises, compared to what I usually do in these posts, so I can get back to the other projects a bit faster. The main compromises were to dispense with tracking down, re-sizing, and uploading album art, and to write less.

GATEWAY (Belgium)

Been anxiously awaiting the first preview of music from this death/doom band’s new EP, Flesh Reborn, and it finally arrived today. The ferocity of “Slumbering Crevasses” will maul and mangle you, and the cavernous monstrosity of the vocals and quivering eeriness of the leads may put the hair up on the back of your neck too. When the song slows, it’s still punishing, and even more apocalyptically frightening. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY, THRON

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Dec 192020
 

 

The past week was hellish in so many ways for so many people, but I know you’re particularly interested in why it was hellish for moi. Hell came for me in the guise of my day job, which doesn’t acknowledge the holiday season nor my NCS responsibilities (which, to be fair, I keep a secret from my employer). I barely had time to do the premieres I’d committed to do and the things I do to pretty-up what other people write before posting them.

No time for listening to other music, no time to sort through the tidal waves of effluvium that hit the NCS in-box, no time to prowl around the interhole looking for things that wouldn’t be the subject of press releases. And so when I awoke this morning I had no plans for what I might post, though I did feel the need to post something. Fortunately, a couple of my NCS comrades shared some links in our top-secret FB group, and even more fortunately what they shared turned out to be songs that fit together extremely well, as you’re about to discover. And they all come with videos!

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

The new Fleshgod Apocalypse single, “No“, includes all of the band’s signature bombastic ingredients — machine-gun drumming (punctuated by bunker-busting detonations), blizzard-like riffing, soaring operatic vocals mixed with hair-raising roars, extravagant keyboard flurries, glorious melodic guitar soloing, and an atmosphere that’s breathtakingly theatrical. It may or may not include a Britney Spears sample (DGR says it does, but may have been joking, and I can’t hear it). Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS: ABYSMAL DAWN, BONES, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, IGORRR, IKU-TURSO, INCEPTION OF FALL, NITE, NYREDOLK, SYMBOLIK, TYRANT OF DEATH, VELNIAS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Feb 272020
 

 

Once gain I’m resorting to the round-up format I use when I’ve run out of time to provide my own scintillating commentary about each of the new songs and videos I’ve chosen to throw your way. For the most part, you’ll just have to listen and then imagine how eloquent and evocative I would have been.

In compiling today’s large selection, which is presented in alphabetical order, I had assistance from my colleague DGR. In fact, he recommended six of the 11 items you’ll find here.

 

ABYSMAL DAWN

This new Abysmal Dawn track, “The Path Of The Totalitarian“, is the second single from the band’s new album Phylogenesis, out April 17th on Season Of Mist. Continue reading »

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: “VELENO”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
May 062019
 

 

(This is DGR’s review of the new album by the Italian juggernauts Fleshgod Apocalypse, which will be released on May 24th via Nuclear Blast Records.)

At this point in their career every Fleshgod Apocalypse release has moved beyond mere album and into ‘spectacle’ territory, and their newest record, Veleno, proves no different. To repeat a point we’ve been guilty of raising a couple of times now, Fleshgod Apocalypse have made a career out of being the ‘most’. Oracles was their most straightforward brutal death disc — though it’s hard to deny the sheer power in the opening song “In Honour Of Reason” as it transitions from orchestral piece into death metal hurricane. Agony had the most bombast in terms of speed, Labyrinth tried to be the most ‘everything’ and wound up being the loudest amongst the bands discography, and — with Veleno included — King was probably the most orchestral the band have ever become to date.

But, if Veleno follows suit with its predecessors, where does that leave it within a collective that already defines nearly every element of the Fleshgod Apocalypse sound? Well, that’s the interesting part, because when you really nail it down, Veleno could be best described as Fleshgod Apocalypse‘s most carefully crafted spectacle to date. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: HYPOCRISY AND FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE — LIVE IN ATLANTA, MARCH 27, 2019

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Apr 022019
 

 

(On March 27th our Atlanta-based contributor Tør made his way to The Masquerade venue to take in performances by Aenimus, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Hypocrisy as part of their ongoing national tour. He sent us this report, along with a large batch of his own excellent photos from the show. For a full list of remaining dates on the tour, go here.)

I walk in late and it’s already happening. Openers Aenimus have just taken the stage and are blazing through their set. The crowd is into it: with every riff, the front-row crowd inches closer to the stage monitors. I stand on the side and enjoy the gig -— I like what I’m hearing. The metalcore-tinged proggy riffs take me to a place I’ve been to before but can’t quite recall. I’ve liked what I’ve heard of the new album, Dreamcatcher (Nuclear Blast) so far, and the band doesn’t disappoint live. Despite the solid start to the night, nothing prepares me for what is to come soon. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, MARTYRDOD, GOMORRAH, CIRITH GORGOR

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Mar 092019
 

 

I had a weird 24 hours that began Thursday night and ended last night. Not weird enough to be entertaining if described in detail (though it did involve me never making it home until Friday morning), but weird enough that it left me frantically scrambling just to write the two premieres I’d committed to do yesterday, and no time for anything else NCS-related.

Saturday morning arrived with no ideas about what I might do for a Saturday post (and no Waxing Lyrical from Mr. Synn), but it turned out that my NCS comrades had left various exclamatory pieces of news at our on-line meeting ground, and another friend had enthusiastically fired off a link in my direction, and all of that proved quite sufficient for this round-up.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

It would go too far to say that we are primed to reflexively shower every Fleshgod Apocalypse release with praise. We have pointed out a few mis-steps by the band here and there. But it’s also true that we get pretty excited whenever something new surfaces (years and years ago there was a running joke at the site that as soon as I finally received the great mountains of gold that Nigerian princes were offering me via e-mail, I would bribe FA to become the NCS house band and play at my home whenever I wanted, which might prove to be every other day). Continue reading »

 Older Entries