SEEN AND HEARD TODAY: WINTERFYLLETH, GOAT THE HEAD, ONE INCH GIANT, AND MASS HYPNOSIS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Aug 152012
 

Here we have yet another random assortment of things I saw and heard today that I thought merited some attention. And the bands are: Winterfylleth (UK), Goat the Head (Norway), One Inch Giant (Sweden), and Mass Hypnosis (Croatia).
 

WINTERFYLLETH

I saw that another new song from Winterfylleth’s next album, The Threnody of Triumph, has started streaming. As previously reported here, the album is due for release on September 25 via Candlelight. The new song is “The Svart Raven”, and it’s streaming at Stereogum. I won’t blather on about the song; I’m saving my blathering for a review. For now, I’ll say only that the song is excellent and that you should hear it without fail if you have any interest in black metal. Go here to do that.

GOAT THE HEAD

I saw the image at the top of this post appear on the Facebook page of our favorite contemporary primal cavemen death metallists, Goat the Head. This looks suspiciously like cover art for some new collection of contemporary primal caveman death metal. My suspicions were further aroused by this accompanying statement by the Goats: “Exposing evident symptoms of imminent deathrash”.

I must say that I find this highly encouraging. It has been FAR too long since we’ve received new original material from this band, who we have written about a multitude of times in the past (collected here). They are, after all, the band who introduced us to the dreaded Cube, the mere mention of which gives me the nervous shakes. Although the Goatsters haven’t released new material in a while, earlier this summer they did record a cover of “Burner” by Motörhead, which I somehow overlooked. It rocks. It’s right after the jump. Continue reading »

CONTEMPORARY CAVEMEN COVER CLASSICS

 Album Reviews, Metal News, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Apr 162011
 

Norway’s Goat the Head have fully occupied a metal niche that was waiting to be filled since . . . uh . . . the Paleolithic era: contemporary primal caveman death metal. (And did you know there’s a Paleolithic weight-loss diet?) Here at NCS, we love this band. We’ve posted about them so many times in the past that we’re expecting royalty checks from the massive sales of Goat the Head music that our publicity has no doubt generated. What about it dudes? Royalty checks in the mail?

You may not want to wade through all of our posts, but for background info, here’s a link to one of them (our review of the band’s latest album).

The reason for this post is that Goat the Head has just released a four-song EP called Wicked Mimicry that includes three covers and one original tune. Despite the title of this post, not all the songs they cover are really “classics”, but we exercised a little license in order to get an alliterative post title (using the second definition of “alliteration” once again, Misha).

The covers are a punk song (“Decapitated”) by the immortal Broken Bones, a heavy metal song (“King of Rock and Roll”) by the immortal Dio, and a blues song (“Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers”) by the immortal ZZ Top. The original tune is the title track, “Wicked Mimicry”. Put it all together, and it’s a fuckin’ party from start to finish.  After the jump, our impressions plus a chance for you to hear one of these tracks . . . Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 13

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  7 Responses »
Jan 092011
 

We’re not superstitious. The fact that this is the 13th installment of our Most Infectious song list means nothing to us. Hotels skip the 13th floor, but only the weak-minded would skip from Part 12 to Part 14 on a list of songs. In fact, just to show how un-superstitious we are, we’re doubling down by including The Cube in this 13th part.

We did make sure our wills were in order before publishing this post. That’s not superstition. That’s just being prudent. Because The Cube is not superstition. Its existence is a documented fact. So is the uncontrollable destruction it causes. But more about that later.

Now, let’s get on with the first song we’re adding to our list — and if you’re new to this series and want to understand what we’re doing, read this and check out the other songs on the list by visiting the Category link on the right of this page called MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010.

NOCTIFERIA

Noctiferia is a long-running band from The Republic of Slovenia whose 2010 album, Death Culture, we reviewed in July, summing up our reaction with these words: “Noctiferia takes a rock-solid foundation of syncopated death metal, adorns it with everything from industrial to ethnic stylings, and then sets the whole thing on fire in a spirited romp. Noctiferia blazes with speed and fury, but prays at the altar of groove.”  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

GOAT THE HEAD: DOPPELGÄNGERS

 Album Reviews  25 Responses »
Sep 252010
 

We are so very fucking grateful to Goat the Head. Before we discovered these Norwegian troglodytes in mid-July, we had an aching void in our lives, an unfilled longing for contemporary primal caveman death metal. More than that, we wanted primal caveman death metal played in a contemporary way by cavemen who would be equally comfortable wearing either spacesuits or animal pelts.

And then we found Goat the Head, and it was as if all our feverish prayers had been answered. Suddenly, that void in our lives was filled, and we became complete, at least briefly.

But we owe Goat the Head our gratitude for more than their primal caveman (but contemporary) music. For so many years, we had wondered about the fundamental mysteries of the universe: Where did television come from?  What enabled our primitive ancestors to play the electric guitar?  What causes trailer homes to spontaneously explode?  Goat the Head answered those questions, too.

Thanks to a short but eye-opening documentary film by the band, we now know the answers — and in fact, it turns out that all those questions (and many more) have the same answer: The fucking cube. It all makes so much sense now.

There was only one problem: Back in mid-July, we only had access to two of the songs from a new Goat the Head album (called Doppelgängers) that was then scheduled for release on September 13. It would have to do, but we knew then that only a full album’s worth of material would fully eradicate our painful longing, and hopefully stop our bed-wetting at the same time.

And September 13 came, and as promised, so did Doppelgängers. We have heard it, and it is all we hoped for, and so much more. (our review continues after the jump . . . ) Continue reading »

MORE 2010 SICKNESS (Part 7)

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
Jul 312010
 

My, how time flies. Another month is in the history books. However much time you have on earth, you now have 31 days less of it since since the last installment of this post. Drink up!

But have no fear. You’re headed for a better place. That’s right, basically the same existence you had a month ago, but with more new metal ahead of you. Drink up!

And all those physical processes that are inexorably decaying your bodies on the rocky road to your demise, they’re still there and they’re still working on you like termites that have found a rotting log. But hey, you can still bang your head, so . . . Drink up!

Yes, we’re now a full seven months into 2010, and so it’s time for another monthly update to the list of forthcoming new albums we first posted on January 1. (All the other updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases we didn’t know about at the time of our previous updates, or updated info about some of the previously noted releases.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Perhaps needless to say, these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site — the kind that would like to tear your head off.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted items from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and put reminders on your calendar. Or if you’re like us, just stick post-it notes on your forehead. Of course, if your foreheads are the low, sloping kind, you may only have room for a few, so be choosy. Continue reading »

GOAT THE HEAD

 Metal News  14 Responses »
Jul 162010
 

The metal world is filled to overflowing with diverse awesomeness. But lately we’ve been thinking that even with 15 gajillion subgenres, something was still missing, that what we really still needed was  . . . . . . . some contemporary primal caveman death metal!

And then yesterday we discovered a Norwegian band called Goat the Head. And you’ll never guess.

They describe their music as “contemporary primal caveman death metal!” What a fucking amazing coincidence! And to think, some people say there’s no such thing as miracles.

Now, we can hear you saying, “Big deal, there’s lots of metal bands that wear skins.” And sure, you can find some pagan/folk-metal bands like Turisas that wear skins, but Goat the Head ain’t pagan or folk. They’re fucking prehistoric.

But prehistoric in a contemporary way. Really, they are. Kind of like cavemen who occasionally wear spacesuits. We’ll prove it to you. And it will be worth your time, because the music is raucous and weird and skull-crushing — in a primal caveman kind of way.  But contemporary.

So, after the jump, we have two songs from the band’s forthcoming second album, one of which is available for free download. You listen to this and you’ll develop a taste for mastodon (and we don’t mean the band).  Oh yeah, we’ve also got a Goat the Head video that’s a truly inspired piece of lunacy with one hell of an ending. (stay with us after the jump . . .) Continue reading »