FOEHAMMER: “FOEHAMMER”

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Mar 312015
 

 

(In this post, Grant Skelton reviews the forthcoming debut release by Foehammer, which has taken us by storm here at NCS.)

2015 is shaping up to be a good year for doom metal. The recently reunited Goatsnake have a new album due out on Southern Lord in June. That record label likewise just remastered and rereleased Warhorse’s buried gem As Heaven Turns To Ash (thanks to blend77 for turning me on to that!). Ahab are back in the studio crafting some new opus of seafaring sorrow. Most recently, I became hooked on a certain drum-and-bass duo from Seattle whose disconsolate dirges channel spirits of those who met untimely ends (Bell Witch). Also, Hooded Menace have absconded to whatever crypt they slithered from to record something new. The last I read about Sourvein, they were finishing up recording vocals for their new album. While my musical palate for doom has yet to be satiated, the latest morsel whetting my appetite is the debut self-titled EP from Annandale, Virginia’s Foehammer.

I first learned of Foehammer when Islander posted a Miscellany roundup that included them (here). That post introduced Foehammer with a song called “Stormcrow,” one of the names of Gandalf from Tolkien mythology. In the Tolkien universe, King Théoden christens Gandalf with that title because his arrival usually bodes ill for the denizens of Théoden’s kingdom. And the Tolkien references don’t stop there. The name “Foehammer” comes from a translation of Glamdring, a sword which proves most deadly in Gandalf’s employ. Storms of crows and hammers of foes are accurate imagery to describe this band’s music. Continue reading »

WATCHTOWER: “RADIANT MOON”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Mar 102015
 

 

(Grant Skelton reviews the new EP by Watchtower.)

I don’t know what’s gotten into the water in Melbourne, Australia. But it must be some kind of alchemical elixir because that city is producing some exceptional doom metal of late. Watchtower, along with labelmates Horsehunter and the psyche-doom-ic blues of Child, are just a few patrons of the Melbourne doom scene. (Side note: both of those other bands are definitely worth your time).

According to this interview with Doomed & Stoned, Watchtower’s name comes from an experience that frontman Nico Guijt had with a few Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nico was introduced to the Witnesses’ magazine, called Watchtower. In the interview, Nico christens the band with that name. Continue reading »

GRUESOME: “HIDEOUS”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Mar 042015
 

 

(Guest writer Grant Skelton returns to NCS, singing the praises of a new song by Gruesome.)

Some fans may wish to write off Gruesome (which features members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation, and Derketa) and dismiss them as a knockoff or throwback. The band do openly promote themselves by affiliating with Death, particularly the Leprosy material. To that I respond, “What’s wrong with nostalgia?”

One of the advantages of living in the time that we do is that fans can have access to material from bands who had their heyday in the pre-Internet age. To that end, Gruesome (and their forefathers) can sound completely fresh to younger fans who may just be discovering them. To the veterans, Gruesome offer something classic that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. They bear the Florida death metal torch, and they bear it well. Continue reading »

LOCAL FOCUS: MEMPHIS (AND BEYOND)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Feb 252015
 

 

 

(As described in yesterday’s last post (here), we’re beginning a new series conceived by Grant Skelton in which we’ve invited guest writers (and maybe some of the regulars around here) to put the spotlight on bands from their own local and regional communities who don’t get the kind of media recognition they deserve. In this post, Grant kicks off the series with a local focus on bands from his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee — and a couple from elsewhere in Tennessee.)

When people think of my hometown of Memphis, they don’t think about metal. Memphis is definitely known for its musical history, most recently exemplified by “Uptown Funk,” thanks to Bruno Mars. If you asked someone to name a metal band from Memphis, then they might fire back with, “Uhhh…Saliva?” Or perhaps they would call attention to Skillet. I can’t knock Skillet, but they’re not the focus of this article. They sell records, and definitely don’t need my meandering and frivolous opinions to sell any more.

Metal prides itself on being “underground.” In that regard, metal is often like panning for gold. Every now and then, you find a real gem that nobody seems to have discovered except for you. That’s the purpose of websites like this one. Below are a few gems I recently found. The first four are local metal bands from Memphis, Tennessee. The final two are an exception to that rule, but are still from my state. I hope the readers enjoy this installment of a local metal showcase. Continue reading »

THE DEVIL AND THE ALMIGHTY BLUES: SELF-TITLED

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Feb 202015
 

 

(Grant Skelton reviews the new album by a Norwegian band named The Devil and the Almighty Blues.)

Even a cursory listen to metal will reveal elements of two of its parent genres, blues and jazz. But metal’s kinship with these genres does not end with musical derivation and composition. Metal, blues, and jazz also share similar folklore. Long before parents were blaming Dee Snider and Rob Halford for their little hellions’ (see what I did there?) adolescent tyranny, jazz was called “the devil’s music.”

One might trace this attribution to the decadence of the “Roaring 20’s.” Alcohol was outlawed, and that meant no sales taxes. On the black market, anyone who could provide alcohol could make a pretty penny from a customer who wanted his choice poison. As it happened, the establishments that provided the booze provided the music. Jazz itself had nothing to do with the alcohol, cocaine, and hedonistic sexuality of this era. But in the minds of many, jazz was guilty by association. Sin sells. And in the 20’s, jazz was its soundtrack. Continue reading »

SWAMP WITCH: “THE SLITHERING BOG”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Feb 122015
 

(Our guest Grant Skelton reviews the new album by California’s Swamp Witch.)

 

“This miry Slough is such a place as cannot be mended. It is the descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin doth continually run, and therefore it is called the Slough of Despond; for still as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there arises in his soul many fears and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place. And this is the reason of the badness of this ground.”

–John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress

Some metal is made to be immediately infectious. When I began my journey as a metal fan, I would describe my metal collection that way. Immediately infectious, catchy, listener-friendly, accessible. I became a metalcore junkie in high school and that lasted into my early-mid 20s. The older I get, the less time I have to listen to music than I did when I was younger. On the other hand, I find that I have an increasing desire to explore new genres. I want metal that takes me somewhere I’ve never been before. Everyone loves a memorable chorus that gets stuck in their head for days, but sometimes you don’t want just that.

Those of you who read fiction will likely be familiar with the term “suspension of disbelief.” It refers to a writer’s ability to make you forget the line between this world and that of the story you are reading. You forget truth, reality, value judgments, and the like and you plunge right into the narrative. Of course, suspension of disbelief requires some action on the part of you as the reader. But good writing invites you to suspend your disbelief without you even being aware that you’re doing it. You will participate in the story, and not merely read it. You live the events with the characters rather than just observe them. Suspension of disbelief is just as important for the most realistic murder mystery as it is for high fantasy realms of swords and sorcery. And music has something similar. A good album takes you somewhere. It tells a story that involves an introduction, a conflict, a climax, and a resolution. It can make you feel anger, grief, joy, fear, guilt, or longing. And it can do so without forcing those feelings upon you. Continue reading »

MISBEGOTTEN CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER FILESHARER

 Mosh Pit  30 Responses »
Jan 212015
 

 

(Grant Skelton provided these confessions.)

(Author’s Note: This article is not intended to be persuasive. It was written neither in support of filesharing nor against it. Instead, it recalls my experiences with filesharing and how those experiences shaped my consumption of music as both an art and a product.)

My family bought our first computer in 1998. I was 13. We had AOL 3.0 (You’ve got mail!). I spent most of my time on the PC playing games that a person my age probably had no business playing. Educational games like Postal, Doom, Blood, and Duke Nukem 3D kept me from completing many a homework assignment. Chat rooms were another productive and beneficial investment of one’s time.

I was still a burgeoning music fan in those days. My CD collection was sparse, and my ears were still very conditioned to ’90s grunge rock provided by local radio stations. I genuinely liked grunge, and I still do. But I always wanted something… more from my music. I wanted something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I wanted the grunge to be angrier, faster, meaner. I wanted music with more aggression. Something with fire and venom. Continue reading »

LOOKING AHEAD: GRANT SKELTON’S LIST OF EAGERLY ANTICIPATED 2015 RELEASES

 Metal News  35 Responses »
Jan 062015
 

 

(We’re not quite finished with our 2014 LISTMANIA series, but NCS contributor Grand Skelton is looking ahead to what the new year will bring, and writes about some releases he’s particularly eager to hear. In the comments, let us know what you’re anticipating.)

Some of the biggest names in metal have albums in production for next year. Black Sabbath are reportedly recording their final album and then disbanding. Faith No More recently released the first single from their upcoming album. Slayer will be releasing their first album following the passing of Jeff Hanneman and the resignation of Dave Lombardo. Since the Prague incident, Lamb of God have been laying low, but it seems they are finally working on new material. Megadeth look to be entering the studio at the beginning of the year, despite being down to only 2 members. Rumors of Pepper Keenan returning to Corrosion of Conformity for a new album have begun to circulate.

Perhaps Metallica will get around to finally releasing their follow up to Death Magnetic as well. I may be in the minority on this site, but I’m a fan of “Lords Of Summer,” the new song they debuted this year. Even though not one album has gone platinum in 2014, a new Metallica album would no doubt sell very well… unless of course they do something asinine… like Lulu 2. As much as I love Metallica, I would rather listen to tone-deaf American Idol rejects than that revolting heap of musical excrement. Continue reading »

ON EXTREMITY IN METAL

 Mosh Pit  33 Responses »
Dec 282014
 

 

(Our guest Grant Skelton returns to NCS with a thought piece about extremity in metal.)

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Revelations 3:15-16, English Standard Version

The psychedelic haze of the 60’s wasn’t extreme enough for an unknown heavy blues band called Earth. So they read some occult fiction and wrote a song based on the tritone diabolus in musica, the Devil’s interval. The song was named for a horror film starring Boris Karloff — Black Sabbath — and the name became their own. After about a decade, Sabbath were no longer on the fringe. Their extremity had waned. Enter thrash metal. Booze-pounding, head banging, denim-donning guys with mullets. If Sabbath, Maiden, and Priest were too slow for you, throw on some Metallica, Megadeth, and of course Slayer. If those bands didn’t do it for you, you could dig deeper underground for Sepultura, Possessed, Pestilence, Death, Dark Angel, Celtic Frost, and so on. Don’t forget the Florida death metal scene. And the Gothenburg scene that answered right back. Then there’s Norwegian black metal that gave us the likes of Darkthrone, Emperor, Immortal, and Mayhem.

Each generation of metal musicians stands on the shoulders of those who came before. Every generation builds on what came before it, creating layer upon layer of extremity. What was considered thought-provoking ten years ago is stagnant today. And yet, there is something of a veneration for the bands of yesteryear. Old bands that broke up, or stopped recording prior to the Internet age, are seeing a resurgence in their popularity. Young, new fans are hearing older music and they want it. They want to stream it and buy it. They want T-shirts, they want tickets to shows. They want a reunion album and a tour. So they buy an older album that just got remastered and released via Bandcamp. Or they throw in on an Indiegogo, GoFundMe, or Kickstarter. They want perks and prizes. They’re not content to just hit the repeat button on YouTube. They want to be a consumer of quality music, and not just a passerby. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2014: A LIST FROM GRANT SKELTON

 LISTMANIA 2014  19 Responses »
Dec 052014
 

 

(Grant Skelton, a recent contributor to our site, presents this list of his favorite albums of 2014.)

Below – Across The Dark River

This band are one of my first forays into doom metal. Like any metalhead, I always appreciate some Sabbath. But on the whole I’ve only recently begun to venture into doom. In all honesty, it’s been refreshing considering that doom seems to be one of the only genres in which the bands aren’t trying to out brutalize one another. If anything, doom bands seem to try to play slower than many of their counterparts (Sunn O)) for example).

“Portal” was the first song I heard from this album, and is definitely one of the standout tracks from the record. Even though it was released back in the spring, it is very appropriate for winter. Every track on this album is dark, dreary, head-nodding doomy deliciousness. If drummer Doc (Jens Vestergren) is using trigger pads for his bass kicks, then they are subtle and devoid of any “clicky” sound. The bass coats the guitars like varnish. Continue reading »

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