SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): KATAVASIA, FLESIA, KORGONTHURUS, REMAH, SÔLT

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Aug 082021
 

 

After spending a ton of time listening to new songs and writing about many of them in the two enormous roundups I posted on Friday and Saturday I despaired of being able to do very much with this week’s SHADES OF BLACK column. But I got a second wind and became inspired by the varying sounds you’re about to discover.

In this two-part edition the bands whose music I chose include some old personal favorites and some very promising newcomers.  My second wind is dying, so you’ll most likely have to look for Part 2 on Monday.

KATAVASIA (Greece)

These Greek black metal luminaries, whose lineup includes members drawn from Varathron, Hail Spirit Noir, Aenaon, Melan Selas, and Agnes Vein, have a new two-track EP headed our way, and the first of the two songs — “Descending to Acheron” — has now surfaced. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: KATAVASIA, LAETITIA IN HOLOCAUST, YEVABOG, ILDSKÆR, GREAT COLD EMPTINESS, WRAITH, BASTARDIZER

 SHADES OF BLACK  1 Response »
Jul 052020
 

 

Last week wore me out, for a lot of reasons. After sleeping for an alcohol-assisted 11 hours Friday night I decided to take a vacation from NCS yesterday, and a vacation from listening to music of any kind. But I got back into the swing of things this morning, beginning before the sun rose. And from that listening session I picked what you’ll find here. I’m beginning with two bands whose past music I’ve enjoyed and then moving off into previously uncharted waters.

KATAVASIA

We kind of went overboard in our coverage of this Greek black metal band’s 2015 debut album Sacrilegious Testament and their follow-on 2017 EP Daemonic Offering: I count 9 posts we made about those releases, including an interview and a track premiere. If you’d like to get caught up, you’ll find all those articles here.

The band drew all that attention, not just here but elsewhere, in part because of the line-up, which included members of Aenaon, Varathron, Hail Spirit Noir, Agnes Vein, and Melan Selas. The line-up remains mostly intact on the band’s second album, Magnus Venator, which will be released on September 4th via Floga Records. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): ENSLAVED, BELTEZ, GNIPAHÅLAN, KATAVASIA, NARBELETH, UTTERTOMB, NIGHTGRAVE, PRISON OF MIRRORS, KULL

 SHADES OF BLACK  8 Responses »
Jul 042017
 

 

This is the delayed completion of a collection of metal from blackened realms that I began on Sunday. As usual, I’ve added a few items to it that came to my attention during that delay.

I’m impaired in my ability to write as much as I would like about the music because of a headache that has battered me today, most likely the result of a battering I gave myself two nights ago when I bounced my head against concrete and put an inches-long gash in my scalp. The less said about the causes, the better. Oddly, when I saw a doctor yesterday to get the wound tended to, I had no headache or other obvious signs of a concussion. But I guess headaches can come on later, and get worse, as mine has.

Anyway, I would like to express my feelings about the music more fully, but I’ve decided not to delay the completion of this post any more.

ENSLAVED

To begin, I have a news item. This is a statement that appeared today on the Facebook page of Enslaved, which I’ll provide without comment, other than the echo of the squeeeeee sound I made when first reading it:

*** Update from the studio: Mix and mastering of our 14th studio album is now finished! ***

It is accomplished! We have finished the recording process of our 14th full-length and in the renowned Fascination Street Studios, Jens Bogren polished this new raw diamond with his mixing and mastering skills. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): LES CHANTS DU HASARD, KATAVASIA, AKERBELTZ, POLEMOS

 SHADES OF BLACK  4 Responses »
Mar 262017
 

 

I realize I’ve delivered a flood of new music to the site this weekend, so much that I’ve drowned in it, too. Time has run out on my plans to create a gargantuan compilation of new music in a blackened vein, and so I’ve been forced to cut that gargantua into three pieces. Mondays tend to be crazy around here, and so I’m not positive I’ll finish Parts 2 and 3 in time to post them tomorrow, but they will arrive eventually. Let’s begin….

LES CHANTS DU HASARD

Three things drew me into this first song: First, the cover art by Jeff Grimal (above); second, the fact that the album will be released by I, Voidhanger Records (whose selections are always fascinating); and third, this description of the music: “NO GUITARS, NO BASSES, NO DRUMS. ORCHESTRA IS THE NEW BLACK.” Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: ACHILLEAS KALANTZIS (AENAON, KATAVASIA, VARATHRON)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jan 252017
 

 

(KevinP returns to NCS with a new episode of his short-interview series, and this time talks with Achilleas Kalantzis, guitarist of the mind-bending Greek black metal band Aenaon — whose new album Hypnosophy was released late last year — as well as Katavasia and Varathron.)

 
K: You’ve had some lineup changes for Hypnosophy. What was the impetus and did this affect the sound/direction of the new material?

A: Indeed. Unfortunately it was really hard for Thyragon (bass) to keep up with the band’s schedule and Anax (guitars) had to join the obligatory army service, so we recorded without him (he is still a member now though). On the other hand Orestis was already playing the Sax for us since Extance, so becoming a permanent member wasn’t a big change. Astrous (vocals) and I are usually building the first demos of the songs, so the core of the creational process was the same (no matter the final arrangements). What made a big difference to me was that I also composed and performed the bass guitar. That gave me as a composer the ability to use it in a more prominent way, leading to groovier arrangements. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 20)

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  5 Responses »
Feb 082016
 

Katavasia-Sacrilegious Testament

Welcome to the 20th installment of our list of last year’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. We’ll be finished with the rollout of this list next Sunday. To hear the other songs on the list up until now, click this link.

Today we have three diverse pieces of metal, each of them from albums that were the source of multiple candidates for this list.

KATAVASIA

In the early part of last year we devoted quite a lot of attention to this Greek band’s 2015 album Sacrilegious Testament, and still more attention when year-end-list time rolled around — which is not surprising, given who’s in the band: Continue reading »

ESSENTIAL ENTRIES: MARCH 2015

 Album Reviews  14 Responses »
Apr 062015
 

 

(In this post Dan Barkasi continues his monthly series recommending music from the month just ended.)

Welcome, welcome, to the March edition of essential entries. February was a decent month, highlighted by stellar releases by Crypt Sermon, Devouring Star, and Sarpanitum. Overall, it wasn’t as solid as January, and I listened to a ton of music for February. There were plenty of strong albums, but also a lot of “decent, but not great” sort of releases. Everything included here, however, is top-notch, of course!

March, however, was loaded with a metric ton of great albums. As a result, there were a few difficult omissions, but that’s a good problem to have. The following turned this guy’s head the most.

Antagoniste – The Myth of Mankind

Hailing from France – the land of oddball experimental metal – is another entry of this sort by Antagoniste. A one-man avant garde black metal project, this is the debut release, and it’s nothing short of beastly. The vocals vary wildly, with a mix of menacing growls and chants. It’s heavy, a bit out there, quite catchy, and all quality. Continue reading »

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH — MARCH 2015

 Album Reviews  12 Responses »
Mar 312015
 

 

(Here’s the latest installment of KevinP’s series in which he runs down his list of the best releases from the preceding month.)

The French are weird (but we knew that, so it’s not really weird).  Dark Descent Records just came up a little short. Ever realize the island country of Cyprus had metal bands? Let’s eat some Vegemite and sauerkraut. And the Greeks have returned to the countdown.  Now, let’s get on with it.

 

5.  Corpo-Mente – Corpo-Mente

If you are a fan of Gautier Serre and the thoroughly warped Igorrr, you may have heard of this side project of his.  Featuring the lush operatic vocals of Laure Le Prunenec (Öxxö Xööx, Rïcïnn), it’s much more, shall we say, “tame”.  It’s a classical journey of baroque, trip-hop, and acoustique.  It’s by no means a metal album, but that doesn’t stop it from being one hell of a piece of art.

https://blood-music.bandcamp.com/album/corpo-mente Continue reading »

KATAVASIA: “VIRGIN BLOOD”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Mar 032015
 

 

In early February we introduced you (here) to a new Greek “supergroup” named Katavasia, through KevinP’s interview with the band’s guitarist Astrous (Aenaon) and the world premiere of a song from the band’s debut album, Sacrilegious Testament. Today, Katavasia have unveiled another new song from the album, entitled “Virgin Blood”, and we’re sharing that one with you, too.

For those who missed that earlier post, the band’s line-up also includes vocalist Necroabyssious (Varathron), guitarist/bassist Achilleas C (Varathron/Aenaon), drummer Foivos  (Agnes Vein), and keyboardist Haris (Hail Spirit Noir/Transcending Bizarre?). In addition, the album includes guest appearances by Sakis of Rotting Christ, and Sotiris Vayenas of Septicflesh — who provides a guitar solo on “Virgin Blood”. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: ASTROUS (AENAON) ANNOUNCES NEW GREEK SUPERGROUP — KATAVASIA — AND WE BRING YOU A SONG PREMIERE

 Interviews, Metal News, Premieres  3 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(KevinP brings us another edition of his short-interview series, “Get To The Point”, and he talks with Astrous, vocalist of the Greek black metal band Aenaon. But this time the interview includes both a news scoop about the new Greek supergroup Katavasia and the world premiere of a new Katavasia song.)

K:  So what’s the big news you want to share with all of us today?

A:  I feel great to announce a new alliance in the Greek Black Metal circles which is called KATAVASIA. This new project consists of well-known musicians and guest appearances, aimed to produce the unique sound and spirit of the early Greek black metal era.

 

K:  Can you tell us who is responsible for this alliance? Continue reading »

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