AN NCS PREMIERE: KATECHON — “RENSELSEN”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Jan 092019
 

 

The complex of concentration camps established by the Nazis at Auschwitz in occupied Poland is perhaps an unparalleled testament to the horrors that human beings are capable of inflicting on each other. At Auschwitz more than 1,000,000 people were exterminated in the gas chambers or died of starvation, forced labor, infectious diseases, individual executions, and grotesque medical experiments. One need not resort to demonology or monsters of the imagination to find embodiments of evil — Auschwitz showed that it walks the earth in the form of man.

The terrors of those death camps provided the inspiration for the new album by the excellent Norwegian black/death band Katechon, to be released by their new label Saturnal Records in March. Entitled Sanger Fra Auschwitz, the record is the result of almost a year and a half of work in the studio by a line-up that has changed since the band’s last album, 2015’s Coronation, and the music reflects changes as well, as will become apparent from the track we’re presenting for the first time today: “Renselsen“. Continue reading »

QUICK HITS: GOJIRA AND KATECHON

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jun 262018
 

 

Given what I’ve planned to write for the site today, I don’t have time to compile the kind of typically large SEEN AND HEARD round-up I’d like to assemble, but enough time to do something shorter. And so I’ve resorted once again to the QUICK HITS concept that ran almost every day for a week not too long ago. Better than nothing, right?

GOJIRA

In August 2010 one of the people who started this site with me, but hasn’t been involved since 2011, wrote a post with this title: “Why Gojira Is the Best Metal Band in the World“. Almost eight years later, I’m pretty sure he still believes that. And after almost eight years that post still gets hits; in terms of traffic, it’s in the all-time Top 5 pages visited on our site.

Eight years ago, that writer was trying to draw more attention to a band that had only toured the U.S. once, as a support band for In Flames, and not even principal support — that position went to All That Remains. Now, of course, Gojira are a global phenomenon, and still have a soul. And In Flames and All That Remains? The less said about them in their current musical incarnations, the better. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: KATECHON, FUCK THE FACTS, FISTFUCK, WIEGEDOOD, SOLSTICE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Apr 132015
 

 

With a little help from my friends, I present to you a Monday collection of recommended new songs that I discovered in recent days, arranged in the order in which I heard them.

KATECHON

I have our friend from the Dominican Republic, Vonlughlio, to thank for this first discovery — which evolved in stages. First, Vonlughlio linked me to a new song named “Desolation” by the Norwegian band Katechon. The band’s 2013 debut album Man, God, Giant was outstanding, and this new single engendered high hopes for the next one. Entitled Coronation, it’s now projected for release by Nuclear War Now! on June 6.

“Desolation” actually had its premiere on CVLT Nation in February, but I missed it then. Katechon uploaded it to YouTube last week, and that caught Vonlughlio’s attention, and then mine. And then further exploring led to the discovery that the band had previously revealed two more songs from Coronation in addition to “Desolation”, and that all three are available for listening on Bandcamp. Continue reading »

EYE-CATCHERS: BÖLZER, MORDBRAND, OCCULTATION, KATECHON, EVERGREY

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 152014
 

 

Here are some things I saw yesterday that opened my eyes wide and increased my flow of drool, requiring an early change-out of the trademarked NCS bib I wear at all times. You may increase the size of some of these images by clicking on them.

ITEM ONE

Item One appears at the top of this post. It’s a shirt design created by Manuel Tinnemans (Comaworx) for Switzerland’s Bölzer, based on the song “Steppes”. I guess it’s not enough that Bölzer are making lots of people jealous with their music. Now they get shirts like this made for them. Stunning. Here’s the artwork on a black background:

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BÖLZER/108657105834227 Continue reading »

NEW VIDEOS: CHTHONIC, COBALT, AND KATECHON

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
May 242013
 

Here are three new videos I spied this morning. All three are worth your time.

CHTHONIC

This morning, Taiwan’s Chthonic premiered yet another official video (here) for a song from their forthcoming album Bú-Tik. That album will be released by Spinefarm on May 29 in Taiwan and Japan, May 31 in Europe, June 3 in the UK, and June 18 in North America. The new song is “Sail Into the Sunset’s Fire”. According to the band, it tells a tale of pirates in East Asia during the Age Of Exploration (some of whom eventually settled along Taiwan’s western coast) who sought to overthrow both the Ming Empire of China and the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan.

You don’t get much of a sense about the song’s historical roots in the video. It was filmed in an outdoor swimming pool during an unexpected thunderstorm, and those shots are interspersed with comic-strip graphics. The music in the song itself doesn’t have as much of the ethnic flavor that I most enjoy in what Chthonic have done previously — it’s more of a straight-ahead, Scandinavian-styled melodeath romp. But hey, I’m entertained anyway.

Watch the video next. Continue reading »

SENDING YOU AWAY: MAN’S GIN, SIGHT OF EMPTINESS, ELDKRAFT, AND KATECHON

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 142013
 

We like having you around here, but I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave. That’s because a quartet of new songs debuted yesterday that I’m recommending to you, but you’ll have to go elsewhere to check them out. They’re exclusively streaming at other sites, so I can’t embed them here. Actually, I could, because no page code is safe from me, but I’m being atypically respectful.

MAN’S GIN

Man’s Gin is the brainchild of New York-based Erik Wunder, who is also one-half of another band I like a lot — Cobalt. He’s joined in Man’s Gin by New Yorkers Scott Edward and Josh Lozano. I thought Man’s Gin’s debut album Smiling Dogs (2010) was fascinating, and it seems the same will be true of the second one, Rebellion Hymns. It’s scheduled for release by Profound Lore on June 25. The new song that premiered yesterday is “Deer Head & The Rain”.

This song isn’t our usual fare. The vocals are more clean than unclean and the music is more folk than metal, though it’s not exactly folk music either. There’s a disturbing undercurrent in the music, and from the acoustic-guitar-and-hand-drum intro straight through to the discordant electrified finish, it’s been relentlessly tunneling through my head since yesterday. Continue reading »

KATECHON, MONOMAKH, BITWA

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Dec 142012
 

(We welcome back guest contributor and fellow and blogger BreadGod with his rundown of three 2012 demos, all of which are free.)

Greetings, people of No Clean Singing! I am BreadGod, purveyor of all things dark and obscure! Today I shall share with you three amazing new bands plucked from the deepest and most unknown chasms of Bandcamp!

KATECHON – Tape 2012

In biblical study, the Katechon refers to that which restrains the coming of the Antichrist. The Norwegian band Katechon, who released their second demo this year, has corrupted that meaning, for they wish to use their music to bring forth the Antichrist.

The music can best be described as blackened death crust. They utilize a lot of crust beats, death metal riffs and vocals, and a black metal guitar tone and atmosphere. The crust beats give the dark and nasty music a catchy feeling. The vocals frequently switch between a growl and a low death/thrash shout, and there are times when it’s drenched in reverb. The drums are superb, especially when it comes to fills and cymbal work. As I’ve said before, the guitars play death metal riffs through a black metal filter, and when combined with the crust beats, they become more memorable than most other death or black metal bands.

Katechon plays metal that is both unique and displays excellent musicianship. I am eager to hear more from them. Continue reading »