Mar 232021
 

(Andy Synn takes time out of his busy schedule to catch up with an album he’s been dying to write about for some time, namely the debut album from Disso-Tech upstarts Klexos)

So here’s the thing… originality is overrated.

Don’t get me wrong, when something does come along which truly moves the needle, shifts the paradigm, or [insert zeitgeist-y term here], I’m usually right up there with everyone else, marvelling at how brilliant it is and wondering how no-one thought to do… whatever it is… before.

But originality isn’t, or shouldn’t be, everything – being original doesn’t necessarily make you good, for one thing – and the way it’s often fetishised has led me to encounter some very odd people/statements online over the years (for example, did you know that since Gorguts exist that any band who plays in 4/4 or uses standard song structures no longer counts as “real” Death Metal?).

Let’s face it, we’re all, ultimately, the sum of our experiences, our influences, and our environment. This is especially the case if you’re a musician, because who you are as an artist is largely shaped by the music which inspires you. Not just in the way it colours and dictates your listening preferences, but in how it actively alters how you listen to and understand – and, in turn, create – music.

Which I suppose is a long-winded way of getting to the point and saying that while Apocryphal Parabolam, the debut album from Lexington, Kentucky’s Klexos may not be a wholly original affair, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still have a certain spark of something – call it inspiration, call it individuality – which makes it well worth listening to.

Continue reading »

Feb 062021
 

 

As I was trying to go to sleep last night I mentally fidgeted about what I was going to do for NCS today. The problem was that last week I didn’t have the time or patience to go through our e-mails carefully or do the other things I usually do to sniff out new songs and videos that would be fodder for a round-up. Most weeks I have long lists of possibilities to check out by now. As of last night I had made no such list.

As I tried to find sleep, I grudgingly resolved that I would have to spend a few hours this morning doing what I’d failed to do since last Monday, and make that list — and then start listening. I had to trash that idea this morning when I realized I had slept for 10 hours and that a big chunk of the morning was already gone. So, making the big list of newly released songs and videos will have to wait. Here, I’ve picked from things I already knew about a week ago, and added just a couple of songs more recently recommended to me by valued sources.

KLEXOS (U.S.)

“Obfuscâre Veritas”, the first song now up for streaming from Apocryphal Parabolam, the new album by Kentucky’s Klexos, is dissonant and deranged, twisted and ever-twisting, brazen and brawling — and generally berserk. The vocals display a lot of harrowing dynamism as well. The song exhibits impressive technicality, which is necessary, given how wildly and rapidly the music veers and careens. It will also give you a vigorous beating, which you probably deserve. Continue reading »

Oct 182017
 

 

(We continue the rollout of Austin Weber’s ongoing series devoted to reviews of 2017 releases we haven’t previously covered. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.)

In spite of what the naysayers will tell you, I’m of the opinion that there’s an absolutely ridiculous amount of good metal releases coming out all the time, many of them coming from new groups or independent groups that we’re just now catching onto for the first time.

This lengthy round-up has been in the works for awhile, but I kept adding more and more to the list of what I wanted to cover. Hopefully you will find something new you enjoy in each installment.

KLEXOSDEMO 2017

Now we return yet again to dark and eerie death metal with the 2017 demo from a new project based out of Lexington, Kentucky known as Klexos. The group plays within the murky and dissonant death metal style on their 2017 demo, but does so with more of a groove and doomy feeling to it that gives the two songs on this release their own vibe. Continue reading »