NICK MILLEVOI: “IN WHITE SKY”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Nov 042012
 

This review didn’t begin as a review. I only intended to sample a couple of tracks from this album as part of a MISCELLANY excursion that I posted earlier today. But in part because the album was the last stop on that tour, and in part because I got sucked in by the music, I listened to all of it . . . and so here we are.

Nick Millevoi contacted me not long ago through a recommendation from my friend Alex (Grind To Death) Layzell, with whom NCS collaborated on the grind / powerviolence compilation The Only Good Tory (which you should go grab HERE for free if you haven’t already). Nick is is a Philadelphia-based guitarist whose third album In White Sky was released on October 23 by Flenser Records, which is on my short list of labels who release nothing but interesting music.

Since this music came my way via Alex Layzell, I assumed it was going to be something like the sound of napalm being sprayed from a high-pressure fire hose. But it’s not what I was expecting.

I started with the first two songs on In White Sky, planning to stop there per the MISCELLANY rules, and became immediately enthralled (and immediately disoriented) by both of them. I really wanted to see where the music would go next after those first two tracks, and so I let the sounds continue to run. Continue reading »

MISCELLANY NO. 48: NIGHTBRINGER, CYANIC, LORELEI, NICK MILLEVOI

 Album Reviews, Free Shit, MISCELLANY  14 Responses »
Nov 042012
 

It’s been so damned long since I made a MISCELLANY excursion that I had to check the date of the last one: No. 47 was on Sept. 23. Pathetic. Way past time to do it again.

A reminder about the MISCELLANY rules: I pick bands whose music I’ve never heard before (and usually, as in this edition, bands whose names I’ve never heard before); I listen to one or two songs, not knowing what the music is going to sound like; I write some impressions here; and I include the music I heard so you can check it out for yourselves.

With a big list of bands stretching back months that I could pick from, what did I do? I chose four bands who I heard about for the first time during the past week. In fact, three of them I heard about only yesterday. I obviously have poor impulse control.

I nearly called this installment the “Friends Helping Friends” edition because each band was recommended by a friend, each of whom will be identified in due course. These are the bands, and for a change, all four are from the U.S.: Nightbringer, Cyanic, Lorelei, and Nick Millevoi. And here’s a hint about the outcomes of this experiment: My friends know how to pick winners.

NIGHTBRINGER

Nightbringer came my way via NCS writer BadWolf — no comments from him, simply a link to this band’s Bandcamp page, where I found a variety of music streaming. The most recent release is an April 2012 singles collection called Fight Like Hell, which includes all the songs from two previous short releases plus a couple of new tracks. It’s available at a “pay what you want” price for a download on Bandcamp, and you can order the CD there as well.

This Nightbringer, by the way, is not the black metal band of the same name from Colorado. This Nightbringer is from fuckin’ Motor City. Continue reading »