AN NCS INTERVIEW: SOLSTICE (PAUL KEARNS)

 Interviews  3 Responses »
Aug 092016
 

Solstice 1

 

(Our Russian interviewing fiend Comrade Aleks is back, this time presenting a conversation with Paul Kearns, vocalist of the British band Solstice.)

Solstice is a kind of unique phenomenon of the British doom scene. Being raised in 1990, the band built their reputation with two excellent professional albums, Lamentations (1994) and New Dark Ages (1998), and also with the extreme slowness with which Solstice write new songs. You’ll easily understand the situation if you remember that the band’s only original member today is the guitarist Richard M. Walker, who’s an incorrigible perfectionist. However, since 1998 the band have released a pair of splits and a bunch of compilations, though there were also demos and one EP recorded in 2013 (Death’s Crown Is Victory) with Paul Kearns on vocals.

As the band slowly strides toward their next full-length album, or maybe just to their next song, we got in contact with Paul and had a pretty cool and informative conversation, though it took some time, as does everything connected with Solstice. 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 »

SEEN AND HEARD: DEIPHAGO, DOOMAS, IRREVERSIBLE MECHANISM, IZAH, SOLSTICE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Dec 302014
 

 

I’ve fallen a bit behind in my efforts to collect news items and new songs I think are worthy of attention. There was some holiday recently that proved to be a distraction, plus I’ve been spending time on year-end lists of one kind or another. So this collection includes items of interest I spotted over the last 4 or 5 days, presented in alphabetical order, along with a recommendation from NCS contributor Grant Skelton at the end.

DEIPHAGO

I checked — 18 months have passed since the last time I wrote about Deiphago, reviewing the vinyl edition of a 2012 split release they did with Ritual Combat. But as far as I can tell, that split was the last recording these Filipino marauders released, and we’re now more than two years on from their last full-length, the devastating Satan Alpha Omega. Therefore, I’m really pleased to report that Deiphago have recently finished recording a new album with producer Colin Marston that should see release early next year on the Hells Headbangers label.

The name of the album is Into the Eye of Satan, and the cover art by Axel Hermann (above) is a real eye-catcher.

I have no music to share with you yet, only high hopes for a highly anticipated assault of blackened death metal. Continue reading »