I’m still with family in my old hometown of Austin, Texas, enjoying yet another mini-vacation. Like yesterday, I did have a little time this morning to do some listening, but not enough time to do much writing.
So, as was true of yesterday’s OVERFLOWING STREAMS post, I’m once again recommending the following song streams but including only some basic info about the music. The difference is that almost everything you’ll find below comes from the realms of black metal. Continue reading »
In January of last year we quickly spread the word about a new song stream that had just appeared by the Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade. The song’s name was not disclosed, nor was any information provided about the release on which it might be included.
A couple of months later we learned about a teaser of new music that had been released by the Swedish band Mortuus, and by then word had circulated that Mortuus and Thy Darkened Shade would be participating in a four-way split along with Nightbringer (U.S.) and the Austrian black metal band Abigor.
Now, at long last, that split has been released. Continue reading »
I was tempted to name this post “Eye-Catchers“, especially since I haven’t written a post in that series for years, but since I was already quite familiar with most of the bands whose new artwork caught my eye, they didn’t really fit the theme of that series. But the new artwork is damned appealing, and so is the promise of new music from these groups.
And that’s how this post begins — with eye-catching new artwork for four forthcoming albums. Following that, I want to recommend advance tracks from four other forthcoming releases, which themselves also include eye-catching cover art.
ANTROPOFAGUS
The first piece of attention-grabbing artwork I’ve collected here (above) was created by the Chilean artist Nekronikon for the new album by Italy’s Antropofagus. Entitled M.O.R.T.E. – Methods Of Resurrection Through Evisceration, it will be released May 12 on CD via Comatose Music and on vinyl via Everlasting Spew Records. Continue reading »
For the third year in a row we invited Semjaza, the main man behind the superb Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade, to share with us his lists of favorite releases, and he again agreed.
This year, we’ve divided his year-end thoughts into four parts, and this is the fourth, which follows his introductory essay and a list of the 11 2016 albums he listened to the most (here), an additional list (here) of 14 albums that also received a lot of his attention, and an additional group of albums by bands from his home country, favorite 2016 EPs, and more (here). Part 4 consists of: Continue reading »
For the third year in a row we invited Semjaza, the main man behind the superb Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade, to share with us his lists of favorite releases, and he again agreed.
This year, we’ve divided his year-end thoughts into four parts, and this is the third, which follows his introductory essay and a list of the 11 2016 albums he listened to the most (here) and an additional list (here) of 14 albums that also received a lot of his attention. Part 3 begin as follows: Continue reading »
(For the third year in a row we invited Semjaza, the main man behind the superb Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade, to share with us his lists of favorite releases, and he again agreed. This year, we’ve divided his year-end thoughts into four parts, and this is the second, which flows his introductory essay and a list of the 11 2016 albums he listened to the most — here.)
ADDITIONAL ALBUMS THAT I ALSO LISTENED TO A LOT FROM THIS
YEAR ARE THE FOLLOWING: Continue reading »
(For the third year in a row we invited Semjaza, the main man behind the superb Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade, to share with us his lists of favorite releases, and he again agreed. This year, we’ve divided his year-end thoughts into four parts, and this is the first.)
As far as I am concerned, 2016 was a great year for music as a whole. However, too many people who have lost the will and the passion to discover new music (especially new metal music) are trying to convince others that only the ’80s or ’90s were striking periods. In fact, many releases of 2016 are going to remain classic in the years to come. With the flooding of the market, the non-artistic approach of many bands, the easy access to underground gems, and the short attention span of listeners, it requires more determination than before to discover and appreciate the worthy ones.
It is now crucial that we should all oppose the pseudo-elite disgusting ”YouTube” reviewers and their forged expertise. We should oppose the ordinary propaganda with their new trends and the new ”hot” names. We should oppose new releases from old, once great bands who used to produce masterpieces but corrupted their art and their vision and became nothing but caricatures of themselves. Continue reading »
2014’s Liber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet was my introduction to the Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade, and that album, which was one of the year’s best, made me an immediate fan. Within the last hour, Thy Darkened Shade has released an excerpt from a new song for streaming on Soundcloud, and I decided not to wait to include it in our next new-music round-up tomorrow.
The name of the song hasn’t been disclosed, and the release on which it will appear is equally mysterious. Once details have been publicly divulged, I’m sure we’ll help spread the word. For now, the song sample was accompanied only by this message, which hints at the participation of others in this forthcoming release: Continue reading »
(Once again we invited Semjaza, the main man behind the superb Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade, to share with us his lists of favorite releases from 2015, and we thank him for doing so.)
No need for a truly lengthy introduction since this is my second list at No Clean Singing, but here is the music that I enjoyed most during 2015.
There is much great music and too little time, therefore, lock yourselves in your home, listen, buy, and play music (read and meditate as well). Then, go outside in the wilderness for more inspiration, away from the vermin and towards the black earth.
I will hereby present my eleven most important albums of 2015, along with some other ones that I cherished this year. Apart from my ultimate best album, which is “The Book of Souls” by Iron Maiden, there is no particular order in the following list. Continue reading »
We present Part 16 in the continuing rollout of our list of 2014′s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. For more details about what this list is all about and how it was compiled, read the introductory post via this link. For the other songs we’ve previously named to the list, go here.
Yes, it’s true that we had twerking and clean singing in the last installment of this list. But today we’re getting back to music that’s incinerating, and it burns with a black flame.
THY DARKENED SHADE
In Liber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet, the Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade created one of the year’s best albums. The music is intricate, technically impressive, and completely engrossing throughout the album’s extensive length — and it’s alive with passion and blazing energy.
The album is also home to one of the year’s most infectious extreme metal songs — “Revival Through Arcane Skins”. As I wrote in my review, one of the album’s most arresting features is the prominence and nimbleness of the bass, and that’s definitely a striking feature of this song in particular — that, and the jaw-dropping guitar and drum performances. Continue reading »