AN NCS PREMIERE: XENOSIS — “PROPHETIC BLIGHT”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Aug 172021
 

 

The Connecticut-based death metal band Xenosis released their third album Devour and Birth in early 2018. Since then, the band has changed, with a revised lineup that now includes second guitarist Keith Benway as well as new bassist and backing vocalist Craig Breitsprecher (of Fires in the Distance), as well as guitarist Kenny Bullard, vocalist Sal Bova, and drummer Gary Marotta (Archaic Decapitator). And with these new members on board, the band’s music has changed as well.

These changes are reflected in the latest Xenosis album, Paralled Existence, which is set for release on October 1st. It would go too far to say that Xenosis have radically transformed themselves — their backbone is still made of a particularly head-spinning brand of technical death metal. But the changes are nonetheless apparent, with greater roles for progressive-metal excursions and groove. We have a prime example in the song we’re premiering today, “Prophetic Blight“. Continue reading »

AUSTIN WEBER’S BEST OF 2015 SO FAR: PRIME CUTS FROM THE UNDERGROUND OF THE UNDERGROUND (PART 4)

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Jul 222015
 

Acrania art

 

(Here’s the final installment in a multi-part post that began last week, in which Austin Weber brings us his recommendations for some of the best albums released during the first half of the year. Part 1 is at this location, Part 2 is here, and Part 3 is here.)

Acrania

I know what some of you are thinking, that this is the somewhat well-known slam band from the UK who are also named Acrania. Well, it’s not. In fact, the UK Acrania broke up recently, and the one we are here to discuss today is based in Mexico City, having been a band far longer than the other Acrania anyways.

I first became acquainted with Fearless due to Eliran Kantor’s painted cover, which the artist shared on Facebook long before the album’s release. Yet, shamefully. I only got a chance to check out the record very recently. I’m really glad I did, because Acrania have a very interesting sound and take on mixing the old with the outlandish in pursuit of something new. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: CANDLEMASS, ENTOMBED, LIVING SACRIFICE, AND XENOSIS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jan 052013
 

We’ve picked up a lot of new readers over the last couple of weeks, so for their benefit let me explain what others have already figured out about our news reporting: We make no effort to be comprehensive. We don’t cut and paste every press release we get. Actually, we don’t cut and paste any news releases. We write our own thoughts, and what we write about is filtered through my mind and occasionally the minds of our other writers when they message me about something they think is interesting.

So, for better or worse, what you see here is what we think is interesting, according to our tastes. And here are a few items I saw and heard over the last 24 hours that interested me.

CANDLEMASS vs ENTOMBED

Candlemass and Entombed are two Swedish bands who have reached near-legendary status in distinctly different corners of the metal spectrum, Candlemass in the realms of doom and Entombed in the fields of death metal and death ‘n’ roll (though over time Entombed has plowed other fields as well).

Someone at Sweden Rock Magazine, the country’s top-selling music magazine, had the bright idea of asking each band to cover one of the other band’s songs. The result will be a CD single exclusively included with the magazine’s 100th issue that will be sent to subscribers on January 8. For now at least, it won’t be available elsewhere. But fortunately, as of today both tracks are up on YouTube. Continue reading »