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SHORT BUT SWEET: THE LONE MADMAN —“DREARY TASK”
(In this post Grant Skelton reviews the new EP by Finland’s The Lone Madman — an exception to our “rule”.) “…Finland has perhaps the most heavy metal bands in the world, per capita…” If President...
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AN NCS PREMIERE: ILL OMEN AND SLAUGHTBBATH —“PESTILENTIAL HIEROPHANIES”
Two striking black metal bands separated by the Pacific have joined forces in a new split release coming out tomorrow on 7″ vinyl from Iron Bonehead Productions. The split’s title, Pestilential...
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BENEATH THE NCS RADAR (PART 14): EP SPECIAL
(We welcome you to the glorious 14th part of our Norwegian comrade Gorger’s highlighting of releases we haven’t previously reviewed. To find more of his discoveries, visit Gorger’s Metal.) I’ve got...
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AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): INERT —“OBLITERATION OF THE SELF”
One week ago we premiered the title track from Obliteration of the Self, the debut EP by an insurgent death metal duo who call themselves Inert, and today we deliver a full stream of the entire EP,...
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SHORT BUT SWEET: JUST BEFORE DAWN —“THE GHOSTS OF THE EASTERN FRONT”
The Swedish death metal war machine Just Before Dawn has already given the world two excellent albums (Precis innan gryningen (2013) and The Aftermath (2014)), and the first installment in a trilogy...
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AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): AU CHAMP DES MORTS —“JOUR SE LÉVE”
In April we were privileged to bring you the premiere of the title track to Le Jour Se Lève, the debut EP of a precocious French band named Au Champ Des Morts, and today we share with you a stream...
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SHORT BUT SWEET: ALMYRKVI —“PUPIL OF THE SEARING MAELSTROM”
(In this post Andy Synn reviews the new EP by Iceland’s Almyrkvi, now available on Bandcamp.) Black Metal has a long history of dealing with darkness in all its many forms… so it’s not surprising...
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SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): BLACK FUNERAL, WARFIST, VETURHEIM, REST, ALRUIN, ELK
Well, I’m two days late with this post. My original plan was to follow Part 1, which appeared on Sunday, with this Part 2 on Monday. But I got busy posting other things both Monday and Tuesday, and...
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SHORT BUT SWEET: CONJURER —“I”
(Andy Synn reviews the new EP by Conjurer, which will be released on July 1 by Holy Roar Records.) We all know by now that hype can be a double-edged sword. Certainly it can serve to drum up some...
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DEATH RITUALS: VERBUM, OROBAS, AUM, TIDES OF SULFUR, UNCANNY REALITY
I meant to post this yesterday, but my job continues to mess with me. What I did here was to collect some new singles and a couple of new EPs that I found two nights ago while using the internet to...
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AN NCS PREMIERE: PEQUOD —“FALSE DIVINITY”
“Explosive” is a good one-word summary of False Divinity, the new EP by Germany’s Pequod that’s set for release on July 5th. “Vortic-Death-Thrash”, which is the band’s own label for their music, is...
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SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): KAMPFAR, AXIOMA, TODESSUCHT, HELLBRINGER
Yesterday I posted the first half of what was supposed to be a two-part post collecting recent advance tracks and full releases in a blackened vein that I wanted to recommend to you. When I finished...
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AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DIABOLICAL —“UMBRA”
Diabolical’s new EP Umbra — which we give you the chance to hear in full today — is a multifaceted obsidian gem. Atmospherically forbidding and possessed of a grim, doomed grandeur for most of its...
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AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): EVIL PRIEST (SELF-TITLED EP)
Caligari Records has unearthed yet another underground gem, this time excavating the self-titled debut EP of Peruvian death-bringers Evil Priest from the dank pit of abomination where they dwell. In...
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SHORT BUT SWEET: THE COMANCHEROS —“FOUR HORSEMEN”
(Andy Synn reviews the debut EP by The Comancheros, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri.) As my third and final entry this week on the theme of bands beginning with “The” I’m venturing a little bit...
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SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): HEAVEN SHALL BURN, ALLEGAEON, SEPUTUS, ORPHALIS,...
In yesterday’s Part 1 of this large round-up, I said I would post Part 2 later the same day. Someday I will learn that part-time metal bloggers who have actual paying jobs and/or families who...
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AN NCS PREMIERE: UROBILINEMIA —“WRIGGLING CHRYSALIS OF METAPHYSICAL GRUDGE”
You’re about to hear the new EP of a monstrous Japanese band named Urobilinemia, which will be released by Gore House Productions on July 22. It’s a bit outside our usual wheelhouse(s). In fact, as...
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AN NCS PREMIERE: BENT SEA / TO DUST —“ASCEND / DESCEND”
For those who may be unfamiliar with the two bands who participated in the split release you’re about to hear — Bent Sea and To Dust — their collective rosters include current and former members of...
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SHADES OF BLACK: WINDFAERER, MAR MORTUUM, HIDING, ANTHRO HALAUST, AEGRUS,...
Greetings from Seattle and welcome to another edition of Shades of Black. I wasn’t able to prepare one of these installments last Sunday due to fucking off, so I’ve accumulated an especially large...
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AN NCS PREMIERE: DAEDALVS —“APOTHEOSIS”
Daedalvs are a four-man death metal band from Charlotte, North Carolina, whose debut EP Apotheosis is being released today via Bandcamp, and we’re helping spread the word by providing a full stream...
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