LISTMANIA 2025: A YEAR-END TOP 25 LIST FROM NCS WRITER CHILE

 LISTMANIA 2025  1 Response »
Dec 192025
 

(Norway-based metal writer Chile joined our cadre roughly 13 months ago, a bit too late (or too soon) to participate in last year’s LISTMANIA orgy, but he does so this year with an excellent list of 25 albums that helped make 2025 a great year for metal.)

2025, eh? Bloody hell. We’ve felt the dissociation induced by the constant barrage of whatever was going wrong with the world on that particular day. We’ve felt the joy of new beginnings and the desperation of old wounds clawing at our serenity. We’ve felt compassion for the suffering of others, but were sometimes too helpless to act. There was 4 AM whiskey-soaked wisdom, there was bloody-knuckled politics.

We’ve made mistakes, and tried making some of them right again. Some by the grace of others, some we will take to our graves. The clouds passed by, and the days beneath them are passing still. We’re only human, after all. And in the midst of it all, there was the pure, thaumaturgical elation that metal brings to our lives and like all addictions compels us to come back for more. So here we are again. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: FAYENNE — “PRIMORDIAL SURFACE”

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Dec 192025
 

(written by Islander)

This marks our second encounter with the Swedish black metal band Fayenne. The first occasion (and one not soon forgotten) was their 2019 demo Ancient Womb of Mercury, about which I frothed at the mouth thusly:

“In these three tracks, Fayenne come for your throat, teeth bared and blood boiling. But while the light-speed drum blasting, beautifully vibrant bass, wild, spinning riffs, and howling, hate-filled vocals burn like a wildfire out of control, there’s a lot more going on in the songs than a soundtrack to the Wild Hunt.

“The reverberating leads (both darting and sinuous) are exhilarating, and have the sorcerous feel of black magic incantations, and there’s both classic heavy metal bombast and blood-pumping thrash in the riffing. The songs also manifest rhythmic dynamism as the momentum turns from racing to d-beat-like gallops or the stateliness of a grim but solemn procession.

“Ancient Womb of Mercury is a great blend of styles, black metal being only one of them, and even at only three tracks it will kick your adrenaline into overdrive.”

I and many others hoped for more Fayenne tirades, but we’ve had to bide our time. At last, however, Fayenne are returning, and with a debut full-length that’s now set for an MC release on February 26, 2026, by Void Wanderer Productions. The album’s name is The Calling From The Depth. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: EARD — “QUIESCENCE (YULE)”

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Dec 192025
 

(written by Islander)

This coming Sunday, December 21st, is the Winter Solstice, a day of both practical and mystical significance. In scientific terms, it marks the beginning of astronomical winter in the northern hemisphere. When the sun is out, the shadows will be the longest of the year because of the sun’s low angle above the horizon, and the night will also be the longest. Above the Arctic Circle there will be no daylight at all. After this solstice the days will slowly begin to grow longer until the Summer Solstice arrives.

In less verifiably measurable terms the day is a symbol of rebirth and the beginning of light’s return. It has been identified and commemorated by ancient civilizations (witness the alignment of such monuments as Stonehenge in England, Newgrange in Ireland, the Goseck Circle in Germany, and the Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak) and celebrated for many millennia with festivals, including Yule (a word whose origins and forms are likewise ancient).

To honor the day and celebrate Yule in their own way, the Italian atmospheric black metal duo Eard will release a new song on the Winter Solstice this year. Its name is “Quiescence (Yule)“. As they explain, “Yule marks the return of the light at the heart of the year’s longest night, and the song embodies the hush before rebirth.” Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: OLDE OUTLIER

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Dec 192025
 

(Today is the day when Iron Bonehead Productions releases the debut album by the eldritch Australian death metal band Olde Outlier, and coincidentally it is the day when we publish the following excellent interview by our Comrade Aleks of the Olde Outlier songwriter and current drummer Beau Duer.)

The Australian group Olde Outlier is the successor to the disbanded death-black metal act Innsmouth, whose members already had years of experience cutting extreme metal. The names of these underground scene veterans are Beau Duer (drums), Ben Askew (guitars), Mark Appleton (vocals), and Greenbank (bass). Together they bring back to life the spirit of early ’90s death metal, with a lean toward rough death-doom in the spirit of early Tiamat, resulting in four solid, well-developed tracks.

The first track, “The Revellers,” is a good start: eight minutes of inventively performed, focused, old-school death metal, but with pure, abstract, atmospheric melodies. The ravenous mid-tempo “The Sounding of Hooves” quickly transports us into the catacombs of Paradise Lost-esque death-doom, and it’s not the only time Olde Outlier changes the track’s direction in its 11-minute runtime. “Swept” doesn’t disappoint either, captivating us with its unabashed retro charm, embedded in the instrumentation, the melody, and the vocalist’s raspy growl. The technically proficient “From Shallow Lives to Shallow Graves” exudes the innocence of the extreme metal scene’s early years, as does the closing track, “All Is Bright.”

But I’m not going to do another review, as we had a conversation with Beau himself, so here’s a better narrator regarding Olde Outlier and everything around it. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: INVICTUS — “WANDERING ASHDREAM”

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Dec 182025
 

(written by Islander)

We’re about to spill a considerable volume of words about a single song of death metal that ends just shy of the four-minute mark, because it is such an explosive reminder that even the last month of the year is a bad time to sleep on new music.

The song is “Wandering Ashdream” and it’s from the forthcoming second album by the Japanese band Invictus which will be released next month by Memento Mori and Me Saco Un Ojo. As mentioned, it’s the kind of track that inspires a great flooding of words, but the album as a whole does the same thing, witness these portions of the labels’ press statement about the record: Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2025: A YEAR-END LIST FROM SEB PAINCHAUD (TUMBLEWEED DEALER)

 LISTMANIA 2025  1 Response »
Dec 182025
 

(For the 10th year in a row (but who’s counting?) we’re delighted to share a year-end music list from Canadian musician Seb Painchaud — whose band Tumbleweed Dealer finally came out with a new album this year! “Eclectic” has always been the first word that comes to mind in perusing Seb’s lists, and as you’ll discover, this year is no different. )

In this day and age, releasing music is like screaming into the abyss, except the echoes of your screams are interrupted by ICE advertisements. So, let’s give a nod to not only the following releases that grabbed my attention this year, but to every artist participating in the futile process of vomiting their art into this digital age. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: AFSKY

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Dec 182025
 


photo by Naya Buch

(In October of this year the Eisenwald label released a new album (Fællesskab) by the Danish black metal band Afsky, and that led our Comrade Aleks to reach out for an interview with Ole Pedersen Luk, which we present today.)

Arguably the most promising black metal entity in the Danish realm, Afsky still exists as a solo project, although its founder, Ole Pedersen Luk, toured with guest musicians in the fall of 2025 to support the release of his fourth full-length Fællesskab. While Afsky’s previous albums have displayed Ole’s interest in ancient literature and history in general, in his new songs Ole offers a critical assessment of modern society, going somewhat beyond banal misanthropy.

However, Ole has, again, framed his views on society in a universal format. The six tracks on Fællesskab are written in the spirit of harsh yet melodic black metal, with an extremely focused and intense delivery. This unique poetic perception of reality, coupled with perfectionism and, to some extent, a talent for storytelling, allowed Ole to articulate his ideas into a coherent artistic narrative.

At first, it seems like piercing vocals, signature black metal tremolos, and high-speed riffs leave little room for stylistic variation, and yet ghostly folk motifs flit by like shadows across a couple of tracks, and although all these features could be met in different proportions in a few up-to-date black metal albums, Ole managed to keep his original vision of black metal as it is. Due to the tour’s schedule it wasn’t that easy, but finally here it is – an interview with Ole himself. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2025: A TOP 20 LIST FROM WIL CIFER

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Dec 172025
 

(We present NCS writer Wil Cifer’s list of the Top 20 metal albums of 2025.)

Still waiting on the world to end, this slow-burning apocalypse is more like the awkward silent pauses in a David Lynch movie. And much like this unease, 2025 felt like an odd year in music to me, but in the fifth year of every decade, there is a shift, so that transition is being felt for sure. Not as death metal dominant as last year’s list, and more balanced genre-wise, really only one entry rides the line on what is metal, but it’s sonically heavy enough to belong here.

With my neuro-spicy brain, these kinds of lists can be a bit of an obsessive sticking point for me that can lead down a rabbit hole of procrastination until I feel it’s perfect. Though the funny thing is, perfect does not exist, so I chose between obsession and acceptance, and accepted the fact I would just go with the albums I listened to the most, since at the end of the day, if you only give an album a couple of spins it really matters little what the Anthony Fantano’s of the world think about it if it does not resonate with you and hook you in. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: VOID MONUMENTS — “THE SIGN OF BLASPHEMY”

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Dec 172025
 

(written by Islander)

Occasionally in these premiere features we dive right into the music we’re showcasing, just for the pure hell of it, and then afterward come back and give you some details about who’s doing it and where the music comes from. This is one of those times.

The name of the death metal song you’re about to hear is “The Sign of Blasphemy“, and it’s as brazenly wicked at its core as that title signifies. It’s also vicious, poisonous, revelrous, frighteningly sinister, grimly oppressive, supernaturally chilling, furiously bone-smashing, and so well-written that it quickly drives its many fiendish hooks deep into a listener’s head. Continue reading »

THE BEST OF THE OUTSIDE: A 2025 LIST BY NEILL JAMESON

 LISTMANIA 2025  4 Responses »
Dec 172025
 


photo by Kassandra Carmona

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson (of Krieg) has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s doing so again this year.)

If you’ve paid any attention over the last few years the first thing you’ll notice is my hair looks fucking wonderful, thank you. You’ll also notice this is my only list for the site this year. It’s actually my only list for any site besides my Substack, where the entirety of my list is, for better or worse. Since you asked, I’ve spent the better part of the year trying to carve that out as my main place where I drop the shit that falls out of my head. And what a year it’s been. Jesus Christ.

I don’t need to really tell the readers of this site why this year has been a motherfucker because I’m pretty sure the bulk of you didn’t vote for it. But it just seems like 2025, more than most, will not make too many “best years of my/your life” lists, whenever those get posted, April probably.

If we want to focus on whatever “positives” came out of this year, the main theme has been a massive flow of quality music, regardless of what genre you’re into. I don’t really remember a year starting so strongly and finishing with the same gusto, or zest if you will. I could have had a top 40 by fucking May. But the subtheme (minor to this year’s major? I haven’t slept in two days) is the amount of outsider records that came through the gates, artists who really stopped giving a fuck about convention and decided that rules were merely a suggestion, which can either be intoxicating or infuriating, especially if you have no patience for whimsy like me.

So for my contribution to the grand tradition of No Clean Singing lists which, frankly, are always outsider to the norms of the metal journalistic masses anyway, I wanted to focus on bands who colored outside the lines, either in their forms or in what expectations people may have had for them. 

And with that, let’s get cracking. Continue reading »

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