AN NCS PREMIERE: GORGATRON — “TURMOIL”

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Nov 132026
 

(written by Islander)

The last time we hosted a premiere for North Dakota’s Gorgotron, in the context of a 2022 pandemic-spawned EP (Agony Reborn), we summed it up as “a blood-rushing death metal song that’s both powerfully groove-some and maniacally unhinged — and as catchy as Chlamydia too”. They followed that with their fourth album, Sentience Revoked, and now a fifth one is on the horizon.

The name of the new album is Turmoil, and as that title suggests, it was the product of turbulent events — and it was fueled by anger. Or at least that’s the conclusion we’ve drawn from bandmember comments about the album’s title track, which we’re premiering today in advance of the album’s December 11 release by Time To Kill Records. Before we get to the song, here are those comments: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BALANCE OF TERROR — “MORBID GLUTTONY”

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Nov 132026
 

(written by Islander)

It has been a long wait for more music from the French death/grind band Balance of Terror. They released their World Laboratory debut album in the summer of 2017, and then fell silent, at least in terms of recordings, until now. But at last they will have their second album released on December 11th by Transcending Obscurity Records.

The name of the album is Addicted To Any Kind Of Rot. That title sends a certain kind of hungry chemical signal into the brains of people who relish morbid musical filth. Some of the song names reinforce those signals, while others also add expectations of drunkenness and delirium.

But we should tell you right away that Balance of Terror’s new music is more crafty and creative than these superficial impressions might lead you to believe, and you’ll get first-hand evidence of that in the song we’re now premiering: “Morbid Gluttony“. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA BEGINS: THE DECIBEL TOP 40 FOR 2026

 LISTMANIA 2026, Metal News  1 Response »
Nov 132026
 

(written by Islander)

Well, holy shit, is it already time here on only the 13th day of November to begin our site’s annual LISTMANIA orgy? Lo and behold, it is.

It has become an annual (and reflexive) tradition at our humble site to launch our year-end LISTMANIA series with the appearance of DECIBEL mag’s Top 40 list, because they always seem to burst from the starting gate sooner than anyone else — and they’ve done it again this year, just in time for us to share it on this Friday the 13th.

I need to repeat, of course, that the reason we also use their list as the launching point for all of our own forthcoming YE features is because, in my humble opinion, DECIBEL is still the best print publication out there for fans of extreme metal. Also, their list always generates healthy discussions (and sometimes unhealthy ones), so it’s still a fitting way to launch the latest LISTMANIA season apart from their list’s early-bird status.

The DECIBEL 2026 list will officially appear in the magazine’s January 2027 edition (which can be ordered here and includes a cover story on Cro-Mags frontman Harley Flanagan celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Age of Quarrel, a Hall of Fame on YOB’s Clearing the Path to Ascend, interviews with the artists who rank near and at the top of the list, an exclusive new Mother of Graves flexi disc, and writers’ commentary about the Top 40 list), but DECIBEL again decided (for the 12th year in a row) to scoop their own list rather than letting leeches like me leak it. They published the list on-line yesterday, and so I can now again re-publish their list without too much guilt, beyond the sheepishness that comes from being one of the factors that forced them to start outing themselves in the first place. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CONCRETE GHOSTS — “ECHOES OF THE DEAD WORLD”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 122026
 

(written by Islander)

We don’t know precisely why the relatively new Finnish band Concrete Ghosts chose their name, but they have left clues. They describe their mission as musically documenting the slow-motion erosion of the human mind and spirit within modern structures, capturing “the precise, horrific moment where the individual is hollowed out by the very environment they are forced to inhabit”, becoming shells of what they once were.

Their thematic landscape is thus a “concrete coffin” filled with “ashen whispers” and “nauseating chemical fumes of false hope”. As further described by their label Fetzner Death Records, they document “the parasitic nature of modern life”. They stand “in the center of this human-made horror” and from that perspective “translate the crushing weight of isolation into a balance of raw aggression and layered, melancholic atmosphere” through “a bleak, chromatic production that acts as a personal record of the world’s spirit failing in real-time”.

These descriptions are based on Concrete Ghost’s debut album Echoes of the Dead World, which Fetzner Death has set for release tomorrow (February 13th) — and which we are premiering in full below. Of course, we have our own impressions to share about the music, and another way of understanding the band’s name based on what we hear. Continue reading »

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Nov 122026
 

(Andy Synn has another handful of recommendations from last month that you may have overlooked)

I told you last time that I was going to do another edition of “Things You May Have Missed” at some point this month, and while I was delayed a little by my trip to Damnation Festival (and the subsequent festival flu that I’m currently fighting) I always… well, mostly… do what I say I’m going to.

Of course, even with another four entries – bringing the total up to eight – there’s still lots that I haven’t been able to write about, so if you get chance to check out Black Royal, Coal & Crayon, Dethroned, Detresse, Dread Witch, Litost, Minenfeld, Sneglefeber, Throes, Urarv, and Veret you should absolutely do so.

Before then, however, here’s four more releases from October that I really, really recommend you listen to when you get chance.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DIE SÜNDE — “EFFEMERIDI”

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Nov 112026
 

(written by Islander)

Building upon a pair of EPs (Die Sünde and Strega), the Italian post-black metal band Die Sünde have created a debut album named Effemeridi that will be released this coming Friday, November 13th, by Time To Kill Records, and we are in the fortunate position of sharing all of it with you today.

Both the album’s name and its intriguing cover art connect with both the evolution of the band’s music and the deeper meaning of their new songs. With regard to the music, Die Sünde explain:

“Effemeridi are tables that reveal the position of an astronomical body at a given moment. They are consulted when navigation is needed and there are no other points of reference. In that sense, this album was a way for us to mark our position four years after the release of Strega, to understand where we were and in which direction we were heading.

As for the deeper meanings behind the nautical references, Die Sünde have shared these words: Continue reading »

THY CATAFALQUE: “XIII: SÁRGA ERDŐ”

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Nov 112026
 

(On November 20th Season of Mist will release a new album by Thy Catafalque, and that eagerly awaited event has brought our old friend Professor D. Grover the XIIIth back to us, as this band always does, with the following review.)

Greetings and salutations, friends. Once more, the impending release of a new Thy Catafalque album activates me like a sleeper agent and sends me into review mode. XIII: Sárga Erdő represents the 13th full-length Thy Catafalque album, keeping with the Roman numeral sequencing started on the last album (not to mention a Roman numeral particularly close to my blackened heart), and it finds the band as a well-established live act. Tamás Kátai, still the driving force and sole member of Thy Catafalque (as far as the studio goes), has surrounded himself with a steady cohort of live musicians and has fully assumed live bass duties.

On XIII, as with previous albums, Kátai handles guitar, bass, keyboards, and some vocals. Also as on previous albums, Kátai features a number of guest musicians, here a staggering 34 different people, plus a 20-voice men’s choir on ‘Cseremisz’. Continue reading »

AN NCS DEMO PREMIERE: XEROPOLIS — “PROMO 2026”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 102026
 

(written by Islander)

G.E.F., the artist driving such musical vehicles as Thecodontion and Clactonian, and the proprietor of the Prehistoric Sounds label, has created a new band named Xeropolis. In this new endeavor he uses the name Sangu Anticu, which is Sicilian for “Ancient Blood”, and is joined by multi-instrumentalist Kris Vudz (from Skialykon). Their first recording is a demo named Promo 2026 that we’re premiering in full today in advance of its release by Prehistoric Sounds this coming Friday, November 13th.

G.E.F. has explained the thematic focus of Xeropolis: “The band’s name comes from Greek and roughly means ‘dry city’. We’ve sought to portray the landscapes of the Mediterranean (particularly Sicily) in a different light: no longer lush and flourishing landscapes, but arid and desolate images stretching out under a scorching sun, in a land that seems to offer no hope.”

In line with this theme G.E.F. voices the lyrics entirely in Sicilian. Musically, he introduces the songs as “black metal with punk influences, inspired by bands such as Ildjarn and Darkthrone, among others”, but explains that the Xeropolis interpretation of the genre “is a sort of reversal of the perspective of the Norwegian bands of the 1990s: in addition to the themes, which suggest a climate diametrically opposed to Scandinavian winters, we opted for a scorching production to emphasize this aspect.” Continue reading »

WALLS OF JERICHO – SYTEM ERROR: HUMANITY

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Nov 102026
 

(Andy Synn finds very few errors on the new album from Walls of Jericho, out this Friday)

If you’re a fan of Metallic Hardcore – or what we used to call “Metalcore” before the term got bastardised into having little to do with its actual roots – then you’ve been eating well this year.

Not only is the modern scene still as vital, as vibrant, and as vicious as ever, but 2026 has also treated us to the resurrection of 100 Demons with their first album in 20 years (Embrace the Black Light), a stunning return to form from Hatebreed (Fatal Paradox) and is now about to bless our ears with the long-awaited, highly-anticipated revival of the one and only Walls of Jericho with their first new full-length in a decade.

And what do you know? It turns out that revival really does never goes out of style.

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SEID — “URSEIÐR”

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Nov 102026
 

(written by Islander)

Over the last decade the Swedish black metal band Seid have released five albums, with a sixth one named Dystopolis set for release by ATMF on December 11th. Thematically, they have built a reputation for delving into ancient Norse lore and Viking culture. Musically, they have demonstrated creative progression, sometimes in quite unexpected ways.

The themes of the new album are worth considering before we get to the main point of this feature, which is the premiere of a song from the new album named “Urdseiðr“. Here is how ATMF’s press materials describe them: Continue reading »

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