NO CLEAN SINGING

PLÈVRE – CITÉ MOUROIR

Sep 172026

(Andy Synn takes a journey through a dying city with France’s Plèvre)

This… is not the review I was supposed to be posting today.

No, that review will now be coming next week, due to the fact that – just as I was coming to the end of the writing process – I was approached by one of my contacts with an offer for an exclusive premiere for that very same album that I/we simply couldn’t refuse.

Of course, this left me with something of a dilemma… what was I going to write about for today instead?

Thankfully my ever-expanding “to do” list furnished me with numerous options, some of which I’ll hopefully still be able to get to after this (even if only as part of my regular “Things You May Have Missed” round-up at the end of the month), with the fascinatingly dark debut from French Post-Black foursome Plèvre (which comes out tomorrow) ultimately demanding my attention (and, hopefully, yours) the most.

AN NCS PREMIERE: ORB (OCCULT RENEGADE BASTARDS) — “FIRST FROST”

Premieres No Responses »

Sep 172026

(written by Islander)

Today we help spread the word about a new Philadelphia-based band — a new band, but formed by people who aren’t newcomers to heavy music. The name of the band is ORB (which stands for Occult Renegade Bastards), and it’s the joint effort of vocalist Lord Gourd (aka Lord Klauf from Morgul Blade) and Jim Viola (also from Morgul Blade, and a member of Wild Beyond) on guitars, bass and keyboards. On their debut album they were joined by session drummer Miles Ziskind.

That album, Supernatural Season, is a fitting celebration of the time of year we’re about to enter here in the northern hemisphere. As the band describe, it’s “A veneration to all that is autumnal, nocturnal, and supernatural” — a journey into “the Land of Forever Autumn”.

Of course, as you can already tell from the album’s cover art and those references to nocturnal and supernatural happenings, the album is especially suited to a particular night that lies ahead of us in October, and its October 23 release date will make it available in time for that parting of the veils that will occur on October 31st.

As for what ORB’s music sounds like, we have an example in our premiere today of its second single, “First Frost“. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ILLWIND

Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews No Responses »

Sep 172026

(This past July Personal Records released a fine debut album [for which we did a premiere] by the Peruvian band Illwind, whose lineup was forged from members of some top South American bands such as Reino Ermitaño, Cobra, Arcada, and Argul. The album provided the impetus for our Comrade Aleks to re-connect with Illwind’s Marcos Koifman, and that produced the following excellent interview with him.)

About 10-15 years ago, the Peruvian band Reino Ermitaño was well-known to doom metal fans. The aesthetics of shamanic rituals, textured riffs, subtle psychedelia, bassist Marcos Koifman’s expressive artwork, and Tanya Duarte’s vocals among other features set the band apart from their contemporaries. Reino Ermitaño was disbanded, and its members joined new outfits, yet Marcos Koifman made his manifest only now with the new doom-act Illwind.

From the ten-minute heroic doom metal anthem “Crimson Skies”, and the down-to-earth “Wanderer” or “Portal,” to the droning stoner-armored “God of Sleep” and the hypnotic “Lucifer’s Mule”, Illwind proves their intention to make something special and refreshing for the underground Doom Cult. It was a proper reason to interview Marcos, as Illwind’s debut album The Unfolding at the End of Light did not go unnoticed for both NCS co-writers and dedicated readers.

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: WYRDSTÆF — “PRIMORDIAL BLOODLINES”

Premieres No Responses »

Sep 162026

(written by Islander)

On September 4th of this year the Apocalyptic Witchcraft label released Primordial Bloodlines, the debut album from UK-based Wyrdstæf, a band whose music is described as “atmospheric blackened tribal metal band”, and what we have for you today is the premiere of an evocative lyric video for the album’s title song.

The inspiration for both the band and their first full-length is worth describing at length, because it provides important insights into what you’re about to see and hear. To do that, we’ll excerpt the following eloquent passages from the materials circulated by Apocalyptic Witchcraft: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CUTTERRED FLESH — “THE LETTER U”

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Sep 162026

(written by Islander)

Today we again find ourselves in the favored position of premiering a song from an album by the long-running Czech death metal band Cutterred Flesh.

We have done this twice before, for each of their two most recent albums before this newest one. The last time, three years ago, we praised “the band’s capacity for inflicting bombastic, mind-mauling, and terrifically brutalizing punishment, while also throwing in unexpected changes that keep listeners perched on their toes.” And lo and behold, they are doing that again.

The name of their new album is The Shapes of Hidden Malice, and it will be released by Transcending Obscurity Records on November 13th. Each song on the record represents a unique horror story inspired by classic authors. In the band’s words: “They dissect the mechanisms of fear and translate them into sound”.

The song we have for you today (the fourth single to be revealed so far) is “The Letter U“. Continue reading »

NOVAE MILITIAE: “APOCRYPHON OF THE UNBORN LIGHT”

Album Reviews No Responses »

Sep 162026

(We present Daniel Barkasi’s enthusiastic review of a new album by the French black metal band Novae Militiae, which is set for release by Serpent Sun Records on September 18th.)

When it comes to conversations about the top-tier creators of black metal, there are certainly plenty of names that get thrown out. You’ll hear Misþryming and Darvaza come out of my mouth quite a bit, and we could absolutely throw out quite a list of bands that hit the proverbial spot, but that’s not the point.

Rather, a number exist that should get talked about far more often than they do. Today, that changes, at least for us, with Novae Militiae, the mysterious and dedicated French curators who have been strengthening with each subsequent release since their 2011 EP Affliction of the Divine. Having since unfurled two full-lengths of unmistakable quality since that fiery debut, the group has momentum on their side. Most recently, Topheth engulfed the senses with a monstrous, fierce quality that was coarse and oddly psychedelic in a raging sort of manner. An album which no doubt left an impression.

That was six years ago, however, and it’s been relatively quiet in their camp, until now. Aligning with the burgeoning Serpent Sun Records, who seemingly can’t release anything that’s less than stellar since their founding last year, they present us Apocryphon of the Unborn Light. To say the ascent continues is a gross understatement; this is a record of immense impetus and fuming intensity that aims to overwhelm to the point of the listener wondering what the hell just happened. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BONE EATER — “PARASITES OF DEAD EARTH”

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Sep 152026

(written by Islander)

Bone Eater is a New Brunswick-based death/doom/sludge unit, led as a solo outing by the multi-instrumentalist Scott Miller. Formed in 2021, it takes its name from a worm that bores into the bones of rotting whale carcasses to feed off of them.

Bone Eater released its debut EP MMXXII in 2022. And now, on September 18th, Bone Eater will release its second EP, MMXXVI. This one will be compiled with the debut release and put out via Ancient Temple Recordings and Phage Tapes on vinyl and CD, and through Doomshire Tapes and Crypt Death Mortuary on tape.

The new EP is a two-song offering, but it’s a substantial one, with each song reaching beyond the 10-minute mark. The EP is also a devastating, take-no-prisoners destroyer, as you’ll begin to discover through our video premiere of its first song, “Parasites of Dead Earth“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ORBITA — “NÈKYIA”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 4 Responses »

Sep 152026

(written by Islander)

The porous “rule” in our site’s title is about to have another hole punched in it, a very big hole that will leave it bleeding. Which is to say that the vocals in the song we’re about to premiere include naught but singing — though the singing soars to shattering heights of anguish and agony, much as the song as a whole does.

The name of the song is “Nèkyia“, and it’s from the debut album of the Italian band Orbita, which is set for international release on October 9th by Aural Music. The album’s title could easily stand in for the moods of the song — Farewell to All We’ve Lost. Continue reading »

HORIZON ABLAZE – LIVETS HØST

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Sep 152026

(Andy Synn catches up with a long-time NCS favourite and their long-awaited new album, out now)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but eight years is a pretty long time to go between albums.

Hell, in the last eight years I’ve attended multiple weddings (including my own), been to more funerals than I’d like, gained new friends, lost some others, and travelled to more countries than I can currently name off the top of my head.

What I’m saying is that a lot can change in eight years, so the Horizon Ablaze of 2026 is, inevitably, not the same band they were in 2018… both in terms of their overall line-up (with previous bassist Ole Madsen now replaced by former live-guitarist Jan Laksesvela) and in relation to how they’ve all changed and grown as people during the near-decade long gap between releases.

But, you know what they say… the more things change, the more they stay the same.

GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, END-OF-SUMMER EDITION

Album Reviews No Responses »

Sep 152026

(Our Denver-based writer Gonzo had an eventful summer, and reported on some of those events in our pages, but he now returns to reviewing and recommending albums — six of them released earlier this year.)

Well, fuck.

To say the past three months have been busy would be my own personal understatement of the year. Said months included, in no particular order: My wedding, three festivals, one World Cup road trip, one trip to North Carolina to see Acid Bath at a brand-new venue in Asheville, and other random adventures I’m somehow blanking on. June now seems like a blurry haze, July was like a metalhead’s paradise, and August was mostly spent recovering.

As a result, life forced me to break routines and generally fall behind on business as usual this summer. Among the normal routines I broke: Posting my usual monthly roundup here. And like any routine, once it’s broken, it’s hard to get back on the horse and continue riding. As it turns out, my will to write prevails.

But now that we’re about 75% of the way through 2026, it’s been quite the year for heavy music—much of which we’ve already covered here. The following five albums are some of the best I’ve heard during that stretch that still slipped through the cracks. Continue reading »

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