SHADES OF BLACK: IRREVERSIBLE MECHANISM

 SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Sep 272026
 

(written by Islander)

As you can see, I have the music of only one band for you today, and only one of their songs rather than a complete release. This is because I have to leave my home and the virtual world (two different places, it may surprise you to know) very early today and didn’t have time to make a head-start yesterday.

I’m again venturing across Puget Sound to join friends for the viewing of a football game featuring our beloved home team. Due to time zone differences the game has an early start, which means I’ll have to decide what kind of alcohol would go best with breakfast, to calm the nerves, which will get jangly even though our team is heavily favored to win the game.

I thought about not posting even this very brief piece, but concluded that I had (barely) enough time for what you’re now about to hear (and perhaps read). The thought of leaving a void for even one day around here bothers me, as does the void that the future will leave as its final gift. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: SERPENT SKIES, DREAM UNENDING, SHEVILS, FIMIR, APOTHECARY, HAGEL, SQUAMATA, MAGEC

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Sep 262026
 

(written by Islander)

As you can see, I had time to beef up this roundup. Though why we talk about enlarging things as beefing them up, I don’t know. Photos of gigantic pumpkins are circulating this time of year, and to get sea-borne we could also suggest that you’ll have a whale of a time, just like Jonah did. Or like the black mold that rapidly covers your bathroom crevices, we can say that we’ve broken the mold of the usual 4-6 songs today.

Anyway, there’s a lot here, seven songs from forthcoming albums and one complete release that will knock you down, burn you down, and leave whatever’s left moaning for help.

I also arranged these things, as I often enjoy doing, to prevent you from getting settled into any kind of comfortable flow, but instead to experience a loss of balance and perhaps even a jolt of whiplash. I’m just trying to model modern life. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): METALADIAN — “DEADITATION”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 252026
 

(written by Islander)

The premiere we’re about to present is an unusual one in several respects. For one thing, the music isn’t brand new — it is an album named Deaditation that was released by the Canadian band Metaladian this past July — but the video is new, and it is a rare lyric video that takes listeners through the entire record. That makes sense, because the album itself presents a complete narrative arc — “an immersive descent into pain, revenge, and ultimately redemption….”

The premiere is unusual in other respects, mainly because of interesting details about the band’s lineup and history. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: FLESHCRAWL

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 252026
 


Photo Credit: Christian Sobeck

(The lineage of the German death metal band Fleshcrawl is a long one, with its founding dating back to 1987, but the band persists — their new album Epitome of Carnage was released last June. Our Comrade Aleks interviewed Fleshcrawl guitarist Apu Justin Reisch close to that release date for another publication, and we present it here for the first time in English.)

In 2027, the ferocious Bavarian death metal outfit Fleshcrawl will turn 40! Naturally, the lineup has undergone numerous changes over the years; and only the drummer (and backing vocalist) Bastian Herzog represents nowadays the band’s original lineup, which makes the situation surrounding their new release, Epitome of Carnage, all the more intriguing.

Vocalist Sven Gross had been a long-standing member of the band as well, but he lost his battle with cancer tragically in 2021. Since that year Boris “The Savage” Sharafudinov performs vocals, while guitarists Christian Kalbrecht and Apu Justin Reisch joined Fleshcrawl one year earlier in 2020. And it’s good to mention bassist Manuel Markowski, who has been on board already for 15 years.

So given such turnover, it is remarkable that the group has managed to revive and faithfully capture the spirit of the original Fleshcrawl—complete with its old-school charm, massive, churning power, and infernal delivery. Continue reading »

ASTRAL ALCHEMY — WEAVING CHILLING MAGICAL DREAMWORLDS

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Sep 252026
 

(After a hiatus since last spring our South African contributor Vizzah Harri has returned with his review of a debut album by the New York band Astral Alchemy, which was released this past June by Naturmacht Productions. As is often the case, the music prompted thoughts that led him off in many unpredictable directions, in addition to noting just how many happy boxes it checks.)

You click on the cover that has the purple on it.

This is a clear sign that it will be a certain form of black metal par excellence … Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: OBBROBRIUS — “LEVIATHAN’S CAGE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 242026
 

(written by Islander)

Obbrobrius is an Italian death metal band founded in 2023 who made made their recording debut with a 2024 album named Daisy Creepy Tales. Following that independent release they signed with Over the Border Records for the release of their sophomore album Usurped, which is now due for discharge on November 6th. As a preview of what lies ahead, we’ll share this precis from the press materials that are circulating:

Far from seeking to convey moral or ideological messages, the band focuses on pure, old-school sonic violence, drawing inspiration from historic pillars such as Benediction, Bolt Thrower, and Malevolent Creation. Their lyrics delve unfiltered into dark and brutal themes: death, destruction, social violence, internal crises, and esotericism.

As a further sign of what lies ahead, today we bring you an eye-catching video for a diabolically savage but highly infectious song off Usurped called “Leviathan’s Cage“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: CHANTS — “ECHOES”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Sep 242026
 

(written by Islander)

Everlasting Spew Records has made yet another astounding discovery, which it will share with listeners who are eager for music that’s off the usual beaten paths and capable of making deep emotional impressions.

This time the discovery concerns a Portuguese black metal trio who call themselves Chants, and their debut album Echoes, which the label will release on November 20th. The band is a new one, having formed only last year, but Chants is led by someone with a long history in the metal underground, and he uses it as a very personal outlet “for emotional catharsis and artistic introspection”.

Today we’re delighted to help spread the news of Chants, and especially excited to premiere a lyric video for the first song to be revealed from the album — which is its title track. Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH: JØTNARR / KULK / REMOTE VIEWING

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Sep 242026
 

(Andy Synn once more serves as our in-house ambassador for the UK Metal scene)

Like I’ve said before, many times, it’s impossible for any of us here at NCS to cover all the artists/albums we really want to, which means some hard choices have to be made each month.

This extends, obviously, to these irregular “Best of British” columns, as while I’d love to highlight each and every band from here that I think would be worthy of your time… I just don’t have the time myself to do so.

Case in point, I’m probably not going to be writing anything about the new albums from Green Lung (which is a good album, no doubt, but they already receive enough praise and attention elsewhere), Noctule (simply because I haven’t heard it), or Burner (which, to be totally honest, I thought was a massive disappointment, though I’m sure lots of people are going to love it), so you’ll just have to form your own opinions on those without my penetrating insights (I know, I’m so sorry).

The three bands I’ve chosen to cover here today, however, all have much less exposure, and all skew much more towards the harsher side of the sonic spectrum, which is why I thought it was more important to feature them than some of the more hyped-up members of the scene… a decision which, hopefully, you’ll all agree was the right one after checking them out.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): HÆNESY — “ESENTIA”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 232026
 

(written by Islander)

At the end of this week, just two days from now, the Hungarian band Hænesy will have their third album released in cooperation with Fractions of Life Records. Its name is Esentia, and we have lots of thoughts about it, but most important we have a full stream of all the music to share with you.

“Atmospheric black metal” is one descriptor of what you’ll hear, but it’s not an entirely satisfactory one, in part because Hænesy’s music owes as much to post-rock as it does to black metal (with other influences also playing roles) and in part because it doesn’t tell you anything about the nature of the atmospheres the band create. We’ll make an attempt to do that below. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): RORCAL – MAHRE

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 232026
 

(Andy Synn presents an exclusive premiere of one of the darkest, harshest albums of 2026)

Success, or so they like to say, can be a double-edged sword.

And the music business in particular is full of bands who have reached the heighest of heights – whether critical, commercial, artistic, or some combination of all three – only to then have to live in the shadow of their success for the rest of their careers.

For Swiss Black/Sludge/Doom coven Rorcal this sonic apotheosis came in the form of 2019’s demonically intense Muladona (based on the novel of the same name), whose visceral, soul-scarring assault on the senses deserves – in my opinion, at least – be held up right alongside the nastiest, gnarliest works of Dragged Into Sunlight, Primitive Man, and This Gift Is A Curse at their very best.

That’s not to say that the band’s previous output – from the colossal Drone-Doom of Heliogabalus to the grinding attack of Világvége to the asphyxiating, Post-Metallic atmospherics of Κρέων – were in any way lacking (indeed, the latter is, quite rightly, considered to be something of an underground gem), but Muladona raised the bar so much, creatively and conceptually, that both 2021’s Witch Coven collaboration and 2023’s more Blackened Hardcore-leaning Silence still felt somewhat eclipsed by their progidigious predecessor.

This Friday, however, will see the release of the band’s nightmarish new album, Mahre, which doesn’t so much seek to escape the shadow of Muladona as it does dive even deeper into it, pursuing a darker, more disturbing path, and today we have distinct (mis)fortune of presenting the album in its entirety via the medium of a fascinating, and disturbing, full-length video accompaniment for the record, created by the band’s frequent collaborator (and friend of the site) Eeli Helin.

Continue reading »

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