AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: TRIAGE — “DECIMAL POINTS”

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Jun 052026
 

(written by Islander)

I want to begin this premiere feature with a personal note. While working on Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle a few weeks ago I witnessed what might have been the wildest musical riot of the entire event, a performance at the packed-to-the-gills Barboza venue by the North Texas grind band Triage. They created an absolute cauldron of chaos that left us wondering if the moshers would require emergency care and the venue would need structural repairs afterward.

Vocalist Champ Morgan led the charge, striding into the mosh pit and going on top of the bar while howling like a madman. You can get a quick taste of what happened through this reel on Instagram.

But the personal note also involves my own interactions with some of the band members when they weren’t performing. By my lights, and the lights of everyone else working the fest who encountered them, they were some of the nicest people we met there, perhaps especially that wildman Champ Morgan, who watched Black Breath’s performance with me at stage-side. They even reacted with good humor to my shit-talking (as a die-hard Mariners fan) about the Texas Rangers — which I couldn’t resist after seeing a Rangers cap in the Triage crew.

And so, when I was given the opportunity to premiere a song from a new Triage record today, I jumped at it faster than a jackrabbit with its ass on fire. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: WOEWARDEN — “AS DEEP AS THE KNIFE GOES”

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Jun 052026
 

(written by Islander)

On June 12th the Dusktone label will release the fourth album by the Australian black metal band Woewarden (the first two were released when the band was known as Cancer). Titled The Roots Of My Neglect, the new one follows the band’s 2022 full-length, In The Art Of My Caged Existence. Dusktone describes it:

It is the natural successor to their previous work but is intentionally more visceral. Woewarden have maintained the melodic, melancholic approach to depressive black metal – inspired by the likes of Silencer, Psychonaut 4, and Insomnium — but they have injected a heavier, more abrasive edge reminiscent of the raw torment and fury of 90s Scandinavian legends like Dissection and Emperor.

We’ll also share Woewarden’s own description of how their new album compares to the last one:

The Roots Of My Neglect stands as a visceral evolution to our previous record, In The Art Of My Caged Existence. While its predecessor explored the isolation of a caged existence, this record examines what happens when that cage finally breaks – leaving us to carry the accumulated burdens of ourselves and others. We have pushed our melodic melancholy to its limit, fusing bittersweet arrangements with an abrasive, raw edge. From maniacal wails and screams of anguish to haunting croons, it is an exploration of neglect, both self-inflicted and external, and the rot that settles when hope is finally abandoned.

What we have for you today is a lyric video for a song off the album called “As Deep As The Knife Goes” — and we also have a statement from Woewarden about this specific track: Continue reading »

SUNK: “FROM THE ABYSS”

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Jun 052026
 

(For the second day in a row we have a review from DGR that delves into sludge/doom, and the subject today is a February 2026 EP released by the UK band Sunk.)

The good ship NoCleanSinging, when taken out by your present captain here, will lower its trawl into the oceans of heavy metal and dredge up a variety of releases over the course of the year. So many are absorbed into its maw that there is always going to be something waiting in the wings to be covered whenever we can find time to eke one out. Combined with our desperately flailing attempts to stay current with what is coming out, we inevitably end up swamped, and so many of the reviews from yours truly will be focused on stuff that came out months ago that seem to be going unsung, yet still managed to capture the eye and ear.

Britain’s Sunk and their EP From The Abyss is one such release that managed to capture attention earlier in the year, and now we are grateful for the time to circle back and actually discuss this release as it proves that sludge isn’t just something we dredge up and clean out of our ship’s trawl, but is also something that has seen quite a bit of explosive growth in the last few years. Continue reading »

WEAVING SHADOWS: “EXISTENTIAL DECAY”

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Jun 042026
 

(Our DGR makes a rare (for him) foray into sludge/doom territory with the following review of a new album by the Nebraska crew Weaving Shadows, which they released in April of this year.)

Two things that have always been difficult to write about in this corner of the internet sewer: one, doom metal as a whole. Doom is a self-admitted perpetual blind spot for yours truly, having spent years ensconced in a comfortable bubble of moody and melancholic, pretty and polished, Euro doom usually on offer from the snow covered lands of the North. The often weed-obsessed, reverb-bathed, ’70s-influenced sects and the funeral-dirge cult, on the other hand, were often left on the wayside. A personal failing in the lack of patience for such a thing, and it is a failing that has led to vague overtures at attempts to fix – if nothing else than just to help serve as a custodial archivist of the cultural side of things.

The second: Nebraska, which is a place I have driven through a few times before, but my only lasting memories of the place are crossing the same river sixteen times, and the only man I’ve met whose name was “Guido” worked at a gas station there. So as you can see, we are starting from a tremendously strong context-heavy cultural touchpoint when it comes to the newest release from the Omaha-based doom metal band Weaving Shadows and their newest album Existential Decay.

Yet caustic sludge and doom knows no state boundaries nor humorous flippancy of an author on the internet. The language of plodding misery remains universal, bent and contorted through a variety of crawling tempos, distorted reverb, and feedback to drown in. If an album sounds closer to inching its way to the grave, all the better. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ANGEST — “THICK, BLACK TAR”

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Jun 042026
 

(written by Islander)

Angest is a new name within the freezing and fiery realms of black metal, but its multi-national lineup quickly attracts attention. It includes two members of Détresse, two members of Humanitas Error Est, and the drummer for Cult of Erinyes and LVTHN.

At one time three of them performed with Lebenssucht, and their resumes also include former or current membership (including live stage sessions) in such bands as Enthroned, Dawohl, Einst, Goat Torment, Gevurah, Sabathan, Thanargonauts, and Towering.

The fact that their debut album Perpetual Anguish will be released by Vendetta Records (on June 26th) is a further signifier of quality. The name of the album is also a signifier, a sign of the night-dark nature of the music and the terrible emotions that fueled it. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: COPROLITH — “SENTENCED TO THE GRAVE”

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Jun 042026
 

(written by Islander)

The Canadian death metal band Coprolith clearly have no desire to mislead anyone about the kind of music they make. Their name is a word for fossilized feces. The music on their self-titled debut demo from 2023 (reviewed here) was grotesquely ugly and maniacally marauding. Their forthcoming debut album is named Putrescence. And just look at that cover artwork by Adam Kindred!

All the signals are there, open and obvious, signals warning of rotten-to-the-core death metal that’s foul, festering, and ferocious, the kind of dreadful musical monstrosities that greedily feast upon the intestines of such predecessors as Grave, Demigod, and Incantation.

So no, no experienced metalheads will be misled by what the new album offers, but many will relish just how expertly Coprolith bring their horrid visions to life. We have an example in our premiere today of the album’s opening track, a song called “Sentenced to the Grave“, in advance of the album’s co-release by Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Rotted Life Records. Continue reading »

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Jun 042026
 

(Andy Synn offers another four killer examples of albums you may have overlooked last month)

This particular edition of “Things You May Have Missed” is definitely less diverse than yesterday’s article (which you can, and should, read here if you haven’t already), but that doesn’t mean it’s totally lacking in variety, as while there’s definitely a focus on the more “blackened” side of the spectrum – not by conscious decision, I might add, that’s just what ended up making the cut this time around – there’s also a wealth of twisted dissonance, grinding fury, sludgy groove, and depressive angst on display across these four albums.

So, without further ado, let’s see what else you may have missed… but shouldn’t… last month.

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: TARASK

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Jun 032026
 

(In April of this year Antiq Records released a new album by the French black metal band Tarask. Comrade Aleks was drawn to it, and followed up his listening with this interview of the project’s creator.)

I fell for this bait again and initiated an interview with the band, whose new album description included the adjective “Lovecraftian.” But the Toulon-based black metal duo Tarask has slightly altered its concept for their second album, Sitra Ahra, and now relies on occult metaphors as a means of expression towards consumerism and modern society.

Being doom-guy for most of my time, nowadays I lean towards black metal as a more focused and straightforward way of channeling this discomfort… and I had a lot of this today after reading just the headlines of up-to-date news. So I have to admit, that classic and atmospheric black metal of Sitra Ahra is a good soundtrack to this evening when I’m ready to share with you this interview we’ve done with H. P. K. (vocals, guitars, bass). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AMBROTOS — “THE AGE OF TORTURE”

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Jun 032026
 

(written by Islander)

The Greek black metal band Ambrotos have had interesting and unusual lyrical themes from the beginning, having released a pair of EPs and a debut album (2022’s Transcendental Mastery) dedicated to pre-Socratic philosophy and ancient cosmology. With their forthcoming second album, Atrocious Chants, the band have shifted their lyrical themes, but they remain interesting — and the album’s cover art by contemporary Athenian painter Fanis Goulis points the way.

The album will be co-released on July 13th by Satanath Records and WP Productions. They offer this description of the new themes:

This new album delves into the fall of Constantinople and the decline of the Byzantine Empire, presenting a unique perspective that intertwines historical narrative with the religious beliefs and perceptions of the medieval era. At its core, the album explores the epic battle between Satan and Christ, offering a profound commentary on faith and conflict.

What we have for you today is the premiere of the album’s second advance track, “The Age of Torture“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: INTO DARKNESS — “URANUS”

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Jun 032026
 

(written by Islander)

We’ve been following the Italian death metal band Into Darkness for a long time — nearly 14 years, to be more precise. Beginning with a demo they released in 2012, we’ve written about their records eight times, most recently praising their 2023 EP, Cassini-Huygens. Those releases all took the shape of EPs and splits, but now Into Darkness finally have a debut album set for release on July 24th by Dying Victims Productions.

The name of the album is Route to the Other Side. Like previous releases, it was inspired by divulgative (popular) astronomy. In this case it is a concept record about the outer solar system.

The album’s song titles map a journey through those far reaches, beginning with “Jupiter“, moving on to “Saturn” and “Uranus” (the song we’re about to premiere), and eventually passing through the “Kuiper Belt” and onward to “Pluto“, and ending with the title song “Route to the Other Side“. Continue reading »

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