ANDY SYNN’S MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2025

 Forthcoming Albums  No Responses »
Jan 132025
 

(Andy Synn looks ahead to what we might expect from 2025)

Is it just me or does 2025 seem to be off to a bit of a slow start?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve already written about a couple of gems (Am I In Trouble?, MEM//BRANE) and I’ve got my eyes on a few upcoming releases (including one which, having heard it in full, is probably destined for my “Disappointing” list) but, for the most part, it feels like 2025 has yet to properly kick into gear.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, since it gives us a bit more time to get our shit together and start planning out the year to come… which in this case means highlighting some of the albums which I really hope make an appearance, and make an impact, some time over the next twelve months.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: ALIOTH BOREALIS, ACHERAD, THUNRAZ, DØDSFERD

 Album Reviews, Forthcoming Albums, LISTMANIA 2015, LISTMANIA 2016, MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015, SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Nov 242024
 

(written by Islander)

I haven’t kept a running count, but I think a substantial majority of the music I’ve written about in these Sunday columns has consisted of singles, usually advance tracks from forthcoming albums. A couple of reasons for that:

First, I can put our spotlight on a lot more bands and records that way. In the time it would take me to listen to and scribble thoughts about one album, I can do that for pieces of six or seven albums.

Second, I don’t think I’m great at writing album reviews. I find it difficult to provide some kind of succinct discussion because I always feel like I’m leaving out important aspects of the music, and so I often get bogged down in the details. Even when an album is already out I feel that way, even though it might be a silly feeling since everyone can listen and discover the details for themselves.

All of that makes today’s collection a rarity, because today I’ve chosen to write about three albums that have already been released, and one new song (and video) that’s a bonus track for the vinyl edition of another album that’s already out. Continue reading »

WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2022

 Forthcoming Albums  No Responses »
Jan 112022
 

(Wil Cifer has decided to share a Top 10 list of expected 2022 heavy albums he’s most looking forward to at this point.)

My ouija board told me Islander wanted anticipated album lists so I began tapping at my keyboard.

A few of these on my list are albums I am giving you the heads-up about. The bulk of these are metal or metal-adjacent artists. There are some mopey depressive rock artists I am looking forward to with equal excitement, as Placebo, The Cure, Tears For Fears, and Morrrissey all have albums pending this year. But the top ten list ranked-off here are the harder varieties I am most anxious for. I have also included how confident I am of their release and my faith in the quality of the pending work. Continue reading »

THE MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2022 (DON’T BE MAD)

 Forthcoming Albums  54 Responses »
Jan 082022
 


photo by Art Wolfe

January is a time when many music publications, including metal-centric ones, publish lists of the new year’s “most anticipated albums”. We’ve done that here from time to time, but not in a long time. And don’t be mad, but we’re not doing it now either. I’ll explain in a minute.

Lots of albums are already now on people’s radar screens, thanks to announcements from late last year and the nearly 10 days of January that have already passed. Among the bigger names, 2022 will see new records from Amorphis and Dying Fetus, Voivod and Immolation, Lamb of God and Obituary, Rammstein and Terror, Cult of Luna and Ghost, YOB and Eight Bells, Crowbar and Arch Enemy, Allegaeon and Dark Funeral, and I’ve seen rumors of new albums coming from the likes of Amon Amarth, Behemoth, and Meshuggah. There are also new EPs on the way from Napalm Death, Abysmal Dawn, and Centinex, to name just a few.

Some, but certainly not all, of those releases will be of interest here at NCS, but we tend to focus on more underground names, and I think our readers do too. However, once you get past the names like those above, trying to prepare a “Most Anticipated” list becomes a project that’s a lot more daunting and time-consuming. Which is why I’m not doing it today (though I guess it’s possible some of our other writers might attempt it). What I’m doing instead is inviting YOU to leave a comment identifying 2022 releases that YOU are looking forward to. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PALADIN

 Forthcoming Albums, Interviews  No Responses »
Oct 102019
 

 

(The following conversation is Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Louis, vocalist/bassist of the Quebec death/doom band Paladin, whose debut album was released last month.)

Paladin is a brutal death-doom metal project started by Louis a.k.a. Napalm Holocaust (vocals, bass) from Canadian thrash band Survival Instinct. Louis performs stuff in the vein of Asphyx, Autopsy, and Rippikoulu together with his colleague Will (guitars) and busy maniac N.C. (drums), who has experience in quite extreme yet obscure local metal bands. They’ve been working together in Paladin for about two years, and Vrid (bass) joined them not long ago.

Their debut album Purification Du Mal just saw the light of day on the 20th of September due to the  efforts of PRC Music. As you see the artwork, you may think it’s some Christian stuff, but don’t be fooled, that’s an opposite thing. Louis isn’t a very talkative guy, but he has managed to uncover a few things about Paladin for us. Continue reading »

ALBUMS TO ANTICIPATE IN 2013

 Forthcoming Albums  67 Responses »
Jan 212013
 

We’re essentially finished with our 2012 Listmania series. That series has included more than 30 lists of last year’s best metal, and collectively they form a nice shopping menu for people still interested in catching up on what they missed. We’ll have a big Listmania wrap-up post tomorrow, with some statistical analysis by a guest who has combined and ranked everything on the lists we’ve posted.

But we’re now well into the new year’s first month and it’s time to start looking ahead. We’ve already reviewed several albums due for release in the near future and featured advance music from many others, but so much more is coming.

What I’ve got below is a list of bands who have new albums or EPs due in 2013 that I’m particularly interested in hearing. (And by the way, this list doesn’t include some forthcoming 2013 releases that I’ve already heard, e.g., Rotting Christ, Koldbrann, Omnium Gatherum, Byzantine, Hate, Kongh, and Oblivion — they are all most certainly worth watching for.)

But I’m sure I’ve overlooked a lot more. So I invite you to take a look at this list and then supplement it in the comments. Please tell us which albums are on your own “highly anticipated” list for 2013. Continue reading »

2012 METAL IN THE FORGE (PART 3)

 Forthcoming Albums  10 Responses »
Mar 022012
 

For a change, I actually remembered on the second day of the new month that that the preceding month had ended; usually takes longer than that. My creditors would be happy, except I think their bills need to age a while longer. But yes, February is history — and that means its time to post our usual monthly round-up of news about forthcoming albums. Today’s list is a little more comprehensive than the half-assed job I did at the end of January, which means it’s about three-quarters assed. One of these days it will be fully assed.

Here’s how this round-up usually works: In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, I collect news blurbs and press releases I’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like at NCS (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, I cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If I found out about a new forthcoming album earlier than the last 30 days, I probably wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier.

Having said all that, please feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us (me and your fellow readers) what I missed when I put this list together, because I’m abso-fucking-lutely certain that I missed all sorts of shit. So let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about, even if you don’t see them here! Continue reading »

2012 METAL IN THE FORGE (PART 2)

 Forthcoming Albums  35 Responses »
Feb 042012
 

January ended four days ago, so it’s past time for our usual monthly round-up of news about forthcoming albums. I have to confess that this list is even more spotty and sporadically assembled than usual — which is saying something. Various distractions prevented me from keeping a sharp eye out for news about new releases, so I have no doubt this list is incomplete.

Here’s how this round-up usually works: In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, I collect news blurbs and press releases I’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like at NCS (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, I cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If we found out about a new forthcoming album earlier than the last 30 days, we probably wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier. For example, on this list you won’t see such notable releases as the forthcoming albums from Meshuggah, Enthroned, Unleashed, Psycroptic, Goatwhore, Asphyx, Naglfar, or Autopsy, because we’ve mentioned them elsewhere. Or at least I think we did.

Having said all that, please feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what I missed when I put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about, even if you don’t see them here! Continue reading »

2012: METAL IN THE FORGE (Part 1)

 Forthcoming Albums  28 Responses »
Jan 062012
 

December and 2011 are both over, and with the end of the last month, it’s time to round up what we saw over the last 30 days about forthcoming albums.

We usually try to post these updates on the first of the month, but the first of this month was New year’s Day, and I was moving kinda slowly that day. Plus, I’ve been focusing on year-end lists from a variety of sources, and, well, I’m late with this. I have more excuses, if you’d like to hear them.  No?  Okay, I understand.  I’ll just shut up and get going with this list.

So, here’s the deal:  In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, I collect news blurbs and press releases I’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like at NCS (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, we cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If we found out about a new forthcoming album before December, we wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier.

This month’s list begins right after the jump. It includes some real eye-openers. In fact, it’s not too soon to say that 2012 is already looking like yet another royally skull-fucking year for metal. But as usual, this list is half-assed rather than comprehensive. I confess that in December I was even more half-assed than usual in keeping my eyes open for news about new albums. So, feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what I missed when I put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about, even if you don’t see them here! Continue reading »

MORE 2011 SICKNESS (Part 12)

 Forthcoming Albums  17 Responses »
Dec 022011
 

November is done, and the countdown begins to the end of 2011 and he beginning of the New Year. We’ve been so focused this week on the year behind us, since 2011 Listmania is now in full swing, that we almost forgot that there is a future, and it will be filled with metal.

So, here’s the deal:  In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, we collect news blurbs and press releases we’ve seen over the last month (November) about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, we cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If we found out about a new forthcoming album before November, we wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier.

This month’s list begins right after the jump. As usual, this list is half-assed rather than comprehensive. So, feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what we missed when we put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about! Continue reading »

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