Jul 192024
 

(With the month of June now behind us, Daniel Barkasi returns to NCS with a collection of eight albums released in that month which have drawn his favor.)

No, we’re not about to break out into the chorus of “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Though to be completely transparent, I do enjoy the cheesiness of Bon Jovi. But we’re not talking about New Jersey hair rockers today, beyond this brief mention.

June has been a strange month that we mostly would like to forget. We endured a family tragedy that still has me rattled – things are settling, but loss hurts deeply and tends to linger. Always keep love at the forefront of everything you do, because nobody knows what awaits tomorrow. Words to live by from this rando. I know, I know – we’re about to go over a bunch of extreme metal and we’re talkin’ ‘bout love. Sorry, Van Halen – who also rules. Continue reading »

Jun 022024
 

After a bit of a festival-induced hiatus in these Sunday columns, I’ve returned, and have had time to pull together a pretty good-sized selection of new blackened sounds today.

I’m leading off with three veteran bands who have managed to withstand the ravaging gales of time, and then I’ll move into newer collectives. I’m not sure there’s any organizing principle in what I chose, other than my own strong positive reactions to each choice. They include advance tracks from five forthcoming albums, some of them accompanied by videos, and one recently released full-length.

HORNED ALMIGHTY (Denmark)

The mighty Horned Almighty are returning to strike fear into the hearts of men, women, beasts, and probably plant life. Their new album, the seventh in a 20+ year career, is Contagion Zero. The first frights from it come in the form of a daunting and extremely dire song named “Ascension of Fever and Plague“. Continue reading »