NO CLEAN SINGING

DAMNATION FESTIVAL 2026

Nov 092026

(Andy Synn shares a few thoughts, and photos, about this year’s edition of Damnation Festival)

Those of you who know anything about me will probably remember that I used to be a regular at Damnation, going year after year after year, when it was still based in Leeds.

But, for a variety of reasons – sometimes I was out of the country, sometimes I was committed to attending a wedding or other formal occasion I couldn’t get out of, and sometimes I just wasn’t entirely into the line-up – I had yet to attend an edition of the fest after it moved back to Manchester.

This year, however, it was almost like the line-up was tailor-made for me specifically, including several major favourites, some returning legends (FYI – the announcement of Walls of Jericho was ultimately what convinced me to buy a ticket at last), and a bunch of bands I’d been keen (or, at least, curious) to see live for quite a while.

Now, to be clear, this isn’t necessarily, a full and proper “review” of the weekend’s festivities – think of it more like a journal of my thoughts as they came to me (and as much as I can remember them) over the last two days.

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): RADIANT KNIFE — “SANKALPA”

Album Reviews, Premieres No Responses »

Nov 092026

(written by Islander)

Radiant Knife is a superb name for a musical group. It would be alluring regardless of genre, though maybe especially for a metal band. Knives are utilitarian but inherently dangerous, and the human soul yearns for danger, at least in non-lethal doses, because the adrenaline kick makes us feel alive. And the idea of a knife that shines, especially a vision of one that doesn’t merely reflect but generates its own light, is suggestive not just of danger but of another world beyond our own.

The Radiant Knife we’re speaking of today is the southern Louisiana duo of Stephen Sheppert (guitars, synth, vocals) and Greg Travasos (drums). It is perhaps not coincidental that the name of the river that runs along the banks of their hometown Lafayette is Vermilion, and that the town’s original name was Vermilionville. It’s an earthly color, but not a common color coming off of radiant knives. Its hue is also fiery (or bloody), and the pigment can be toxic.

Well, now that we’ve planted a few ideas in your head, drawn from the name and location of Radiant Knife, we can turn to the music on their new album Sankalpa and see if those ideas have any currency in this new music. Continue reading »

GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, OCTOBER 2026

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Nov 092026

(Our Denver-based writer Gonzo has returned to reviewing and recommending albums for us on a monthly basis, and here he recommends four of them released in October.)

As usual during this time of year, I’m immersing myself in every new album I can get my hands on while catching up on anything and everything I may have missed. I’ve grown accustomed to this dance, especially as I start (over)thinking about what goes into my vaunted best-of list for the year. (Jesus, is that really happening next month? Time isn’t real, obviously.)

Beyond that frantic exercise, at least one album always comes as an October surprise: one so damn good it fucks with the entire best-of hierarchy I’ve laid out so far. I expected it, and I’ve included it in this month’s roundup. (Spoiler, it’s first.)

Don’t sleep on the other three albums I’ve included, though.

SHADES OF BLACK: NΩX, BLESSER, DESPIRITUALIZED, RAAT, UNDERDARK, SULPHURIC NIGHT

Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET No Responses »

Nov 082026

(written by Islander)

I’ve decided to “cheat” again, by which I mean that I’ve come across a pair of new black metal albums and a new EP thatI want to recommend but don’t have time enough to write proper reviews, and so I’m just focusing on one song per record. Given my time constraints, the alternative would be to write nothing about them now and hope that I could do something more fulsome on a future day. However, I’ve had hopes like that dashed too many times to put much stock in them.

But before we get to the EP and the albums, I have a trio of singlesthat I think will also be worth your time. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: THE GREAT SEA, RAT KING, OREAMNOS , PROFANE ALTAR, VORLUST, HAGEL

Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET No Responses »

Nov 072026

(written by Islander)

I’ve been seeing the word “tsunami” a lot this week. I assume it’s because yesterday was a Bandcamp Friday, which always provokes a flood of new music and a typhoon of traffic in our in-box from bands and labels trying to take advantage of Bandcamp’s relinquishment of their revenue share. I dunno, maybe there was another reason. I’ll have to investigate.

I kept pretty good track of all the new music I wanted to check out in preparation for this regular weekend roundup. My spouse has been away from home visiting her favorite sister and so I spent a lot of time yesterday making my way through that big list of possibilities.

After much mental backing-and-forthing I came up with six picks for today, including a pair of EPs, while still leaving a lot of candidates for the usual Sunday column tomorrow. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: DISSECT THE MASSES — “THE HARVESTERS RETURN”

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Nov 062026

(written by Islander)

As trained medical professionals, we need to warn those of you who took in our first premiere on this Bandcamp Friday that this next one is likely to produce a severe whiplash effect with traumatic consequences for necks and heads.

Okay, just joking, we’re not trained medical professionals, just ardent metal fans — but the warning still stands because the change you’re about to experience is sudden and startling.

The authors of the change are the U.S. triumvirate Dissect the Masses, which includes members of Fleshbore, Unaligned, Abyssalis, and Demon King in the lineup, and the song we’re bringing you is from their debut album A Vile Disfigurement in advance of its December 11 release by our friends at Transcending Obscurity Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DESTRUCTION OF ORION — “BETTER DAYS”

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Nov 062026

(written by Islander)

Darkness. A life devoid of hope.
For it is that light, that semblance of hope,
which destroys.

There is not hope in this moment,
It is not found in the past,
Nor realised in our death.

The burden of such unrelenting pain,
denies our truth, our healing.
Existing as fragments of ourselves,
broken, beyond repair,
…yet clinging on for better days.

Those dark words form a preamble to the song we’re about to premiere. It’s from Dimensions Of Chaos, a new album by the Bulgarian funeral doom project Destruction of Orion, which will be released on November 27th by Aesthetic Death. Continue reading »

NORTHWEST TERROR FEST ANNOUNCES FULL 2027 LINEUP AND REVEALS ARTWORK

Metal News 1 Response »

Nov 062026

(written by Islander)

Yesterday NCS-sponsored Northwest Terror Fest announced its final lineup for 2027 and revealed the official poster art for the event. As you can see, the artwork created by Adam Vick (with layout by Christian Alm) is tremendous, and the lineup is too.

Yesterday NWTF revealed the names of 10 more bands who hadn’t previously been disclosed: Gorguts, Immolation, Imperial Triumphant, Fulci, Coscradh, Distest, Generation Decline, Melancholia, Nyx Division, and Ripping Remains. They make an already very strong lineup even stronger, joining Napalm Death, SubRosa, Deadguy performing Fixation on a Coworker, and more. Here’s the full international lineup in aphabetical order: Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NOCTURNIS — “DRANGSAL”

Album Reviews, Premieres 2 Responses »

Nov 052026

(written by Islander)

Since the earliest days of metal’s dawning bands have expressed rebellious themes by embracing the symbology of Lucifer and his fallen angels, some have delved into the occult in more than symbolic fashion, and others have drenched themselves and their listeners in gore. And so it is refreshing to continue finding bands who put their thematic focus on historical events and social commentary.

The black metal band Nocturnis, who dwell in the Black Forest region of southern Germany, are one such band. Their powerful 2022 debut album Unsegen told the story of a young soldier in World War I, who was driven by his conscience into a no less harrowing inner struggle due to the atrocities he experienced, a struggle he ultimately loses.

And now we have a second Nocturnis full-length that explores a different series of historical events. Titled Drangsal, it is a concept album about the European witch hunts. It’s set for release on November 6th (tomorrow!) by Fetzner Death Records, but we’re sharing a full stream of it now. Continue reading »

LOCKSLIP – THE CONVERSATION

Album Reviews No Responses »

Nov 052026

(Andy Synn wants to have a conversation with you about a new band and their killer debut)

As you all surely know, we are big proponents of balance here at NCS… for every light a dark, for every yin a yang, and for every big, iconic name we cover there must be a smaller, more underground artist we can give a helping hand to.

And, lo and behold, here we have The Conversation (out tomorrow), the debut album from wild-eyed Math-Punk Metalcore crew Lockslip, to even the scales once more.

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