AN NCS PREMIERE: NIFROST — “LIVSKRAFT”

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Mar 092026
 

(written by Islander)

“Hailing from Jølster, Norway, Nifrost return with a masterful display of melodic and epic black metal. Following the well-received Blykrone and Orkja, it is now time for Briseld. Once again, the legacy of Windir and the seeds planted by Enslaved and Borknagar have borne fruit in a new collection of songs.”

And that is how the Dusktone label begins to introduce Briseld, which is now set for release on March 20th. As a truly soul-stirring example of what the album brings listeners, today we premiere its second single, “Livskraft”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MUERTO — “WILDERNESS”

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Mar 092026
 

(written by Islander)

On April 17th Transcending Obscurity Records will release the third album by the doom-laden Mexican black metal band Muerto. Its evocative name is Eclipsed Realms — evocative because the music itself seems to transport listeners into un-real realms of perpetual shadow, there to be overcome by an array of harrowing and haunting experiences.

Two songs from the album have been previously revealed, and today we bring you a third one — “Wilderness“. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: GREEN CARNATION

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Mar 092026
 


photo by Lars Gunnar Liestøl

(On April 3rd Season of Mist will release a new album by Norway’s Green Carnation as the second installment in a three-album trilogy. Our Comrade Aleks discussed the first installment with vocalist Kjetil Nordhus last fall, and now we present a second more recent discussion between them which focuses on the new record — and includes lots more news, as well as a stream of a brand new second single from the new album, “I Am Time“, that’s premiering today.)

As you remember, the Norwegian veteran progressive band Green Carnation returned after a significant hiatus in autumn 2025 with an announcement of the trilogy A Dark Poem. As A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia was discussed in our interview here with the band’s vocalist Kjetil Nordhus four months ago, we sequentially follow the plan and provide a new one focused on the trilogy’s second part, A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis.

The band’s initial plan was to create three different albums which would complement each other, and until now it seems like everything goes according the plan. At least Sanguis follows closely to The Shores of Melancholia and yet provides some new ideas and quite a refreshing experience. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: FINNR, EUCLIDEAN, DEMONOLOGISTS, VAINORAS, TRELLDOM, AKYROS EXPANSE, HUBRIS

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Mar 082026
 

(written by Islander)

For reasons I explained yesterday in details verging on the tedious (if not tipping all the way over), I’ve again confined myself to music that I’ve been able to download and listen to on a music player rather than stream online. In one instance where a haunting video was available (for a Trelldom song) I came back to it often enough that I was able to see it during one of the few episodes of internet connectivity.

The first two choices were records I intended to include at the end of last week’s edition of this column, to complete a triptych of releases I was drawn to because of the cover art. I ran out of time last Sunday before I could get to them, so I’m starting with them today. And to complete a new triptych I followed them with a song where the cover art was also the first seduction.

After those first three you’ll find three others, one from a legendary name, another from a very new name, and a third from a band whose notoriety is in between.

And by the way, I forgot to set any clocks ahead last night, including the one at my bedside. Of course I did. My wife forgot too, but she’s married to me so her judgment is already suspect. Thus, this column is arriving later than I thought it would, and although there’s still a lot here, there’s not as much as I’d planned. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: GOMMA, GORMA, GHOROT, GOATPSALM, GLUTTONY

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 072026
 

(written by Islander)

I’m experiencing technical difficulties. For the second time since February 1st, our DSL service shut down. The last time we waited two weeks for the DSL company to send out a repair technician. He got it going again. He explained that a pair of wires in the main line to which our house was connected had shorted out. He connected us to a different pair, but said there were a bunch of other pairs in the line that were also shorted out.

He said he would report the need for maintenance, but I got the impression this need for maintenance is widespread around the island where we live and that we shouldn’t get our hopes up. I guess there’s not enough money to be made here for the DSL company to spend money. And so, 16 days after the last repair, the DSL service stopped working again. It’s been out since last weekend. A repair technician is supposed to visit us again on Monday. Just a one-week wait this time instead of two weeks.

No DSL means our TV is useless for streaming. It also means no internet connectivity except what I can get from my phone. I’ve been using that as a hotspot for my desktop computer. The cell service is good enough that I can get online and do most of what I can do when the DSL is working. But there’s one drawback: a lot of the time the cell service isn’t good enough to stream music and videos, in part because my wife piggy-backs on my phone too since she uses a different cell service that’s borderline useless where we live. Kind of a big drawback for a music blog like ours. Continue reading »

NO/MÁS: “NO PEACE”

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Mar 062026
 

(Below is Wil Cifer’s review of No Peace, a new album by D.C.-based No/Más that’s set for release on March 13th by Redefining Darkness. The cover art was created by Brian Sheehan.)

There could never be a more fitting soundtrack for the world today than this album. NO/MÁS are angry as fuck. They are not here to spread good news. They are bringing their apocalyptic message to you with a perfect guitar sound for it, that is a balance of brutality which is refined enough to keep the riffs in focus, rather than just being a raw outburst.

At times, grooves slide into the riff. They write songs with an ear for detail, and maximize the two-minute runtime of these songs, cramming more punch in under three minutes than some bands can pack into an entire album. A Slayer influence certainly looms over this album. They throw in guitar harmonies into “Blood Soaked Soil” to break up the feral explosion and breakdowns. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: HUMERROR — “VICIOUS DOMINION”

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Mar 062026
 

(written by Islander)

The Indonesian deathgrind band Humerror hail from Palembang, South Sumatra. They have prepared a debut album named Liturgy of the Synthetic Gods that will be released later this year, and today we reveal its first chapter, a furious new single called “Vicious Dominion” that the band are presenting through a spectacular lyric video.

Humerror explain that their music “explores modern idolatry and institutional power, portraying a world where devotion is exploited and new gods are manufactured through systems, technology, and collective compliance,” and their dystopian artwork incorporates these themes. Thus, they “frame extreme sound as a vehicle for social commentary — merging classic grindcore urgency with contemporary critique.”

We’ll also share the band’s synopsis of the song you’re about to hear: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IFFERNET — “TRIUMPH OF DEATH”

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Mar 062026
 

(written by Islander)

The French black metal duo Iffernet released their self-titled debut album in 2019 and followed that with their second full-length Silences in 2022 and a split with Dolpo in 2024. Now they have completed work on a third album, Life at Heart, that’s set for release in different formats on March 20th by a quartet of labels — La Harelle, Vendetta, Breathe Plastic, and Fiadh.

The new album includes seven tracks, and what we have for you today is the premiere of a devastating song named “Triumph of Death“. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): PUTRISECT — “PUTRISECT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Mar 052026
 

(written by Islander)

On March 6th (a Bandcamp Friday) the Rotted Life label will release a rotten and ruinous new EP by Baltimore’s Putrisect, their third EP overall and their first new music since 2018’s Cascading Inferno. The label previews it this way:

Six tracks (including a cover of Machetazo’s “Espectro”) of crushing, malevolent, death metal, rife with darkened melodies and sinister, doomy atmospherics. With it’s tank-like tremolo passages, Putrisect no doubt work off an early ’90s template carved by heavyweights such as Bolt Thrower and Incantation but come fully equipped with a sound all their own.

We have our own more detailed preview to offer, but the main attraction is a full stream of the EP which we’re offering you below. Continue reading »

MISERERE LUMINIS – SIDERA

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Mar 052026
 

(Andy Synn encourages you to embrace the mellifluous black magic of Miserere Luminis)

I have no problem at all acknowledging that one thing I’m not great at is making predictions… or, at least, a certain kind of prediction.

There have been bands that I was sure would see massive success who have continued to labour in obscurity for years after what should have been their break-out moment, just as there have been bands who have suddenly blown up out of nowhere… even though that’s exactly where I expected them to go.

But while I’m not all that good at prophesying future fame and success (honestly, I’m not even sure what “success” looks like for bands these days, as most of the old metrics have been rednered obsolete) I like to think I’m at least pretty good at scrying out those albums, regardless of genre, that have the requisite depth and potency to have real staying power.

And Sidera is definitely one of them.

Continue reading »

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