AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: LITOSTH — “ECLIPSE”

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Jun 262026
 

(written by Islander)

Shades of mental and emotional darkness have been features of heavy metal in general, and extreme metal in particular, for a very long time. Sometimes it’s been represented through supernatural imagery and lyricism, sometimes by more direct experiences of real-world turmoil and desolation.

But while it’s commonplace to see descriptions of metal songs or albums as “dark”, it’s still startling (and shuddering) to read about the ethos of Litosth’s forthcoming fourth full-length, Dreaming. It is described in the press materials proffered by Personal Records as a record that “offers no comfort, no resolution, no redemption”:

“What it offers is something more disturbing and necessary: the complete architecture of collapse. Eight tracks that do not describe the fall — they are the fall…. The album descends layer by layer through what remains when everything that was imposed is stripped away: faith, morality, purpose, and the illusion of ascent. What remains is not liberation. It is only ashes, emptiness, and silence…. Dreaming is not a record about dreaming. It is about finally ceasing to do so.”

How does this Brazilian duo of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Maicon Ristow and lyricist Wendel Siota plumb such desolate depths through their music? We have a partial answer today in our premiere of a guitar-and-bass playthrough video for the song “Eclipse“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NINTH REALM — “DAMNATION’S VEIL”

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Jun 262026
 

(written by Islander)

On August 28th Transcending Obscurity Records will release Damnation’s Veil, the second full-length from Maryland-based Ninth Realm. The label rightly describes it as “a scathing form of death/thrash metal music bearing influences of hardcore and heavy metal, with a slight blackened edge”, and a narrative theme that delves further into the band’s original dark fantasy world, Tythorin.

Today we’re premiering the new album’s title song, but before we get to that we’ll encourage you to check out the first two singles from the album that have preceded the one we’re revealing today. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VÉHÉMENCE

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Jun 262026
 

(On June 10th the Antiq label released Assiégé pour l’Eternité, a special recasting of the influential debut album by the French medieval black metal band Véhémence. In the following very interesting interview Comrade Aleks makes a deep dive into the changes wrought through this recasting with Véhémence founder Tulzcha and vocalist Hyver.)

The French band Véhémence was started as a solo project by Tulzcha, who decided to try his talent at this endeavor on his own. His first album, Assiege (2014), was noticed, and over time, Tulzcha formed a team, which today includes Antiq Records owner Leon Ghiselin (aka Hyver), drummer Thomas Leiner, and bassist Konstantin Korolev, whom you might recognize from Passéisme.

Over three albums, the project grew so much that it was decided to completely re-record the first album, revamping the arrangements, adding lead guitar parts, live drums, violin, flute, and more. Additionally, the lyrics were updated, now even more in keeping with Véhémence’s medieval fantasy, and, of course, the cover art was also updated. The songs remain recognizable, but at the same time, it’s impossible to ignore how they’ve changed for the better.

Tonight I invite you to the realms of medieval black metal with Tulzcha and Hyver as our guides. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ENTROPIST — “THE VISION”

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Jun 252026
 

(written by Islander)

Entropist is a Colorado progressive metal band primarily composed of people who have been friends since college days more than a decade ago. After many years of effort, they have recorded and will soon release their monumental debut album, aptly named The Vision. It is described as “a dual‑layered concept record that intertwines a fantastical narrative of demons, celestial beings, and the void with a grounded exploration of mental struggle, nihilism, and the search for meaning”.

As you can see, it’s adorned by a painting created by Shannon Bortfeldt that’s visually arresting, and it also captures the emotional and narrative weight of the story’s opening moments. It’s a fitting prelude to an extensive album that’s also colorful, repeatedly arresting, and an effective representation of the fantastical narrative that unfolds through the lyricism. We are happy to share it with you now, on the eve of its release. Continue reading »

BLACKER THAN THE BLACKEST BLACK: BLOOD MOTHER / ECHO ZERO / HALO OF TEETH

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Jun 252026
 

(Andy Synn presents three recently-released albums from the stranger end of the Black Metal spectrum)

When I told you I was switching my focus to Black Metal… for this week, anyway… what I didn’t tell you was what sort of Black Metal I was going to be writing about.

In fact, some of what I’m covering today probably stretches the definition of the term “Black Metal” (though the boundaries of the genre are way wider than the more limited view some people try to impose on it)… but that just makes it more interesting, in my opinion.

So let’s not waste any more time on preamble, and just get weird, shall we?

Continue reading »

FORSMÁN: “BRENNDAR RÚSTIR & FUÐRANDI FJÖRUR”

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Jun 252026
 

(Here is Daniel Barkasi’s review of a new album by the Icelandic black metal band Forsmán that will be released on June 26th via Vesperian through Metal Blade Records worldwide.)

To any black metal connoisseur not living in a cave – if you are, we get it, the aesthetic makes sense – the Icelandic scene is a treasure trove. Yes, that’s an unsurprising statement coming from this fellow, and to be frank, it’s difficult to not indulge. With that said, we’ve always got a critical eye, so there’s no geographical bias – great stuff is just that, and there’s a common thread from much of the music coming from this locale being unmistakingly inimitable.

We won’t provide a dissertation into every aspect of why this scene speaks to me – an idea for the future, perhaps – so let’s get to the subject of Forsmán. If that’s not a familiar name, that’s about to change. Their debut EP Dönsum í logans ljóma was released in 2021, and is a fine entry to show what they’re about – an expressive, immense style of black metal, with sharp melodies woven in and a crafty yet aggressive, forthright attack. As with many acts from this isle, there’s involvement in other notable projects, and it’s a fine list – Múr, Mannveira, Angrenost, Misþyrming, among others, so a high level of pedigree is present.

The real question, of course, is what they do with said tools at their disposal on their new album. Titled Brenndar rústir & fuðrandi fjörur – roughly translating via Google to “Burnt Ruins & Flowing Shores” – the answer is as layered as the compositions. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WORMQUIZITOR — “AM I BEAST”

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Jun 242026
 

(written by Islander)

Four years after their debut album, Sickness Define: Society, the Belarusian black/thrash band Wormquizitor have completed their second full-length, Esthetic of Fear, which will be released by a trio of labels on July 21st. As we are told, its ten tracks “explore themes of state violence, propaganda, war in all its forms, nuclear obsession, hopelessness, and punitive psychiatry.”

To help spread the word, today we’re premiering the new album’s second single, “Am I Beast“. That title sounds like a question, and at least in the case of the music the answer is pretty clearly YES. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: TOOMS — “WHITETHORN”

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Jun 242026
 

(written by Islander)

On May 29th of this year Cursed Monk Records released Karst, the powerful second album from the Irish sludge metal band Tooms. Leading up to the release we premiered a song from it named “Lowlander“. In that context, we described the music as “dismal and disconcerting,” but “galvanic as well as distressing, intriguing as well as traumatic”.

As that song demonstrates, and as Tooms repeatedly demonstrate over the course of Karst, their music hits with heavyweight force and also explodes in episodes of searing intensity and battering fury.

Today we have a startling reminder of all that, and one that hopefully will seize the attention of people who may have overlooked Karst so far. It is an attention-seizing video for what Tooms call the darkest song they’ve ever written — “Whitethorn“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): HOC EST BELLUM — “FILTH MAJESTY”

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Jun 232026
 

(written by Islander)

At the end of this week, on June 26th, Time To Kill Records will release Filth Majesty, the debut album of the Finnish band Hoc Est Bellum. That name means This Is War, and as a sign of what their music sounds like, it is absolutely accurate. As you know, we prefer to use our own words in describing the music we recommend, but this is one occasion where the promotional materials hit the nail on the head:

Based between Helsinki and Turku, the power trio unleashes a savage blend of grinding and bestial black/death chaos, channeling a sound that is both primitive and devastatingly direct. Their music thrives on raw aggression and ritualistic intensity, forged in an atmosphere of apocalyptic dread, satanic hostility and visions of mankind’s imminent extinction….

Conceived as an act of ruthless sonic warfare, Filth Majesty descends with the force of dive bombers cutting through the sky, unleashing wave after wave of black-death devastation. Each track hits like a strafing run, relentless and unyielding, carving through silence with bursts of violence and scorched intensity.

That’s probably all you need to know in deciding whether to subjugate yourself to the full-album stream we’re presenting today, but of course, for better or worse, we have our own thoughts about the album to share — and later on in this article we’ll share an extensive statement by the band as well. Continue reading »

FLATLINE FEST 2026: DENVER’S NEWEST EXTREME METAL DESTINATION 

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Jun 232026
 

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo enjoyed a glorious couple of nights at the inaugural edition of Flatline Fest on June 13-14, and delivered to us the following enthusiastic report, accompanied by photos made by Jacob Juno.)

For heavy music, the US festival circuit is quietly growing into something that defies conventional logic. Recent years have seen the unlikely resurrection of vaunted gatherings like Milwaukee Metal Fest, while longer-running affairs like Maryland Death Fest and Northwest Terror Fest proved that even a global pandemic wasn’t enough to douse their fires for good. And deep in the wilderness outside Glacier National Park, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation enshrined a new kind of heaviness with the 2025 incarnation of Fire in the Mountains.

Obviously, these events don’t just spawn out of thin air. They’re the collective result of dedicated people putting ungodly amounts of time, energy, and creativity into something they all believe in, often at the expense of their own sanity.

But in the end, these festivals are more than just a few days of bands playing songs. They’re community gatherings where occasions are celebrated, longtime friends meet up, new friends are made, and the best kind of chaotic merriment prevails.

Evidently, nobody knows this better than Denver producer Dave Otero and co-promoter Chelsea Lowe, whose first-ever Flatline Fest at Denver’s Oriental Theater last weekend turned out to be a masterclass in how to throw one hell of a fucking party.

Continue reading »

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