(Andy Synn takes us on a trip to the Death Metal underground of Chile today)
It’s been suggested, perhaps not unfairly, that I’ve been neglecting the Death Metal side of things recently.
So to make up for this (while acknowledging that I’ve definitely covered stuff from Carbon Tomb, Altarage, and a bunch of other short form releases all in the last month or so) I decided that today would be the day we’d dive head-first into the Chilean Death Metal scene in all its nasty, blasty brilliance.
(written by Islander)
At this site we try to range widely in our listening and in the music we choose to share, to range widely in both geography and in the stylistic character of what we recommend. We also intentionally spend more time delving into obscure quarters than names most metalheads already know.
But of course, we are only a small and huddled group of hobbyists (fanatical hobbyists)), and even after many years of foraging we still miss a great deal, though sometimes we eventually find what we missed.
And so today we have at last found the massively heavy Ukrainian sludge band Celophys, whose sixth album Neanderthal will be released by the Ukrainian label Robustfellow Prods. on August 21st. Continue reading »
photo by Acidolka Photo
(We happily welcome back The Goat Tavern, a metal enthusiast based in the UK but with roots in Poland whose contributions to metal you can also find here and here. This time he has brought us an extensive, truly wide-ranging, and impressively articulate interview he conducted with Nihil, frontman of the groundbreaking and ever-evolving Polish band Furia.)
For nearly twenty-five years, Furia have stood apart – not only within Polish black metal, but within the genre as a whole. Restlessly evolving while remaining unmistakably themselves, they’ve built a body of work that defies easy categorization, drawing equally from black metal, theatre, Silesian identity, and a deeply personal search for meaning. I spoke to the frontman of the band, Nihil in search for answers to questions that many of us wanted to ask for a long time. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
We’ll keep our count going: This now marks the 15th time we’ve written about the music of the macabre Pennsylvania duo Veilburner over the last decade-plus, and the eighth time we’ve premiered some of that music. The explanation should be obvious by now:
Despite how prolific Veilburner have been, their mind-boggling adventures never get old, and it’s really not an exaggeration to say that no one else sounds like them. In the case of some performers, familiarity may indeed breed contempt; in the case of Veilburner, it breeds endless fascination (albeit sanity-threatening fascination).
They remain prolific — less than a year after Transcending Obscurity Records released their eighth album Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy, the same label is primed to release their ninth one, All that Glimmers is Gloam, on October 16th. As songwriters and performers, Veilburner also remain diabolically ingenious, as you shall discover through our premiere today of a song from the new album called “Of Godslave and Blood Mortar“. Continue reading »
(Andy Synn kicks off another new week here at NCS with another new album you may have missed)
While it’s true that some bands spring from the proverbial womb fully formed, generally speaking mosts bands take a little bit of time to achieve their final form.
Influences both internal and external, issues of place and time, evolving line-ups and changing circumstances, all have an impact on a band’s development, and it’s difficult to predict exactly what confluence of factors will inspire a band to produce their best work.
And in the case of Pull the Strings, it was the shift from a pure solo project – masterminded by multi-instrumentalist Alan Brucke (also of Mind Prisoner) – to a collaborative duo (with the addition of the equally talented Gabriel Yadon) which has ultimately allowed them to achieve their full potential.
(written by Islander)
The Spanish band SolNegre first seized our attention here through their release in 2024 of a single song named Annihilation of the Self, which extended for more than 21 minutes. Our reviewer called it “a veritable odyssey of expressive, expansive, atmosphere-heavy Death Doom rich in both metallic weight and melodic depth”, “at times mournfully minimalist and melancholy, at others morbidly heavy (and not afraid to crank up the Death Metal influences)”.
SolNegre followed that last April with their second album, Anthems of the Grand Collapse, and that seized our attention too. Our review praised it as “[e]asily one of the best Doom (or Doom-related) albums of the year, possessing a scintillating sense of grandeur and a vivid artistic vision thoroughly befitting the similarly epic and evocative artwork that adorns its cover” — “a heavy album – both musically and emotionally – [but] also an album of surprising variety”.
However, along with bringing the triumph of that album, 2026 has proven to be a year of heartbreaking tragedy for SolNegre, an unexpected tragedy that occurred just before the live recording of the song and video we’re bringing you today. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
I was able to spend a fair amount of time yesterday afternoon checking out new music I’d noticed over the past week, and made the choices you now see — though I again got a late start on the writing due to Friday night diversions that also went late. Here are just a few quick notes on what’s ahead:
I do enjoy making these roundups a roller-coaster ride, genre-wise. It was easier to do that with this one because the music that made the biggest impressions on me as I listened yesterday just happened to make a big spread of different experiences. You’ll see. If you’re not crazy about one thing, just keep on going, because the next thing will be a different kind of creature.
I’m not sure I will be able to post a SHADES OF BLACK column tomorrow. My wife and I are going to a birthday event for an old friend, and we’ll have to leave home well before I usually finish those columns. Maybe I’ll feel like making enough of a head-start this afternoon that I can get something ready, even if it’s short, before we head out. Or not. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
We’ve arrived at another Friday when Bandcamp relinquishes its share of sales to artists and labels. The timing is always a bit awkward for me because I usually post roundups of new music on Saturdays, too late to help people take advantage of Bandcamp’s temporary boon to music-makers. Of course, our usual week-long series of premieres and reviews still provide a lot of recommendations, and listeners can always save things for the next Bandcamp Friday (which will happen on September 4th).
I didn’t plan to do a roundup today because I had agreed to premiere and review a new album, but that fell through at the 11th hour. So I have some unexpected time to fill that hole, though not as much as I would have liked. I wish I could do more today, but a little something is better than a lot of nothing, especially because all of the following three songs are stupendous in different ways. If all goes well, I’ll have a lot more music to share tomorrow.
P.S. Although this little roundup doesn’t include releases by Dark Descent Records or Unholy Anarchy Records, both of those labels have pledged to donate 20% of any purchases made today on their Bandcamp pages to the GoFundMe established by Neill Jameson (of Krieg, and a contributor to NCS) to help deal with expenses after the recent passing of his wife Nikki from cancer and his need to become a full-time caregiver for their autistic daughter Vale. Direct donations to the GoFundMe can be made here. Please help if you can. Continue reading »
(Here we have Comrade Aleks’ interview of Antonio Ortiz from the Bolivian doom metal band Lachrima Corphus Dissolvens, whose latest album was released this past April.)
Lachrima Corphus Dissolvens is the rare (or only?!) representative of death-doom metal in Bolivia. Being founded in La Paz in 2003 by Antonio Ortiz (vocals) and Beyson Gibson (guitars) with a bunch of friends who soon left the band, it remains still active, although there are only two full-length albums in its discography.
Yes, the new piece Where Shadows Speak and Time Weeps is only the second big work of Lachrima Corphus Dissolvens, but a dozen of singles, EPs, splits, and compilations show that the men didn’t waste their time carrying the torch of Ruinous Powers. I interviewed Antonio earlier in July, so you can make an impression of what Lachrima Corphus Dissolvens is from this interview. Continue reading »
(Here we have Daniel Barkasi’s review of the new album by Hulder, which is beging co-released today by 20 Buck Spin and Season of Mist.)
As notoriety grows and more ears pique in a band’s direction, it can be especially challenging to determine where they may go when a new album rolls around. This scribe is far from the type who demands all bands whom I have a fondness for to only reach a certain level of visibility – rooting against the success of a band you like is such a strange concept – though it’s safe to say we’ve all been left disappointed by a few bands we hold dear when a change in sound occurs.
I’m not going to get into the great Gaerea debate, but they’re a recent example who has invoked all sorts of discourse from all over the opinion spectrum – covered nicely in these halls – but you could see a shift in their case coming, whether it was welcome to you or not. The point is, evolution is unavoidable, whether it be purposeful or a naturally gradual shift. Standing still often equates to being left behind.
Which is where we come to the traditional black metal force known as Hulder. 2024’s Verses in Oath has thus far been a high-water mark, building from their heralded and raw-to-the-bone demos to that of the debut full-length Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry, which is where the flame started flickering a little brighter. The Eternal Fanfare followed shortly after, aiding the already burgeoning reputation of this black metal traditionalist who wasn’t afraid to carve out a place in the vast history of this genre for themselves. Continue reading »