AN NCS DEMO PREMIERE: XEROPOLIS — “PROMO 2026”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 102026
 

(written by Islander)

G.E.F., the artist driving such musical vehicles as Thecodontion and Clactonian, and the proprietor of the Prehistoric Sounds label, has created a new band named Xeropolis. In this new endeavor he uses the name Sangu Anticu, which is Sicilian for “Ancient Blood”, and is joined by multi-instrumentalist Kris Vudz (from Skialykon). Their first recording is a demo named Promo 2026 that we’re premiering in full today in advance of its release by Prehistoric Sounds this coming Friday, November 13th.

G.E.F. has explained the thematic focus of Xeropolis: “The band’s name comes from Greek and roughly means ‘dry city’. We’ve sought to portray the landscapes of the Mediterranean (particularly Sicily) in a different light: no longer lush and flourishing landscapes, but arid and desolate images stretching out under a scorching sun, in a land that seems to offer no hope.”

In line with this theme G.E.F. voices the lyrics entirely in Sicilian. Musically, he introduces the songs as “black metal with punk influences, inspired by bands such as Ildjarn and Darkthrone, among others”, but explains that the Xeropolis interpretation of the genre “is a sort of reversal of the perspective of the Norwegian bands of the 1990s: in addition to the themes, which suggest a climate diametrically opposed to Scandinavian winters, we opted for a scorching production to emphasize this aspect.” Continue reading »

WALLS OF JERICHO – SYTEM ERROR: HUMANITY

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Nov 102026
 

(Andy Synn finds very few errors on the new album from Walls of Jericho, out this Friday)

If you’re a fan of Metallic Hardcore – or what we used to call “Metalcore” before the term got bastardised into having little to do with its actual roots – then you’ve been eating well this year.

Not only is the modern scene still as vital, as vibrant, and as vicious as ever, but 2026 has also treated us to the resurrection of 100 Demons with their first album in 20 years (Embrace the Black Light), a stunning return to form from Hatebreed (Fatal Paradox) and is now about to bless our ears with the long-awaited, highly-anticipated revival of the one and only Walls of Jericho with their first new full-length in a decade.

And what do you know? It turns out that revival really does never goes out of style.

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SEID — “URSEIÐR”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 102026
 

(written by Islander)

Over the last decade the Swedish black metal band Seid have released five albums, with a sixth one named Dystopolis set for release by ATMF on December 11th. Thematically, they have built a reputation for delving into ancient Norse lore and Viking culture. Musically, they have demonstrated creative progression, sometimes in quite unexpected ways.

The themes of the new album are worth considering before we get to the main point of this feature, which is the premiere of a song from the new album named “Urdseiðr“. Here is how ATMF’s press materials describe them: Continue reading »

DAMNATION FESTIVAL 2026

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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, it’s more of a like a journal of my thoughts – plus a few conversations with the people I was with and/or some of the folks I bumped into – as they came to me (and as much as I can remember them) over the last two days.

Continue reading »

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

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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

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
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.

Continue reading »

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 »

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