AN NCS PREMIERE: CRYPTS OF GOLGOTHA — “ORDER TO COMPLY”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jun 152026
 

(written by Islander)

Denver-based Crypts of Golgotha began to form up in late 2022 when the band-members were still teenagers. By their own admission, at that time they were “without an inherent vision.” Initially they were drawn to old school death metal, but began to incorporate influences from other death-metal off-shoots, including brutal death metal and deathcore.

Their first releases were EPs — including Paths Against Divinity (released in October 2024), and The Cavernous Crypts (a March 2025 split with Cavernous) — but now they have recorded a debut album with a revised lineup. Titled Disembodied In the Arms of Perdition, it’s set for release on June 26th through DSFP Records and Return Trip Records.

One single from the album (“Elegy for a Forgotten God“) premiered last month at New Noise, and today we’re bringing you a second one, “Order to Comply“, which is the track that closes out the album. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: CVINGER — “RITE III – MASS INCINERATION FOR THE DIVINE RESURRECTION”

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Jun 152026
 


photo by Blanka Slana Heine

(written by Islander)

The Slovenian black/death metal band Cvinger will have a new album named Rites ov Flesh released on August 20th by Void Wanderer Productions. It adds to a discography that began to take shape in 2013 and now includes three previous albums and a few shorter releases. Void Wanderer provides this advance description about the new record’s themes:

On the new album, Cvinger is deeply exploring the ritualistic and spiritual practices found within the left-hand path traditions of Slavic and Indian nomadic tribes. The album delves into themes of inner transformation and sacrifice—not physical, but spiritual—through meditation, spiritual visualization, extreme fasting, the use of so-called sacred plants, and the exploration of Aghori sexual rites as symbolic acts of transcendence.

Rites ov Flesh includes nine songs, each of them identified as a “Rite”, and today we’re premiering a lyric video for the third of those — “RITE III – Mass Incineration for the Divine Resurrection“. Continue reading »

YOU’RE NOT HARDCORE (UNLESS YOU LIVE HARDCORE)

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Jun 152026
 

(Andy Synn highlights his history with Hardcore, along with three recently-released gems)

I’ve mentioned it in passing before, I’m sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever really gone into how important Hardcore was as part of my formative years as a music fan (and still is to this day).

Like most of us, I’d imagine, my early forays into forming my own music taste were somewhat scattered and inconsistent, and it wasn’t until a school friend of mine (whose name I’ve song since forgotten) lent me a CD of various Metal and Hardcore acts, introducing me to bands like Earth Crisis, Zao, and Vision of Disorder – then a little later the likes of Shai Hulud, Ringworm, All Out War (all three of which I was lucky enough to get to see live again last year) – that I truly began to develop a sense of what I really liked (and didn’t).

It wasn’t just that these bands were loud, aggressive, and filled with the sort of energy that I needed back then (and still do now) it was the way they weren’t afraid to wear their ideals and beliefs loudly and proudly… standing for something as part of an actual counter-culture that prioritised things like collective resistance and communal action, rather than simply being against whatever the current “thing” was… that made me feel like this was music with more substance, more meaning, than what the mainstream charts at the time were full of.

And while my personal experiences with the wider “scene” weren’t quite so positive -the increasing presence of insular cliques and “crews” (with their mean-girls style “you’re not tough/cool enough to sit with us” vibes) and the growing emphasis on “conformity” over “community” (especially when it came down to judging the worthiness of someone’s “mosh style”) meant I once again found myself as an outsider amongst outsiders – I’m happy to see that there are still bands (and fans) out there fighting the good fight and standing up for what they believe in (and making some kick-ass music at the same time).

The reason I’m saying all this is because while I still love Hardcore, I don’t necessarily live Hardcore (and if you don’t know what that’s a reference to feel free to ask your parents), and for some people that’s enough to disqualify me from having an opinion on it… but that’s not going to stop me from highlighting as many bands as possible from across the ‘core spectrum (whether that’s Hardcore, Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Screamo, Mathcore, etc) that I think our readers need to hear.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: EMPTINESS, FÖGBÖTLER, CAGED BASTARD, MILLIONS OF THEM, WOLFZAHN, MERRIMACK

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Jun 142026
 

(written by Islander)

After yesterday’s big trough of music for gluttonous souls, I wasn’t sure what to do with this column today. I easily could have rewarded gluttony again. The platter of new black(ish) metal songs and complete releases that’s in front of me is so loaded it makes the trenchers groan. Given the obsessive nature of my mind, I felt compelled to put as much of it before you as I could manage.

But I didn’t. After nearly a week away, my spouse has returned home, and although she’s still sleeping as I write this, I’d like to be “present” whenever she wakes up. So I’ve cut this collection short (or at least shorter than what my obsessive mental gremlins were clamoring for), although this group includes a pair of EPs in addition to “singles”, so that might make the total duration of the music here longer than yesterday’s collection.

I’ve also again resorted to some of the short-cuts I used yesterday (almost no cover art, release info that looks like an inventory list, not quite as many of my own words). I don’t really want to resort to those short-cuts every weekend, but this weekend it had some relaxing benefits.

Enough introductory babble, here’s what I picked to recommend today. Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS: GOROD, CULT OF LUNA, ALLEGAEON, BLACK SPIKE, SNAG, UNTU, MOLOKEN, WITCHSORROW, SWARN

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Jun 132026
 

(written by Islander)

I went whole-hog with my listening hours yesterday. Like a pig in a trough, I gobbled up so many good songs that I picked 9 of them for today’s roundup. As gluttonous as that was, I easily could have added a lot more, even after pushing a lot of the black metal to tomorrow’s column. And then this morning DGR alerted me to another one that would make 10. But something has to give, because I didn’t start writing yesterday.

Instead of starting to write, I went to see “Disclosure Day” in its first screening at our local theater. Afterward, my head was disturbed by conflicting thoughts about the movie, so to settle down I went to our local sports bar (by myself, because my spouse is out of town). It was packed with howling soccer fans watching the U.S. team. Not being a soccer fan I only watched bits and pieces of that, but mainly tried to focus on the Seattle Mariners’ drubbing of the Washington Nationals.

My focus was frequently interrupted not only by the explosive howls around me but also by a lot of fun conversations (and one very serious one) with people on either side of me at the bar. I stayed way too long, had one too many cocktails, and am paying the price this morning.

I can’t spend any time agonizing over what to do with these 10 song picks or I’ll never finish this thing, and what a tragedy that would be! So I’m just going to start and see what happens. In an effort to cram as much in here as I can before I give up, I’m resorting to the kind of time-saving shortcuts I’ve used in similar situations before. I hope you’ll find time to check out everything. Continue reading »

FORTRESS FESTIVAL 2026 – MAY 30-31, SCARBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND – DAY 2

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Jun 122026
 

(Here is Daniel Barkasi’s extensive report on the second day of Fortress Festival 2026 in England, accompanied by his great own photos. Go here to see his article on Day One of the festival.)

Sunday, Day 2

Intro

Survive the first day, we did. To say that we were raring to go for day two, at least on first waking up, would be an outright fallacy. Four days of Maryland Deathfest, all of the travel, and the long first day had somewhat caught up to me. The initial plan was to grab breakfast from somewhere – there were a few places nearby that looked solid – but that would require me to move more than a couple of feet, so a couple of protein bars and some Tim Tams that I picked up at the local Tesco would have to suffice. Don’t get me started on my adoration for Aussie snack foods, but yes, I indeed did make some tea and did a proper Tim Tam slam. You’re not looking at some novice.

Once our faculties were in order, it was about time to stroll over to the old Spa for a second and final day that was to give very little mercy in terms of downtime. The proof of a killer lineup – we’ll take it, but the feet protest. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: LUMEN AD MORTEM — “AND WHAT IS YET TO LOSE”

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Jun 122026
 

(written by Islander)

One week from today Hypnotic Dirge Records will release A Grave Ascent, the second album by South Australia’s Lumen Ad Mortem. The label succinctly brands the music “anthemic black metal”, and you’ll already understand why if you’ve heard the first couple of album tracks already released.

To be clear, the music is often furiously paced and ferocious, the vocals are usually scorching, and the moods can be intensely distraught. But even when the band are in inferno mode the music spreads its fire and its daunting moods on a grand scale, wholly absorbing listeners in experiences that are as wondrous as they are frightening.

This simply isn’t the kind of music you can casually pass by or hear with only part of your attention, because its emotional and sonic power seizes attention so dramatically. As you might guess, some of the impact derives from the use of panoramic orchestration, but every other ingredient, including the hard-hitting rhythms, the blizzard-like riffing, and the possessed vocals is equally vital.

Yet Lumen Ad Mortem’s new music is equally capable of drenching listeners in atmospheres of crushing loss and despair. One of the two songs already out in the world (“Ghost Gums“) proves that – and today we’re premiering another song (a vast one) that further demonstrates the new album’s expansive emotional reach. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEFECT DESIGNER

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jun 122026
 

(Anyone who has listened to Defect Designer, and perhaps especially their current album Depressants [released last month by Transcending Obscurity] will expect any discussion with them to be unusually interesting, especially if it includes insights into their creative process — and expectations are fulfilled in the following interview of Dmitry Sukhinin and Martin Storm-Olsen by our Comrade Aleks.)

I bet that you already had a glimpse here on the new metal of Defect Designer, so I’d prefer to avoid revisiting the band’s background. What we have now is Defect Designer’s fourth full-length Depressants, which continues a series of experiments in prog, death metal, and avant-garde music.

Dmitry Sukhinin is responsible for guitar, bass, and main vocals, as well as some of the music and lyrics; Martin Storm-Olsen has added banjo, mandolin, and twelve-string acoustic guitar to his arsenal this time around. Besides relatively new and extraordinary drummer Eugene Ryabchenko, this album also features female vocals (“Body Count of My Cow Tail”), and one of the three guest vocalists is Björn Strid from Soilwork (“Expiration Deferral Request Denied”).

Depressants sounds like an anthem of unbridled chaos, but in reality, it’s a meticulously crafted piece that has undergone a series of modifications at various stages. In fact, the band’s previous album, Chitin, was recorded literally in the middle of working on Depressants! So the songs were written unhurriedly, with all the necessary elements given due attention. Thus, the screaming death metal cacophony of “Butterfly Juice Straw” easily transforms into epic, melodic metal, while the magical, orchestral keyboard lines of “As the Terracotta Dust Settles”, on the contrary, are instantly dispersed by a rabid death metal overtone.

Asynchrony and extreme dissonance go hand in hand with harmony and classical music. Depressants is the carnage of “Daily Dose of Gloom,” the mandolin finale of “Repeated Aversive…,” the hard rock of “Expiration Defreral…,” and the sleepy prog haze of “Body Count…” A lot of everything to listen to, a lot of everything to dig, a lot of everything to discuss with the band’s main authors. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BEWARE OF GODS — “SECONDARY DROWNING”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  No Responses »
Jun 112026
 

(written by Islander)

“BEWARE OF GODS!” With little doubt, someone has been yelling that warning ever since human beings first conceived of divinities, but with little apparent success. The Minneapolis-based project whose music is the subject of this premiere brandishes that warning in its very name, while simultaneously crafting mythic lyrical and musical narratives that seem to teach other lessons as well — often in exceedingly scary terms.

We’ve had occasion to spread the word about Beware of Gods before, but a few reminders are probably worthwhile. It’s the solo project of a creator known as The Archetype, and has been devoted to the unfolding of a mythos centered on a protagonist called I Nomad — a dystopian cosmic mythos too be sure, but one that provides a mirror to quite human experiences of personal collapse, addiction, and rebirth, influenced by The Archetype’s own near-death experience and long recovery.

The latest Beware of Gods record is Behead the Oracle, the third and final installment in a musical arc named Upon Whom The Last Light Descends, and it’s set for release on July 10th by Invoke Records. As the label explains, it “completes a sprawling narrative about false prophets, algorithmic gods, and the collapse of meaning in a hyper-controlled future.” Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CRIPPLE BASTARDS — “LA TUA FOTO SUL MARMO”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Jun 112026
 

(written by Islander)

It’s not valid to summarize the attractions of extreme metal in a word or two. The experiences are too varied. At one end, it can feel like the oppressive pressure of the ocean in the deepest trenches. It can also be mysterious and mesmerizing, or profoundly spiritual. But perhaps the greatest attraction derives from its explosive intensity, its raging nature, the furious violence it’s capable of channeling. And in those aspects it’s probably true that no sub-genre captures the heat or provides that kind of catharsis better than grindcore.

I have friends for whom grind is their meat and potatoes, the rushing red blood of what they listen to. I have other friends that barely have any use for it. Not enough hooks, not enough changes, not enough atmosphere, not enough groove to propel the banging of heads, the songs not long enough to sink in. I’m still going to urge those friends (and you) to hear what we’re premiering today, for reasons I’m about to explain.

What you have in front of you is La tua foto sul marmo, a new EP from Cripple Bastards that’s set for release on June 12th – tomorrow! – by F.O.A.D. Records. Continue reading »

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