AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BONE EATER — “PARASITES OF DEAD EARTH”

 Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Sep 152026
 

(written by Islander)

Bone Eater is a New Brunswick-based death/doom/sludge unit, led as a solo outing by the multi-instrumentalist Scott Miller. Formed in 2021, it takes its name from a worm that bores into the bones of rotting whale carcasses to feed off of them.

Bone Eater released its debut EP MMXXII in 2022. And now, on September 18th, Bone Eater will release its second EP, MMXXVI. This one will be compiled with the debut release and put out via Ancient Temple Recordings and Phage Tapes on vinyl and CD, and through Doomshire Tapes and Crypt Death Mortuary on tape.

The new EP is a two-song offering, but it’s a substantial one, with each song reaching beyond the 10-minute mark. The EP is also a devastating, take-no-prisoners destroyer, as you’ll begin to discover through our video premiere of its first song, “Parasites of Dead Earth“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ORBITA — “NÈKYIA”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  2 Responses »
Sep 152026
 

(written by Islander)

The porous “rule” in our site’s title is about to have another hole punched in it, a very big hole that will leave it bleeding. Which is to say that the vocals in the song we’re about to premiere include naught but singing — though the singing soars to shattering heights of anguish and agony, much as the song as a whole does.

The name of the song is “Nèkyia“, and it’s from the debut album of the Italian band Orbita, which is set for international release on October 9th by Aural Music. The album’s title could easily stand in for the moods of the song — Farewell to All We’ve Lost. Continue reading »

HORIZON ABLAZE – LIVETS HØST

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Sep 152026
 

(Andy Synn catches up with a long-time NCS favourite and their long-awaited new album, out now)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but eight years is a pretty long time to go between albums.

Hell, in the last eight years I’ve attended multiple weddings (including my own), been to more funerals than I’d like, gained new friends, lost some others, and travelled to more countries than I can currently name off the top of my head.

What I’m saying is that a lot can change in eight years, so the Horizon Ablaze of 2026 is, inevitably, not the same band they were in 2018… both in terms of their overall line-up (with previous bassist Ole Madsen now replaced by former live-guitarist Jan Laksesvela) and in relation to how they’ve all changed and grown as people during the near-decade long gap between releases.

But, you know what they say… the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Continue reading »

GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, END-OF-SUMMER EDITION

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Sep 152026
 

(Our Denver-based writer Gonzo had an eventful summer, and reported on some of those events in our pages, but he now returns to reviewing and recommending albums — six of them released earlier this year.)

Well, fuck.

To say the past three months have been busy would be my own personal understatement of the year. Said months included, in no particular order: My wedding, three festivals, one World Cup road trip, one trip to North Carolina to see Acid Bath at a brand-new venue in Asheville, and other random adventures I’m somehow blanking on. June now seems like a blurry haze, July was like a metalhead’s paradise, and August was mostly spent recovering.

As a result, life forced me to break routines and generally fall behind on business as usual this summer. Among the normal routines I broke: Posting my usual monthly roundup here. And like any routine, once it’s broken, it’s hard to get back on the horse and continue riding. As it turns out, my will to write prevails.

But now that we’re about 75% of the way through 2026, it’s been quite the year for heavy music—much of which we’ve already covered here. The following five albums are some of the best I’ve heard during that stretch that still slipped through the cracks. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: URISK — “THE HAULED AND THE WAIF”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 142026
 

(written by Islander)

Urisk are a black metal duo from Bonn, Germany, formed in 2023 by Benedikt Brixius and Marleen Bügener. They have very specific and heart-felt inspirations, which we’ll get to momentarily, and they’ve wasted no time in musically expressing them: Following a debut demo released in the fall of 2024, they released a debut album named Shrivelling Lights in 2025, and a second demo at the end of that same year.

Those were independent releases, but Urisk have now partnered with Vendetta Records for the release of their second album on October 2nd. Its name is CALL, and today we’re premiering a lyric video for its first and only single in advance of the album drop. The name of this song is “The Hauled and the Waif“. Continue reading »

KRALLICE – SCOUR ORDER

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Sep 142026
 

(Andy Synn says to expect the unexpected when it comes to the new album from Krallice, out Friday)

Love them or hate them (and, of a certainty, there’s plenty of folks in both camps) Krallice have long been one of the most reliably progressive, artistically provocative, bands in Metal.

Of course, while their avant-garde ambitions and experimental excursions haven’t always paid off – don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely a fan, but I’m also willing to admit that their discography isn’t perfect, although that’s probably to be expected from a group continually trying to challenge themselves and take chances with their sound – it’s to their credit that every release, from Dimensional Bleedthrough toYgg Huur to Crystalline Exhaustion, has presented a slightly different face (or, at least, a subtly different facet) of the band.

And, in that sense, Scour Order is no different.

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CRYPTORIUM — “REVOLTING OBSESSION”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 142026
 

(written by Islander)

It’s so nice to begin a new week at NCS by installing a piece of hellishly eye-catching cover art at the top of the page. We have an intricate layout of skull-headed abominations that seem to be feeding on their own intestines, plus spikes, tendrils, and a ghastly glowing light that signifies worse things might lie ahead. We bow in the direction of the artist Slimeweaver for creating such a ghoulish delight.

Even better, the album that the artwork adorns is itself a ghoulish delight, one that will hold special appeal for fans of deathless Swedish death metal, the cemetery spawn of such bands as Dismember, Entombed, Carnage, and Grave. That album will lead listeners Through The Bowels Of Ceaseless Dissonance, and our fiendish guides are the Swedish band Cryptorium.

What we have for you today is the premiere of a song called “Revolting Obsession” in advance of the October 30 album release by Transcending Obscurity Records. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DIE SÜNDE, THE AEONS TORN, SERVANT, FLAME

 SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Sep 132026
 

(written by Islander)

I originally made six choices for this column, but as I did yesterday I overslept due to having a bit too much fun last night at a local watering hole. So, I’m rushing now and am forced to leave two of my choices behind — and to cut this introduction short.

As it happens, all of the following four songs were presented through videos, and the first three are especially good. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: UNDERDARK, LIZARD CULT, LŌTICO, OF WOLVES, METHEDRINE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Sep 122026
 

(written by Islander)

Welcome to The Department of Broken Records. I know that’s what I’ll sound like if I explain how tough it was for me to make choices for this roundup or how late I slept this morning, so I’ll just skip that (get it?) and go straight to the songs and videos, which I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I have — even though the oversleeping has made the collection briefer than average. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NIGHT HAG — “DROWNED IN DEATH”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 112026
 

(written by Islander)

Over the last five years we’ve paid close attention to the horrid ambitions of the Virginia-based death-doom band Night Hag, beginning with a feature about music from their then-forthcoming 2022 debut album Phantasmal Scourge, following that with an interview after the album’s release, continuing with a premiere of their full-length 2023 split with Italy’s Burial, and now forging ahead with yet another premiere.

The subject of today’s musical revelation is a song named “Drowned In Death“, which is off Night Hag’s fearfully anticipated second album Great Dismal Darkness, which will be released on October 16th by the Rotted Life label.

As some might say, this isn’t a song for the faint of heart, but you’re not faint-hearted or you wouldn’t be here! Continue reading »

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