Islander

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PENTAGRAM

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  No Responses »
Feb 242025
 

(At the end of January the US doom metal legends Pentagram, in collaboration with Heavy Psych Sounds, returned with their first new studio album in a decade. Not long before it was released, our Comrade Aleks reached out and then conducted the following very good interview with current Pentagram guitarist and sound producer Tony Reed, who also leads Mos Generator and Hot Spring Water. With thanks to Tony Reed, we present that interview today.)

The first incarnation of doom metal legend Pentagram was founded in 1971. Back then Bobby Liebling (vocals) gathered around himself a bunch of like-minded persons who dug heavy bluesy rock and wanted to do their own things. The band had a reputation of “street Black Sabbath”, and a lot of talented musicians went through its ranks.

Almost all of Pentagram‘s rises and falls were the result of Bobby’s actions, and it’s a miracle that after so many years the band is still alive. Nearly 40 musicians went through the band, and nowadays Bobby is accompanied by the guitarist and sound producer Tony Reed of Mos Generator, his colleague bass-player Scooter Haslip, and drummer Henry Vasquez from Saint Vitus, Legions of Doom, and more.

At the time of this interview Heavy Psych Sounds was scheduled to release the new Pentagram album Lightning in a Bottle on January 31st. It’s the tenth album in the band’s extended career (and the first one in this decade), and it’s an absolute killer, something I couldn’t ignore. Tony Reed was kind enough to find some free time in his busy schedule and helped with this interview. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: KARG, MATAVITATAU, SUTTUNGR, FINAL DOSE, LOW BEFORE THE BREEZE, DÉMONOS, LESATH, ANTROPOCENO

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Feb 232025
 

(written by Islander)

I’m hurrying to post today’s collection before I have to turn to much more mundane tasks, so I’ll spare you a wordy introduction and just say that I’m extremely proud of these choices, not only because I think all of them are excellent but also because they’re going to give you so many twists and turns, right up through the final choice. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: GRAVE INFESTATION, DARK MEDITATION, SPIRITWORLD, ANCIENT DEATH, TYRANNOSATAN, ARV, EXILIUM NOCTIS, PRIMORDIAL BLACK (AND TWO INTERVIEWS)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Feb 222025
 

(written by Islander)

Greetings on another Saturday. I have another globe-hopping-and-genre-hopping selection of new songs and videos filtered from what I was able to check out over the past week.

At the end, I’m also recommending a pair of recent interviews published at locations other than NCS, not just because the bands are favorites of mine but also because the discussions are so interesting.

But we’ll start with the music…. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BEWARE OF GODS — “TEMPLE OF THIEVES”

 Premieres  8 Responses »
Feb 212025
 

(written by Islander)

“Industrial-tinged Doom with vocals in the style of Chris Cornell, Chino Moreno, and Thou. FFO: Conan, NIN, Radiohead & Failure.”  That’s the intriguing elevator pitch for the music of the Chicago-based one-man band Beware of Gods and the band’s new album Upon Whom The Last Light Descends II: Amnesia Island.

As the album title signifies, it’s the second installment in a four-part work, a conceptual work inspired by ‘The Blind Idiot God’ from the HP Lovecraft mythos known as Azathoth — “a malevolently indifferent Infinite Creator of Chaos re-imagined as the Looming Dread treading all of Us which can only be overcome by turning to face it.”

We’re told that other literary and film inspirations include: Dune,The Matrix, Dracula, Demian, Mad Max, Blade Runner, Jonah & The Whale, and Foundation.

While “industrial-tinged doom” is a decent shorthand for the music, it’s also too limiting. There’s another combination of invocations in the band’s bio that’s more evocative: “Cosmic Horror / SCI FI / Psych / Myth / Noir“.

Hopefully, the foregoing paragraphs have effectively teased you into listening to a song from the new album we’re premiering today, even if you missed Beware of God‘s first album, because this new song really is one you should not miss. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GRYLA — “BANNERS SOAKED IN CRIMSON ESSENCE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Feb 212025
 

(written by Islander)

We get a lot of first impressions of music before ever hearing a note. In the case of Gryla‘s second album, we see a primitive rendering of a naked Christ under the bleak light of a black sun, about to be stoned by angry men under the observation of a gnarly logo. We see the album’s name, The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass. We see a photo of the sneering performer, who appears just as angry as the assaulting figures in the cover art.

First impressions are followed by second impressions, the music itself. And even though you’ll have some idea of what’s coming if you’ve heard this Norwegian one-man band’s first album (2024’s Jaundiced Hag of the Wood), you’ll have a better idea from the song we’re premiering today — “Banners Soaked in Crimson Essence“. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEATHRITE

 Interviews  No Responses »
Feb 212025
 

(Last fall, the German band Deathrite released their fifth album, and our Comrade Aleks got in touch with them to find out more about it. After some delays, we’re finally able to bring it to you today.)

Hell! The fifth album of Deathrite, Flames Licking Fever, was released in October 2024, and we managed to organize this interview with these guys from Dresden exclusively fast. But Ruinous Powers interfered at some point, and this fast interview arrived only in the winter of 2025.

A feverish and lunatic mix of deranged death metal and hardcore punk doesn’t need a long introduction. Dig or die. But read it before you choose any of these options. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: PELICAN, VENENOSUM, BÅKÜ, BLASTANUS, LAUDARE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 202025
 


Pelican – photo credit Mike Boyd

With very rare exceptions, the only times when I’ve managed to put together one of these roundups during the week (instead of waiting for Saturday) is when I’ve unexpectedly had time left over after finishing premieres and the other things I do around here. On this occasion, however, I just forced myself to make the time.

Of course I can’t actually make time – wouldn’t it be wonderful if that were possible! — and so what I mean is that I shoved aside other chores and pleasures because, for varying reasons, I really wanted to spread the word about the following songs without waiting ’til the weekend. Hopefully, when you hear them, you’ll understand the feelings or urgency. (Also, I will have my hands full on Saturday dealing with a ton of other new releases over the past week or two, and this should make that task a bit easier.)

I’ll add that, by coincidence, this collection makes for an extremely varied listening experience. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SEVENTH STATION — “ON SHOULDERS OF GIANTS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Feb 202025
 

(written by Islander)

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

(Isaac Newton, in a letter to Robert Hooke, 5 Feb 1675)

We begin with that famous quotation because it is likely the source of the name that the unconventional international band Seventh Station gave their forthcoming new EP, On Shoulders Of Giants. They chose that name because the five songs on the record honor five great musical artists of the 20th century, many of them classical composers. Standing on those shoulders, Seventh Station have given the compositions their own distinctive twists, transforming the original works into expressions of contemporary metal that are as unorthodox, indeed mind-bending, as Newton’s theories must have seemed when he envisioned them from the shoulders of the giants in his own fields.

At the very end of this admittedly very long feature we’ve included a track-by-track commentary (a fun-loving one) by Seventh Station vocalist Davidavi (“Vidi”) Dolev that sheds light on what inspired each song on the EP and what the band sought to accomplish with each one. Although it’s at the end, you should really read it first if you want want a deeper understanding of what you’re about to hear. Just reading it, without listening, is also kind of a dazzling experience, and undoubtedly will leave adventurous listeners intensely curious about what’s coming. (That was certainly the effect it had on us before we started listening).

But Vidi Dolev‘s comments only hint at what the songs are going to sound like, leaving the door open for someone rash like me to offer up some descriptive verbiage, while humbly acknowledging that there’s really no substitute for listening first-hand. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: INTO THE FRAY — “S(OWULO) T(EIWAZ) T(URISAZ)”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Feb 202025
 

(written by Islander)

The Russian band Into The Fray released their self-titled first full-length in 2021. They think of it as a foundation, as “a collective image of a decade-long history,” but not the complete achievement of their ambitions. They view their second album Deofolist, which will be released in May of this year, as an evolution, and as a more well-formed demonstration of the path they have now found and intend to continue following.

In a nutshell, Into the Fray have been inspired by groove metal, and they mention Pantera, Lamb Of God, and Hatebreed among their inspirations. Lyrically, they have focused (particularly in Deofolist) on military history, on tales of warfare across the centuries, pointing to the thematic influence of bands like Bolt Thrower and Just before Dawn. As you’ll see, their music sounds like warfare too. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: DISSOCIA — “SAMSARA”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Feb 192025
 

(written by Islander)

“A new progressive death metal band featuring members of Persefone and Wormed.” Say no more! Whatever they’re doing, with those pedigrees it must be worth checking out, right?

Digging a bit deeper into the back-story of Dissocia reveals that it unites the talents of multi-instrumentalist Daniel R. Flys from Persefone (and Eternal Storm) and drummer Gabriel Valcázar from Wormed (and Cancer), with additional contributions on their debut album To Lift The Veil from violinist Paul R. Flys.

At first blush, this would seem to be a head-scratching union. On the one hand, the other bands in which Dani Flys and Gabriel Valcázar are involved are exceptionally good, but on the other hand the music of those bands tends to be dramatically different from each other, and so guessing what Dissocia is all about might not be something you’d want to bet money on.

The other reason why it would be foolish to guess is that Dissocia‘s music really doesn’t sound like any of those other bands — but it too is exceptionally good, as you’ll discover for yourselves through our premiere of a visualizer for “Samsara,” a song from the debut album in advance of its release by Willowtip Records on March 21st. Continue reading »

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