Islander

SHADES OF BLACK: COSCRADH, ENDSPACE, MERCULISTARYA, CAGED BASTARD

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  2 Responses »
Jan 112026
 

(written by Islander)

This morning I read an unexpectedly engrossing essay written by a woman who unexpectedly became an obsessive fan of a Broadway musical named Operation Mincemeat. She makes very clear that fanatical fandom isn’t typically part of her personality — far from it. She spends the entire essay thinking out loud, trying to understand why she has seen the musical at least 12 times, interspersed with evidence of her obsession and stories about how the musical came to be and what it’s about.

Eventually the writer comes close to an answer, which is that the musical is an exception to the “desert drought of originality and ideas” that surrounds us. She writes: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: INCANDESCENCE, SPEGLAS, PIGPEN, HEIR CORPSE ONE, DEADWOOD, PATRIARCHS IN BLACK, EXHUMED

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Jan 102026
 

(written by Islander)

I’m obviously still doing what I usually do around here, picking out some new songs and videos to share with you this weekend. But in addition to being overwhelmed by the sudden January surge in new music, the task has been especially difficult because I’ve been so infuriated and depressed by the murder in Minneapolis, the outrageous bald-faced lies spouted about it by Trump and his minions, including the fabricated demonizing of the deceased, and the likelihood that the murderer will face no accountability at all. Only ten days into the New Year, and 2026 already looks devastatingly dark here in the U.S.

I haven’t listened to new music over the last couple of days to take my mind off these events, or other terrible events both here and around the world. I do often immerse myself in music for that very reason, as many people do — to get some relief from more awful aspects of existence. But not now. The rage and the sadness aren’t going to be diverted. Now, I’m just trying to keep my head down and carry on because I don’t have any better ideas, even though it seems on days like this that what we’re doing here is unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Well, sorry for unloading like that. I still want you to listen to all the songs I picked for today. In my humble estimation, they’re all very good, even though I suspect I’ll appreciate them even more on some distant and brighter day. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: WOLFBASTARD, NINTH REALM, ACERBIC, ABSENT RITUAL

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Jan 092026
 

(written by Islander)

As someone who tries to keep a very close eye every week on the emergence of new metal across a range of sub-genres, I can tell you that the holiday break is well and truly over. Since last week, the relative trickle has become a flood. I now find myself staring at dozens of computer tabs I opened in just a handful of days for songs and complete releases I thought I might want to check out.

I haven’t yet made my way through all of them, and doubt that I can. But with no premieres on our calendar today, I thought I ought to at least make a start, so that the task of compiling our two usual weekend roundups won’t be completely overwhelming, just moderately overwhelming. Here’s what I unearthed from the underground and enjoyed this morning. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2025’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 6): GAAHLS WYRD, BEASTWARS, CHAMBER MAGE

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2025  No Responses »
Jan 092026
 

(written by Islander)

As a reminder to people that our site’s name isn’t really the ironclad rule that it pretends to be, I always include songs on this list that include… singing.

I mean, the site’s name isn’t a complete joke. The vast majority of the music we feature has no singing in it — only growls, howls, or screams — and most of the time sung vocals don’t hold a lot of appeal for me. Given my tastes in metallic extremity, I find that they often tend to diminish or distract from the emotional and sonic intensity I’m after.

On the other hand, I readily admit that singing can enhance a song’s power, or add contrasting or complementary “colors” that elevate a song’s impact beyond what it could achieve with harsh vox or no vocals at all. The three songs I’ve added to this list today are examples of what I’m getting at. Of course, there are other aspects to the songs which make them addictive, but the voices — which are dramatically different from each other — are a key reason why they got their hooks in me last year. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ANCHORITE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  No Responses »
Jan 092026
 

(Last August Personal Records released the second album from the multi-national doom band Anchorite, whose lineup is full of veteran names. Their music features singing (remarkable singing), but of course that won’t stop us from publishing Comrade Aleks’ interview of Anchorite’s vocalist, Leo Stivala.)

After a five-year hiatus, the international project Anchorite is ready to remind us of themselves with their second full-length album, Realm of Ruin. Anchorite’s strengths extend beyond the fact that Forsaken frontman Leo Stivala is on vocals; the entire lineup is remarkable. Leading the charge is bassist Peter Svensson, whom we recently wrote about in light of the new album from his main doom band, Void Moon, and who is known for countless other projects he’s involved in! Behind the drums is Void Moon’s drummer (and vocalist), Marcus Rosenqvist, and on guitar is Martin Andersen from the Danish heavy metal band Meridian.

The professionalism of Anchorite’s members guarantees the quality of Realm of Ruin, but if you’re familiar with Svensson’s discography, it’s time to ask: Is it physically possible for a person to produce so much metal without wearing himself out? Especially since three more albums featuring his most active contributions were released in 2025. True, two of the three (Furnace and War Magic) are death metal, and one (Bardo Thodol) is heavy metal, but jokes aside, Anchorite delight the ear with solid, never-failing doom metal with a leaning toward traditional, combative heavy metal. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2025’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 5): KANONENFIEBER, ONE OF NINE, ORDEALS

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2025  1 Response »
Jan 082026
 

(written by Islander)

In this fifth installment of my Most Infectious Song list I’ve concentrated on tracks that create varying intersections of black and death metal. No two of them are quite alike, but all three have left lasting impressions. I’ve included the first one despite the fact that the album it comes from will be a 2026 release, because the song itself was released as a single last August.

Without further ado, let’s get straight to them. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ENNUI — “ANTINATALISM”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 082026
 

(written by Islander)

The world will end. All life will end. Each life will end, tomorrow, or the next day, or millions of years from now. What comes next? That question has occupied human thought almost more than any others — right after thoughts about what we must do to keep ourselves alive for one more day. What comes next?

The question remains the same, and it still evokes the same answers — either some vision of life everlasting or the acceptance of oblivion, with the fear of the latter seeding the growth of the former. But given how much suffering human lives must endure, one might wonder whether bringing new life into existence is a worthy act, regardless of what comes after its end.

That question lies at the heart of the new song by Ennui (from Tbilisi, Georgia) that we’re premiering today along with a captivating lyric video in conjunction with the announcement of the band’s new album Qroba, their first full-length in more than seven years. It will be released by Meuse Music on February 27th. The name of the song we’re presenting today is “Antinatalism“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BANISHER — “MANIFEST OF JUSTICE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 082026
 

(written by Islander)

The death metal band Banisher was formed in Rzeszów, Poland, in 2005 by Hubert Więcek (DIETH, ex-Acid Drinkers live, ex-Decapitated). Since then, the band’s full lineup has also included members of such well-known groups as Fleshgod Apocalypse, Belphegor, Vital Remains, and Hate.

They have released four albums over the last 20 years, and now, after a six-year hiatus, a fifth one is set for release on January 30th by Selfmadegod Records. Its title is Metamorphosis.

To help introduce the new album, today we premiere a song from it named “Manifest of Justice“, presented with a lyric video. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NECROSEXUAL — “THE BRIMSTONE BROTHEL”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 072026
 

(written by Islander)

The last time we hosted a premiere by Philadelphia’s Necrosexual (damn, have seven years really gone by since then?) we immediately urged people to set aside any reflexive skepticism that might have been spawned by the band’s name, their shock-rock appearance, and the often macabre storytelling within their songs, and instead to dive into their multifaceted musical nastiness with open minds.

Yes, seven years have gone by since then, years that saw Necrosexual release a couple more EPs, a split, and a live album, but no new songs for roughly the last five of those years. As you can see from this post’s title, however, Necrosexual are returning. They have a new album set for release in late February, and its title pretty well sums up the current path of the world, at least as perceived by anyone who reads the daily news: Road To Rubble.

To help introduce the new album, what we have for you today is the premiere of its second single, “The Brimstone Brothel“. But before we get to that one, we have some thoughts about the first one, the aptly named “High Times In Hell” — as well as the same urging expressed in the first paragraph above. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: EXIMPERITUS — “GOLDEN CHAINS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF INDIVIDUAL GREATNESS”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Jan 072026
 

(written by Islander)

We haven’t forgotten that the full name of Eximperitus is Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum. How could we forget? And it’s obvious from their logo up there, isn’t it? But we’ll play along with the abbreviation, especially since that seems to be the preference of the band’s label Willowtip Records.

We also haven’t forgotten the 36-word title of this Belarusian band’s 2016 debut album, though we couldn’t recite it even at gunpoint, any more than we could recite Eximperitus’ full name. Their 2021 sophomore album — Šahrartu — was easier on the tongue, as were all the one-word song titles. Their forthcoming third album, Meritoriousness of Equanimity, is pronounceable, even though it quadruples the number of syllables compared to the title of the second full-length.

However, Eximperitus have mostly reverted to form in their song names on the new one. Many are quite long, and all of them are, for want of a better word… mysteriously exotic. Take, for example, the name of the song we’re premiering today — “Golden Chains for the Construction of Individual Greatness” — although it’s tidy compared to Track No. 7 on Meritoriousness of Equanimity:

“Molecular Disintegration of an Unattainable Solitary Will in a Vessel of Wisdom…as a Result of the Soul’s Aspiration to Break the Summed Up Set of Delusions of Reason… in the Course of a Personal Experience of Accepting the Imperfection of the World and Proving that Time Gets Rid of the Fragile and Leaves Invulnerable” Continue reading »

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