AN NCS INTERVIEW: FVNERAL FVKK

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Oct 222026
 

(At the beginning of this week we hosted the exclusive premiere of one of the year’s best albums, Indecent Idols, by the German epic doom band Fvneral Fvkk. And now, on the day before its release by Dying Victims Productions, we present our Comrade Aleks’ interview with two of the band’s members.)

The first full-length album from the German epic doom brethren Fvneral Fvkk was released in 2019 via Solitude Productions. On their debut, Carnal Confession, the four-piece — whose members are also largely active in the Hamburg-based death-doom outfit Ophis — tackled the issue of child abuse by representatives of the Catholic Church. Fvneral Fvkk emphasized that they are not an anti-Christian band; they do not critique Christian dogma or faith as a whole, but rather specific manifestations of the Church as an institution.

Given this approach, doom metal — a genre arguably closer to liturgical or ceremonial music than to extreme metal — was chosen as the most fitting vehicle for critiquing the Church’s documented crimes. While the band’s name itself embodies a form of dark satire, their follow-up, Indecent Idols, continues and further develops the melodic richness and solemn emotional depth of the debut.

I approached Fvneral Fvkk for guidance, and Decanus Obscaenus (guitars) alongside Cantor Cinaedicus (vocals) answered my call. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): FVNERAL FVKK — “INDECENT IDOLS”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  No Responses »
Oct 192026
 

(written by Islander)

We have been avidly following the towering epic doom progressions of Fvneral Fvkk since their first release in 2017 (the Lecherous Liturgies EP). In considering that EP, after first wondering whether it would be a serious undertaking in light of the band’s name, we wrote:

[T]his music is no joke. The largely mid-paced songs are really well-written, anchored by intensely seductive melodic hooks. They’re also plenty heavy, undergirded by a potent rhythm section (you can almost feel those drum strikes gradually cracking your skull like a car windshield crazing under the blows of baseball-sized hail). Compulsive headbanging is the order the day, except when it’s time to crawl like someone who’s suddenly lost the use of his legs, with an anvil on his back.

Apart from those sensations, the band’s lyrical themes further strengthened their appeal in these quarters. Although the music was presented with an often-ecclesiastical solemnity and grandeur, the band’s purpose was to expose and scorch the depravity of the clergy and the “black-robed pedophile ring” many of them have run under the auspices of the Church (to quote from this very interesting and highly informative 2020 interview at our site).

They continued that mission in their 2019 debut album Carnal Confessions, which our Andy Synn named to his year-end Critical Top Ten list, calling it “without a doubt one of the most brilliant albums of the year.”

Sadly, the band didn’t release any new music for quite a long time after that full-length debut. Happily, we now have a second album from them, this one named Indecent Idols. It will be released at the end of this week by Dying Victims Productions, but down below you’ll be able to stream the whole thing today. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MIRROR OF DECEPTION

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Oct 122026
 

(In the spring of this year the long-running German traditional doom band Mirror of Deception released a new album named Transience, and our Comrade Aleks reached out to the band to discuss it. That led to the following extensive and very interesting interview with guitarist Jochen Fopp. And yes, the music here is a well-earned exception to the “command” in our site’s name.)

Earlier this year traditional doom metal veterans Mirror of Deception from Göppingen, Germany, made one more statement with their sixth album, Transience. Having spent over 35 (!) years in the metal underground, the band seemed to pass the peak of its fame—which occurred in the mid-2000s, a time when the band’s members were not only releasing albums but also organizing the Doom Shall Rise festival, an event which was important for the genre establishment. Yet, as the years roll by, Mirror of Deception maintains both its reputation and its excellent creative form.

I love this band, but I didn’t expect to say this: Transience sounds not merely viable—it is a strong, authentic album with superb dramatic pacing. The group has channeled all its strengths into the new record; the rich, massive riffs are complemented by Michael Siffermann’s noble clean vocals and captivating, languid melodies. And incidentally, only Michael and guitarist Jochen Fopp remain from the original lineup.

Even early in their career, the band avoided affectation; their “exercises in sorrow” are executed with dignity and come across as natural and authentic. The forty-five-minute Transience comprises seven tracks—a choice that strikes me as a deliberate decision to avoid overwhelming the listener or repeating themselves. Transience offers the comforting familiarity of doom metal exactly as it should be, and we got in touch with Jochen in order to spread a word of Transience and clarify a few things about this album. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NIGHT GAUNT — “THE DEER AND THE HUNTER”

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Oct 052026
 

(written by Islander)

As we are prone to do, more often than some literal-minded visitors approve of, we’re about to premiere a song that’s an extravagant exception to the command in our site’s title, and it arrives through the good graces of the mercurial Roman band Night Gaunt.

The name of the song is “The Deer and the Hunter“, and it’s the second track to surface so far from their new album Rupture, which will be released by Aural Music on November 6th. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ARMORY — “PILLARS OF FIRE”

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Sep 282026
 

(written by Islander)

“Can you take some clean singing with some sci-fi shred?” That’s the quick pitch I received for this premiere from the publicist for Dying Victims Productions. Prudence would have dictated that I listen before responding, but Dying Victims hasn’t steered me wrong, even if the steering (stylistically speaking) is kind of like what’s required for Formula 1 drivers racing through metropolises, so I immediately said yes, with fingers crossed that it wouldn’t be a mistake.

The reference to “sci-fi shred” was appealing, and so was the branding of Armory’s new album Echoes of the Astrolith as a “speed metal U.F.O.”. But while the name of our site is a bit tongue-in-cheek, not all the tongue is in the cheek. At least in the case of this writer, it’s more serious than joking. So, what had I gotten myself into? What are you about to get yourself into? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: SERPENT SKIES, DREAM UNENDING, SHEVILS, FIMIR, APOTHECARY, HAGEL, SQUAMATA, MAGEC

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Sep 262026
 

(written by Islander)

As you can see, I had time to beef up this roundup. Though why we talk about enlarging things as beefing them up, I don’t know. Photos of gigantic pumpkins are circulating this time of year, and to get sea-borne we could also suggest that you’ll have a whale of a time, just like Jonah did. Or like the black mold that rapidly covers your bathroom crevices, we can say that we’ve broken the mold of the usual 4-6 songs today.

Anyway, there’s a lot here, seven songs from forthcoming albums and one complete release that will knock you down, burn you down, and leave whatever’s left moaning for help.

I also arranged these things, as I often enjoy doing, to prevent you from getting settled into any kind of comfortable flow, but instead to experience a loss of balance and perhaps even a jolt of whiplash. I’m just trying to model modern life. Continue reading »

MAUNAH – HJARTA

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Sep 222026
 

(Andy Synn delivers another justified “exception to the rule” courtesy of Denmark’s Maunah)

I was today years old (well, actually, by the time you’re reading this that won’t actually be true any more, but just go with it) when I discovered that NCS has an honest-to-god Wikipedia entry.

Which I guess means we’re finally “a big deal” and will need to start charging you all for our services.

That’s how this works, right?

Now, in all seriousness it was legitimately interesting to see what got mentioned, and what didn’t (and suggest a few updates to the text), with regards to the site, our history, and our ethos.

In particular, the original version of the page – now updated – failed to mention the fact that the term “no clean singing” is very much an in-joke these days, rather than an iron-clad dictum, especially since we make so many “exceptions to the rule” on an almost daily basis.

And one of those exceptions we’re so happy to make these days is the debut album from Danish progressive doom-dealers Maunah.

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ILLWIND

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Sep 172026
 

(This past July Personal Records released a fine debut album [for which we did a premiere] by the Peruvian band Illwind, whose lineup was forged from members of some top South American bands such as Reino Ermitaño, Cobra, Arcada, and Argul. The album provided the impetus for our Comrade Aleks to re-connect with Illwind’s Marcos Koifman, and that produced the following excellent interview with him.)

About 10-15 years ago, the Peruvian band Reino Ermitaño was well-known to doom metal fans. The aesthetics of shamanic rituals, textured riffs, subtle psychedelia, bassist Marcos Koifman’s expressive artwork, and Tanya Duarte’s vocals among other features set the band apart from their contemporaries. Reino Ermitaño was disbanded, and its members joined new outfits, yet Marcos Koifman made his manifest only now with the new doom-act Illwind.

From the ten-minute heroic doom metal anthem “Crimson Skies”, and the down-to-earth “Wanderer” or “Portal,” to the droning stoner-armored “God of Sleep” and the hypnotic “Lucifer’s Mule”, Illwind proves their intention to make something special and refreshing for the underground Doom Cult. It was a proper reason to interview Marcos, as Illwind’s debut album The Unfolding at the End of Light did not go unnoticed for both NCS co-writers and dedicated readers.

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ORBITA — “NÈKYIA”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  4 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 »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEAD KOSMONAUT

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  3 Responses »
Sep 112026
 

(In June of this year Edged Circle Productions released a new album by the Swedish heavy metal band Dead Kosmonaut, and that led to the following extensive interview by our Comrade Aleks of the band’s founder and songwriter Mattias Reinholdsson.)

This Swedish heavy metal band, officially formed almost twenty years ago by bassist Mattias Reinholdsson, now boasts not only its third album but also a still-stellar lineup. In addition to Mattias’s Book of Hours buddy Henrik Johansson (drums), Dead Kosmonaut features vocalist Per Hellbutcher (Hellbutcher, Nifelheim), as well as guitarists Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed) and Peter Hallgren (Sorcerer).

Such a lineup could offer listeners a brutally extreme experience, but instead, these gentlemen deliver the same melodic, classic metal. The sound of their new album Retrospectre is heavy and clear, not overly cluttered, and the production, entrusted to Fredrik, was oriented toward the ’80s, although these tracks lack the retro-vibe. Despite the artwork and the title, Dead Kosmonaut are not only alive, but kicking ass, and Mattias is here to tell how it’s possible. Continue reading »

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