AN NCS PREMIERE: HSPDN — “HEYDAY’S RUIN”

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May 162025
 

(written by Islander)

In this feature we are taking a few large steps off the various beaten, broken, and thorn-shrouded paths we usually follow in our musical meanderings around here. The connections to those paths, such as they are, derive in part from the person who made the music you’re about to hear.

That person goes by the name “twi” in this new project, but we can disclose that the person is the Slovakian musician and vocalist also known as Twisted in the experimental industrial doom/death metal band 0n0, whose music we’ve written about repeatedly over the last nine years (here’s the proof of that).

The name of the new project is hspdn. hspdn‘s first release is Heyday’s Ruin, a four-song, 18-minute work set for release open May 23rd and self-described as “an EP about climate and personal crises”. What we have for you today is the premiere of its title song. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: AZURE EMOTE, CHTHONIC, SKJOLDEN, TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM, JOLIETTE, CWFEN

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May 032025
 

(written by Islander)

It should be called “Bandcamp Week” instead of “Bandcamp Friday”. Every week ending in one of those Friday’s, including last week, tends to see a greater than usual volume of new-music releases, a reflection of the principle that “recency is primacy” when it comes to spending decisions. This “Bandcamp Week” phenomenon further complicates the preparation of these Saturday columns, but I’m still glad Bandcamp is continuing the tradition this year.

While I have your attention, I want to add a note about changes planned for NCS next week before we get to the new metal I picked for today. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY (PART 2): HEAVEN SHALL BURN, OMINOUS RUIN, BALMOG, CHAINSWORD HURSAN, KATATONIA, GHOST

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Apr 122025
 


Heaven Shall Burn – photo by Candy Welz

(written by Islander)

Fanatically determined to get both Parts of this roundup posted today, I took a 10-minute break after launching Part 1 and then dived into this one. I haven’t gone to the bathroom yet, but like Cory Booker I’m depending on Depends.

As discussed in Part 1, today’s already-large roundup mushroomed into an even bigger one after my pals Andy Synn and DGR threw 4 more songs into a mix that already included music from 10 bands.

As also discussed there, for you criminals who didn’t bother to read it, I used those 4 as bookends, 2 at the start and 2 at the finish. The 2 at the end have stressed out my usual NCS site-title boundary lines to the breaking point, but not for the first time. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ELUSIVE GOD — “KOB”

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Apr 112025
 

(written by Islander)

Pay no attention to the name of our site. We don’t really mean it. Well, honestly we mostly do mean it, but not all the time. Some of the time we hear singing that just makes us shake our heads in wonder and are helpless to bar the door against it. Today is one of those times. (So, for those few snarks who can’t resist yelling, “But there’s clean singing in this song!”, just choke that down or you’ll prove you’ve never been here before.)

What we have for you today is the premiere of a song named “Kob” off the thrilling new album Ambis by the Croatian epic doom band Elusive God, which will be released on May 9th by the always-interesting Personal Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PYRE

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Apr 082025
 

(Today we share Comrade Aleks‘ interview with Dmitry “Dym Nox”, the drummer, bassist, and vocalist of the Russian death metal band Pyre, whose latest album has been out for a couple of months on the Osmose label.)

Pyre is probably the most powerful and recognized Russian death metal band, and the release of their third album Where Obscurity Sways at the end of January on Osmose Productions was an event.

The previous album Chained to Ossuaries was recorded five years ago by Dmitry “Dym Nox” (drums, bass, vocals), Roman Rotten (guitars), and Fred Obsinner (guitars). It was a strange experience for the band: Pyre were then on a tight deadline, there were problems with the drummer, and they, as never before, wrote and recorded all the material in a year, and it was immediately released. And Dmitry considers Where Obscurity Sways as a spontaneous continuation of its predecessor, but on a different level both in general and in production.

According to him, the band is currently euphoric about the result, especially since the new material was recorded with drummer Oleg “Malleus”, with whom Pyre had been playing together for a long time and testing out ideas. The result is impressive. I interviewed Dmitry for the Dark City magazine, and as soon as the current issue is released, I’d like to share this interview with you.

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CARCOLH

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Apr 042025
 

(In February we had the pleasure of premiering and reviewing the newest album by the French doom band Carcolh, which is out now on Sleeping Church Records. Today we present Comrade Aleks‘ new interview with Carcolh vocalist Sébastien Fanton, and he again proves to be a wonderful conversationist.)

Five men from Bordeaux love and know how to make smart, traditional, almost textbook doom metal. And why not! Most of them did it years before Carcolh, and, let’s face it, they are professionals in their field.

“Carcolh” is a mythical half-snake, half-snail from French folklore, but this does not mean that the guys are “barely dragging their feet.” They managed to tell six stories in the 46 minutes of their third full-length Twilight of the Mortals, revealing in their own way the nature of human tragedies in the sublunary world.

This album shows that Carcolh maybe do not progress in a global sense of the word, but confidently move forward enriching their soundscapes with a lot of new nuances and semi-colours. All the instruments sound heavy, clear, rational, and tasteful. Sébastien Fanton’s vocal lines are harmonious and noble, matching the themes performed by his colleagues. Twilight of the Mortals is far from monotonous; its pace varies from the furious gallop of “The Battle Is Lost” to the crushing dirge of “My Prayers Are for Rain” or the twelve-minute long, multifaceted, and saturated “Empty Thrones”.

This material isn’t something one could easily digest in a case you aren’t into traditional doom metal, yet we did the interview with Sébastien, and it may help you to get how cool Carcolh are. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DROUTH, DÉMONOS, SVARTA HAVET, LUX INTERNA, AASH, MRAKOMOR

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Mar 162025
 

(written by Islander)

I’m afraid I have a self-imposed deadline to finish this weekly collection of music from the blacker arts so I can turn to other obligations, and so I’ll dispense with an introduction and dive right into all the quite varied music I’ve picked for your entertainment and edification.

DROUTH (U.S.)

To begin, here’s “False Grail“, a startling new song from a new album named The Teeth of Time by Portland’s Drouth. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: MÜTTERLEIN, CARONTE, CAUSTIC WOUND, AUSTERE, KORSAKOV, WAR MAGIC

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Mar 142025
 

(written by Islander)

I had a narrow opening in today’s schedule for a roundup of new songs and videos, and not a lot of time with which to fill it, so I won’t waste the time with further introductory remarks. We’ll get right to it, beginning with:

MÜTTERLEIN (France)

Ever since seeing the recent announcement of a new Mütterlein album a group of metal-loving friends and I have been greedily rubbing our blood-stained hands (contrary to rumor we don’t have talons and the blood is from paper cuts). The rubbing has become more intense since hearing the album’s first single (not that kind of rubbing, get your minds out of the gutter). Continue reading »

SPIRITBOX: “TSUNAMI SEA”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  1 Response »
Mar 102025
 

(Late last week the Canadian heavy metal band Spiritbox released their second album, and today we’ve got Wil Cifer‘s review.)

Before you throw the LaPlante out with the bathwater, it might be easy to write this band off as a pop act. After all, they are an evolution of Myspace metal. However, I might go as far as to say that this album is more inspired than Knocked Loose’s You Won’t Go Before You Are Supposed To, which was one of the heaviest albums since Sunbather to catch the ear of more mainstream audiences. It certainly takes more chances and employs a wider range of sonic colors, rather than hits you with blunt force you bob your head to.

If your eyes have skimmed any of the reviews I have done for this fine site or other of the more devious ones you might have stumbled across on the Dark Web, then you know this is outside of what I normally listen to. If you caught the trail of breadcrumbs that starts with Chelsea Wolfe covering one of their songs, then you might be getting warmer. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: NITE, MAGUS LORD, DISPYT, CABINET, CHIAROSCURO, POLISH, BANK MYNA

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 082025
 

(written by Islander)

I can’t think of any reason to criticize Bandcamp for renewing their Bandcamp Fridays in 2025. Unless I’m missing something, it’s good for bands and labels that use the platform, not only because it lets them keep more of their sales revenue but also because it incentivizes fans to spend.

But it does make my life harder, because in weeks ending with one of those days the volume of new music swells significantly. Even in more normal weeks I can’t listen to everything I’m interested in. That’s an even greater impossibility in weeks like this past one.

But of course I did make some picks. Three of the picks are live videos that I’ve included at the end without much commentary, but the bands’ names ought to be inducement enough. Continue reading »

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