ANDY SYNN’S MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2018

 Listmania  23 Responses »
Jan 132018
 

 

(Here’s a personal list by Andy Synn identifying eagerly anticipated forthcoming 2018 albums.)

 

One week ago Islander published a list of upcoming albums expected to be released over the course of the next twelve months, and also solicited comments and recommendations from our readers concerning which albums (and EPs) they were most looking forward to.

Well, as successful as that endeavour was, now it’s my turn to talk up some of my most anticipated album scheduled for release in 2018. Continue reading »

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES: ANTICIPATED 2018 METAL RELEASES OF INTEREST

 Listmania, Metal News  81 Responses »
Jan 062018
 


artwork by Kali 15

 

Our LISTMANIA 2017 series isn’t over yet, though it will be soon. I have five more lists to publish for sure, and I hope a sixth one I’m eager to see will arrive soon, but we should be finished during this coming week. And I’ll also begin rolling out my list of 2017’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs next week as well.

But having said that, we’re also looking ahead to what 2018 will bring us… and of course a huge flood of additional releases is headed our way. We’ve been in the midst of a metal Renaissance for years now, and it shows no sign of ending.

I spent hours over the last two days assembling a list of 2018 releases (by band name) that I’m interested in, or that I think our readers would be interested in. I scrolled through our overstuffed e-mail in-box, visited label Facebook pages, conducted internet searches, and canvassed a few members of our own staff. And the result of that effort is a list of 112 albums, EPs, and splits. And almost all of them are expected to be released in just the first quarter of the year! Continue reading »

WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 OF 2017… SO FAR

 Listmania  5 Responses »
Jul 072017
 

 

(NCS contributor Wil Cifer has compiled this list of his 10 favorite releases from the first half of 2017.)

Where has 2017 gone? It seems like the year has passed us by in a cloud of internet hatred and bickering. So with that comes the need for heavy music. Now that we are over halfway through 2017 here’s a look at which albums have stuck with me thus far this year.

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that it doesn’t matter how much hype an album gets if the music doesn’t inspire me to listen to it more than once. Black Metal, Doom, Death Metal, and Thrash are all represented to some extent in this list. The Number One slot was determined by what Last Fm said I listened to the most. So far, only the top five still maintain their spots in my Ipod, though that is not to say I won’t go back and give the others more listens. You should give all of these albums a listen if you have yet to check them out. Continue reading »

HOT DOGS: THE BEST METAL OF 2017 SO FAR (AN INVITATION FOR YOUR LISTS)

 Listmania  70 Responses »
Jul 042017
 

 

Today is Independence Day here in the United States, a day on which many Americans celebrate the beginning of the country’s great (and occasionally bizarre) experiment in democracy with vast quantities of cold beer, cookouts, and ardent efforts to blow off their own digits with equally vast quantities of illegally deployed explosives. Here in the metallic realms of NCS, however, it’s just another day (partly in consideration of the fact that more than half our readers are located outside the U.S.).

We have a couple of good song premieres coming your way, and maybe the second part of a SHADES OF BLACK post I began on Sunday, and who knows what else.

But to begin the day I want to talk about hot dogs, and then I want to ask our readers for your opinions about the best metal releases of 2017 so far. Continue reading »

EAGERLY ANTICIPATED 2016 RELEASES: A LIST OF OUR OWN AND AN INVITATION FOR YOURS

 Listmania, Metal News  62 Responses »
Jan 022016
 

Hellthrasher digital sampler

 

Our LISTMANIA 2015 series isn’t over yet. In fact, we have more year-end lists coming your way over the next two weeks from our own staff, from old friends, and from invited musicians. And I’ll also continue rolling out my list of 2015’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. All of that will resume on Monday. But having said that, we’re also looking ahead to what 2016 will bring us.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday assembling a list of 2016 releases (by band name) that I’m interested in, most of which are expected during the first quarter of the year. This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means — I have no doubt I’ve forgotten or overlooked a lot of things — but it’s a massive list nonetheless. Continue reading »

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH — DECEMBER 2015

 Album Reviews, Listmania  15 Responses »
Dec 172015
 

Akhenaten - Incantations Through the Gates of Irkalla

 

(Here’s the last of KevinP’s monthly selections for 2015, naming his Top 5 favorite albums released or scheduled for release during December.)

Since I’ve had plenty of time with this month’s releases to formulate my list, along with the fact that things start to get slow once Xmas week arrives, you’re getting this a little earlier than normal.  Also, my Top 25 Albums and Top 5 EP’s of the Year will be posted the first week of January.  Nothing else profound to say, so let’s get on with it. Continue reading »

LOOKING AHEAD

 Listmania  24 Responses »
Nov 042015
 

Looking-into-the-Horizon

 

In the near term, the forecast for our site is cloudy. Early this morning I left Seattle for Alaska again, where I’ll be spending the next 10 days on a project for my fucking day job. Like most of these out-of-town adventures, I’ll be working day and night and unable to spend much time on NCS.

I do expect I’ll have enough time to post what our other writers send me, and maybe time to write a few things myself (such as one post I’ve planned for tomorrow). Things should get back to normal during the week of November 16, but until then the volume of our daily posts will probably decline.

But the forecast gets brighter after the next 10 days. Continue reading »

FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE… GOATWHORE TRACKS

 Listmania  3 Responses »
Oct 292015
 

Goatwhore 2014

 

(If you read your humble editor’s earlier post today, you’ll know that I wasn’t expect to post anything by any of our other writers today… and then Andy Synn stepped up with this installment of favorite things that come in fives.)

Here he comes to save the day…

Ahem. Anyway, after Our Great And Most Glorious Leader’s post earlier today about having nothing to hand for the site for once, I took it upon myself to quickly bash something together in order to help uphold our nigh-unimpeachable record of journalistic quality and integrity.

Or, something like that.

Either way, it’s a good enough excuse to jam out some fat and filthy blackened riffs whilst picking and choosing five of my favourite songs by everyone’s favourite cloven-hoofed courtesans of Satan.

Deep breath…

Altogether now…

GOATWHORE!!! Continue reading »

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH — OCTOBER 2015

 Listmania  12 Responses »
Oct 282015
 

lostsoul_atlantis

 

(Here’s the latest installment of KevinP’s series in which he runs down his list of the best releases from the month that’s about to end.)

It’s been 10 months now that I’ve worked on this column and I always wondered how others kept track of what was released each month.  I simply take a notebook, write down a month on each page, and then when I get a promo, I download it and hand-write it in the release month.  That’s as low-tech as you can be (and sometimes semi-dangerous if the baby gets her hands on it and goes to town).  So does anyone have any better suggestions?  What do you do?

Anyways, we are fast approaching the end of the year and October has been quite the eclectic month, probably the most so far, as you’ll see from my selections.  Let us know what else wet your whistle in the comments below. Continue reading »

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH — SEPTEMBER 2015

 Listmania  10 Responses »
Sep 282015
 

My Dying Bride-Feel the Misery

 

(Here’s the latest installment of KevinP’s series in which he runs down his list of the best releases from the preceding month.)

I screwed up last month.  And not just a minor oversight, but in a fairly big way.  It wasn’t until after August’s column was posted that fellow contributor/friend Dan Barkasi messaged me that he was surprised I didn’t have Wolfheart on my list.  My response was, “the album comes out in September”.  Then I checked and realized I was wrong.  URGH.  I’m gonna assign partial blame to Mr. Saukkonen though, since he sent me a copy of the album many months in advance and mentioned September as the release date.  Assuming his infallibility (based on his musical pedigree), I never bothered to double-check and learn that the label would change it.

So how do I address this grave misdeed?  I was going to include it as part of this month’s Top 5, but that really wouldn’t make sense or be fair to the other releases.  I’ll simply say this:  Shadow World eclipses the debut.  It’s another masterstroke in the arsenal of Tuomas the Finnish Freeballer who simply seems to be able to mine the same well and keep extracting new and exciting sounds from it.  Would it have been the Number 1 album last month?  It certainly would have been a toss-up between that and Majestic Downfall. Continue reading »

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