SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: JUDAS PRIEST, AMPHISBAENA, FAUNA, SUNKEN MONOLITH, MALPHAS, ABRAHAM

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Jul 052025
 


Black Sabbath, 1970, photo by Chris Walter

(written by Islander)

Post Fourth of July, I hope you all still have 10 fingers and are non-concussed. Way up here on the northern rim where the day takes its sweet time slipping away, I didn’t stay awake long enough for the sky to turn and finally become a black backdrop for fireworks. But I did do a modest amount of carousing with friends and family before punching out, so it’s another late start for this Saturday roundup.

I’m beginning with a big dose of nostalgia and then shifting into more current generational directions. In thinking about how I’m beginning and what follows that, the words of Isaac Newton come to mind: “If I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” (Though in this context what the successors are seeing is in further darkness.) Continue reading »

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME XVII: SORE FEET AND MORE METAL

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Jul 032025
 

(Still recovering from recent festival experiences but still carrying on, Daniel Barkasi brings us reviews of six strongly recommended albums released in May 2025.)

Yeah, I know, this column is late – very late. My review(s) and photos (Day 1 and Day 2) of Fortress Festival took my full attention since returning, and coupled with a lot of day job and farm stuff, because we basically have a farm at this point, have gone hand-in-hand with catching up on May releases. I need to actually absorb an album and fully grasp the nitty gritty details to come to a fair conclusion, so this also wasn’t going to be rushed. I go full bore into everything, or else I’m not going to do it. Most who routinely immerse themselves into this sort of music aren’t the casual types, and I don’t think I’ve been casual about a whole lot in my existence.

Therefore, here we are, and my feet are screaming; thanks, plantar fasciitis and metal festivals. We’d do it all again, of course. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: CRYPT SERMON, CULT BURIAL, AMIENSUS, DEFACEMENT, TETRAGRAMMACIDE, BEYOND MORTAL DREAMS, BRUXIST

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Jun 282025
 

(written by Islander)

As usual I had a lot to choose from for this Saturday’s roundup. I gravitated to six bands whose music I and/or others at NCS have showered with past praise, but chose to end it with one band’s first release.

Geographically you’ll bounce back and forth across the Atlantic, take a trip to the Indian subcontinent, and then go further west and south to Australia for the final two records. Your head will probably bounce around a lot as you go through the music too. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: MALTHUSIAN, UPON STONE, BEFORE THE DAWN, CASTRATOR, ENTRAILS, A CAT IN THE BRAIN, LOMMI, BOMBUS, GLUED MOUTH

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Jun 212025
 

(written by Islander)

This Saturday selection of new songs and videos provides a lot to take in, and lots of twists and turns in the musical path as you move from one to the next (which is what I hope you’ll do).

Fair warning: I’ve included a pair of songs that feature entirely clean singing, and another where singing trades off with harsher expressions. Today’s collection is also a mix of well-known bands (at least well-known to yours truly) and others that have scoured my ears for the first time this week. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: ORBIT CULTURE, THE ANTICHRIST IMPERIUM, KONTUSION, CLAIRVOYANCE, KHNVM, HEAD OF CASSANDRA, SUN AFTER DARK, VENUS STAR

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Jun 142025
 

(written by Islander)

Yesterday we premiered a video for a song called “Welcome to Hell“. That title sums up the events that have dominated domestic and international news over the last few days. What fresh hell will today bring? It may be hard to foresee all the details this morning, but it’s already easy to smell the sulphur on the wind.

I picked new music and videos from 8 international bands to get our day started and help get us through it. I feel pretty confident this will all be better than tomorrow’s headlines. If you’re in the U.S. and out on the streets today, stay strong and try to stay safe. Hell, I hope you can stay safe wherever you are. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: AMORPHIS, ZATOKREV, BARBAROUS, ACCURSED, NECHT, IN THE COMPANY OF SERPENTS, FER DE LANCE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Jun 072025
 


Amorphis – photo by Sam Jamsen

(written by Islander)

This is another Saturday column in which I decided to lure people with a “big name” at the start and then eventually expose people to names they might not know but should.

I could have included an even bigger collection of prominent names, because the past week also brought new music and/or new videos from Opeth, Paradise Lost, Dark Angel, Car Bomb, and Baest, to name a few. You can find those via the hyperlinks I included. But I wanted to have more time for lesser lights. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: PSYCROPTIC, NIGHTBEARER, BEHEADED, AETHERIAN, IN MOURNING, GRAND CADAVER, IMPUREZA, DIABOLOGY

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
May 312025
 

(written by Islander)

Well, I’m back here at my usual post on Saturday, having survived Maryland Deathfest after surviving Northwest Terror Fest. I only have one slow-healing knee scab and moderate soreness as detrimental physical signs of the adventures — and, amazingly, no respiratory viruses.

I have a habit of whining about how hard it is to choose music for these weekend roundups because there’s always so much to choose from, but after missing two weekend roundups in the last month the whining would reach ear-bleeding levels if I let loose today. I feel like if I laid all the song and video links I’ve saved up end to end they’d stretch up to where Musk’s latest rocket experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” as it skimmed space last Tuesday night.

So, no whining, and no explanations for why I picked these out of the 100 or so possibilities, though the reasons will probably become evident. I’m very happy with this collection and hope you will be too. More picks, of the more charred variety, coming tomorrow…. Continue reading »

FORTRESS FESTIVAL 2025 PREVIEW

 Metal News  2 Responses »
May 222025
 

(Near the end of this month our Floridian scribe Daniel Barkasi will be making his first trip to England, and his first venture into Fortress Festival. We look forward to his report, and what follows is his explanation of why he’s very excited to go.)

Spring is upon us, and soon enough summer will come searing in with its blazing hot temperatures and allergens abounding. My sinuses are crying with anticipation. But this time of year does bring something us connoisseurs of heavy music no doubt look forward to – festival season! With the very special to us at NCS’ blackened hearts Northwest Terror Fest just wrapping up, and the mighty Maryland Deathfest on the horizon, we’re actually mainly looking toward escaping to a seaside town in North Yorkshire, England.

What’s there, you ask? Normally known for its picturesque views, the odd beach, and a 12th century castle, the town of Scarborough will again be host to an event that’s a bit more on our level. We’re talking about the mighty Fortress Festival, now in its third iteration, happening at the Scarborough Spa, from May 31 – June 1. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: NOISE TRAIL IMMERSION, CRUST, DOMKRAFT, ANGEROT, MORDBEAR, BEAR MACE, OSI AND THE JUPITER

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
May 172025
 

(written by Islander)

The last two weeks have been out of the ordinary here, and the next 10 days will be too. In the weeks now past I and a few of my NCS comrades joined forces with a lot of other terrific volunteers to help put on the 3-day Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle. (See above, just after we finished last Saturday night.) The fest was fantastic, but it didn’t leave me enough clear-headed time to do the usual weekend posts for NCS.

During the past week I had some good post-fest outings in the Seattle area with DGR and Andy Synn. That put a crimp in my usual new-music listening. And now, beginning on Wednesday of this coming week, we’re all going to venture to Baltimore with other friends to take in Maryland Deathfest. That makes it highly unlikely I will be doing the usual NCS posts next weekend either.

The wall of possibilities for this roundup and the blacker one tomorrow is enormous. I scraped against it, sort of like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption digging through the wall of his cell with a tiny rock hammer, except I don’t have 19 years to get the job done. Here’s what I chipped away for today. Continue reading »

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

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

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