AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: JÖJJÖN — “MUTABILITY”

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Sep 302026
 

(written by Islander)

Obviously, we host a lot of premieres here — we’ve done so almost every weekday for many years. The point, of course, is to introduce people to new music they haven’t heard before that we’re inspired to support. But our tradition of premieres holds the same benefit for us — it introduces us to music we haven’t heard before, and even more than that, to bands we haven’t previously discovered.

In the case of this premiere, it has introduced us to the intriguing Hungarian black metal band jöjjön (the solo work of Zsolt Sipeki). Jöjjön has already released two albums, Faust’s Grave in 2022 and Stoic Neurotic in 2024, but those eluded our attention. And now jöjjön has readied a third album, Szelet Vet, which will be released via Bandcamp on November 6th.

This new one we have discovered in a timely fashion, thanks to the invitation to premiere a song from Szelet Vet named “Mutability“. It is an entirely captivating piece of music, and the album’s thematic conception and lyrical composition is equally eloquent and enthralling, as you’re about to discover. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NYRAK — “THE SATURNALIA PROPHECY”

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Sep 302026
 

(written by Islander)

The Belgian progressive black metal band Nyrak has enjoyed what we can fairly call a meteoroic ascent. It did not exist until late 2021, when it was founded by Guy “Nevel” Van Nieuwenhove as a solo studio project, but in relatively short order Nyrak released their debut album Malvs in 2022, expanded into a full band and released their second album Devourer Of All in 2024, and in 2025 released both the Faceless Tyrant EP and a third album, Phoenix Mortis. Moreover, Nyrak toured the UK and Europe in support of that most recent album.

And yet Nyrak’s meteor continues soaring, apparently unhindered by gravity wells, because on November 26th of this year Void Wanderer Productions will release yet another Nyrak album, a new one named Empires of Ash. We were fortunate to host the premiere of a song from Phoenix Mortis last year, and we get the chance to do the same for Empires of Ash as we now present the new album’s opening song, “The Saturnalia Prophecy“, in cooperation with Black Metal Streams. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: PAARA — “KYLMÄÄN KYLÄÄN”

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Sep 292026
 

(written by Islander)

We have a very unusual song for you in this premiere, one that will carry listeners through a variety of sensations and musical traditions (some much older than others), and one whose head-spinning and heart-pounding experiences are vitally connected to the band’s inspirations and ambitions for the album that includes it.

That album, Laulut tulen ja jään, is the third full-length from the Finnish band Paara, and it will be released by the Dusktone label on October 30th. Once again, it reflects Paara’s sense of place and of history, vitally connected to the brutal yet beautiful landscapes of the cold North they call home and the dark myths spawned there, but the album has other meanings as well, as Paara explain:

Laulut tulen ja jään is an allegory for death, depression and loss. In simplicity it’s a hero’s journey – war breaks, our hero needs to end the suffering and heads out to face death in the underworld. The album paints a dark picture of this mythic North with gods of old. You could also say that the album is esoteric, because it’s filled with hidden meanings, mythology and folktales. So, it’s more complex than what it first seems. It beckons for the listener to come back and dig deeper.

What we have for you today is the premiere of a Finnish-language lyric video for a song from the new album nbamed “Kylmään kylään“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: URNA — “DREAM DEATH, TOWARDS REBIRTH”

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Sep 292026
 

(written by Islander)

On October 16th ATMF will release a new album named The Great Jihad by the Italian esoteric extreme metal band Urna. It is Urna’s fifth album since the band’s inception in 2003 but their first one since ATMF released Mors Principium Est thirteen years ago. Obviously, Urna’s creation of the new album has been quite a journey, especially since early demos for songs on the new album were already taking shape in the early period after the last album’s release. We’re further told that the album was recoded through multiple sessions between 2014 and 2025, across Italy and the United Kingdom.

Urna’s lineup for The Great Jihad is a new one. In addition to founders RM and MZ it includes Sibilans (Anamnesi, Simulacro) on drums and T (Sangue Nero) on bass. It is also the first Urna album with lyrics entirely in English (with the exception of their 2003 debut Justa Funebria, originally performed in Italian, the band’s releases have traditionally employed Latin).

The album also has an unusual and deeply thought-out conceptual perspective, one summarized as follows:

In esoteric and mystical Islamic traditions (such as Sufism), the phrase “The Greater Jihad” (Jihad al-Nafs) refers strictly to the internal spiritual battle—the struggle against one’s own base desires, ego, and illusions to purify the heart and align with the divine. The entire record has been framed around this concept, defining RM’s continuous internal spiritual journey through Hermetic philosophy, Kabbalah, Buddism, and more.

The music has also evolved, and we have a striking example of that evolution in the album track we’re premiering today, “Dream Death, Towards Rebirth“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ASGRAUW — “CONFABULATIE”

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Sep 282026
 

(written by Islander)

Today we are most happy to renew your acquaintance with the Dutch black metal band Asgrauw, a member of the Zwotte Kring circle whose music we’ve enthusiastically covered since the fall of 2017. Although their recording history precedes our discovery of them back then, we’ve been playing close attention ever since.

Following relatively soon on the heels of their sixth album Oorsprong, which was discharged in 2024, Asgrauw have a new album for us this year. Its name is Solips, and it will be released by a collective of labels on different formats (we have details at the end of this feature).

The music of Asgrauw has always been lyrically thought-provoking, and their changing lyrical interests haven’t been predictable. One of their labels sums up the subject matter of the new album this way:

Seven albums in, and Asgrauw still doesn’t give a damn about your expectations. Solips is a reckoning, a brutal, unflinching dive into the abyss of perception. You want answers? You’ll get questions. You want comfort? You’ll get the cold, unyielding truth: reality is yours alone to define…. Doubt everything. Question everything. Solips is here.

As an example of what Solips delivers, today we’re premiering a video for a song called “Confabulatie“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ARMORY — “PILLARS OF FIRE”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  No Responses »
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 »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): METALADIAN — “DEADITATION”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 252026
 

(written by Islander)

The premiere we’re about to present is an unusual one in several respects. For one thing, the music isn’t brand new — it is an album named Deaditation that was released by the Canadian band Metaladian this past July — but the video is new, and it is a rare lyric video that takes listeners through the entire record. That makes sense, because the album itself presents a complete narrative arc — “an immersive descent into pain, revenge, and ultimately redemption….”

The premiere is unusual in other respects, mainly because of interesting details about the band’s lineup and history. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: OBBROBRIUS — “LEVIATHAN’S CAGE”

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Sep 242026
 

(written by Islander)

Obbrobrius is an Italian death metal band founded in 2023 who made made their recording debut with a 2024 album named Daisy Creepy Tales. Following that independent release they signed with Over the Border Records for the release of their sophomore album Usurped, which is now due for discharge on November 6th. As a preview of what lies ahead, we’ll share this precis from the press materials that are circulating:

Far from seeking to convey moral or ideological messages, the band focuses on pure, old-school sonic violence, drawing inspiration from historic pillars such as Benediction, Bolt Thrower, and Malevolent Creation. Their lyrics delve unfiltered into dark and brutal themes: death, destruction, social violence, internal crises, and esotericism.

As a further sign of what lies ahead, today we bring you an eye-catching video for a diabolically savage but highly infectious song off Usurped called “Leviathan’s Cage“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: CHANTS — “ECHOES”

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Sep 242026
 

(written by Islander)

Everlasting Spew Records has made yet another astounding discovery, which it will share with listeners who are eager for music that’s off the usual beaten paths and capable of making deep emotional impressions.

This time the discovery concerns a Portuguese black metal trio who call themselves Chants, and their debut album Echoes, which the label will release on November 20th. The band is a new one, having formed only last year, but Chants is led by someone with a long history in the metal underground, and he uses it as a very personal outlet “for emotional catharsis and artistic introspection”.

Today we’re delighted to help spread the news of Chants, and especially excited to premiere a lyric video for the first song to be revealed from the album — which is its title track. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): HÆNESY — “ESENTIA”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 232026
 

(written by Islander)

At the end of this week, just two days from now, the Hungarian band Hænesy will have their third album released in cooperation with Fractions of Life Records. Its name is Esentia, and we have lots of thoughts about it, but most important we have a full stream of all the music to share with you.

“Atmospheric black metal” is one descriptor of what you’ll hear, but it’s not an entirely satisfactory one, in part because Hænesy’s music owes as much to post-rock as it does to black metal (with other influences also playing roles) and in part because it doesn’t tell you anything about the nature of the atmospheres the band create. We’ll make an attempt to do that below. Continue reading »

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