AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): I PROÉLEFSI — SELF-TITLED

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Jul 032025
 

(written by Islander)

The Scream!

Despite the fact that black metal has warped in ways that never would have been foreseen by its young first-wave and second-wave progenitors, certain tropes still tend to define the genre in the minds of many bands and listeners. One of those is the screaming — the harsh, high-pitched, rasp-edged vocal volatility that has contributed to both the raw aggression and the supernatural aura of the genre.

What happens when there are no screams? And not just no screams, but reputedly no vocals of any kind, not even the kind of deathly gutturals and possessed wails (among many other vociferous manifestations) that have found their way into the genre?

Well, the answers vary among the small range of black metal projects, usually one-person formations, whose music is entirely instrumental. In the case of the Chilean project I Proélefsi, what happens is a range of experiences that include both atmospheric and avant-garde elements, drawing inspiration from, the likes of Emperor, Setherial, Abigor, and Limbonic Art, as well as Dark Ambient music.

You’ll discover the initial results of I Proélefsi‘s creative visions (near wordless but not entirely so) in the band’s self-titled demo that we’re about to premiere. But before getting to the music, we’d like to share what the band’s solo creator M. has to say about it: Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: OPHIOLATRY — “REVENGE”

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Jul 032025
 

(written by Islander)
Originally emerging from the depths of Brazil’s extreme metal underground in 1998, Ophiolatry have earned increasing amounts of global attention over time, especially since their return with a renewed lineup in 2021 after a 13-year hiatus, and most especially because of the multi-faceted power of their newest album Serpent’s Verdict, released last month by WormHole Death Records, which has garnered a widespread positive response.

Even the album’s inspirations stand out. As described on behalf of the label: “The album delves into themes of spiritual revenge, indigenous resistance, and the clash between ancient traditions and imposed beliefs. Inspired by real events in the Amazon, mythology and existential suffering, the lyrics paint vivid scenes of war, punishment and transcendence through pain. Each song tells a story, whether it be warriors resurrected for revenge, the wrath of serpent gods, or the fall of oppressive ideologies. The words are raw, intense and unrelenting, reflecting the chaotic brutality of the music itself.”

Musically, the album stands out from the pack too, and as a reminder of that we’re premiering a video for the song “Revenge“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ANCIENT TORMENT — “UNDER THE GUISE OF VIRTUE”

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Jul 022025
 

(written by Islander)

Nearly a decade after their inception, the Rhode Island based black metal band Ancient Torment will at last release their debut album after a handful of shorter records that have emerged beginning in 2019. Entitled Follow the Echo of Curses, it will be discharged by the Eternal Death label on August 1st.

Although this is a first album, it’s not the work of novices: The band’s lineup includes members of such bands as Witch King, I, Destroyer, and Cruciamentum, and former members of Black Sorcery (among other bands). And it doesn’t sound like a novice work either.

The music is often vast and emotionally devastating in its dynamic renditions of fury, torment, and desolation, the kind of experiences that swallow up listeners and hold them captive to the band’s intentions. Not for naught does Eternal Death describe the album as “an immersive, introspective journey through the shadows of abysmal suffering and mysteries of death’s embrace.”

To help blaze the path toward the record’s release, today we’re premiering one of its six expansive songs, “Under the Guise of Virtue“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): STYGIAN — “DREADLANDS”

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Jul 012025
 

(written by Islander)

Dreadlands is the debut album of the Italian band Stygian, which will be released on July 4th by Time To Kill Records. In its thematic conception and its lyrical expression, it reflects serious thought, scorching insight, and honest rage. Here is part of Stygian‘s preview of what the album is about:

Dreadlands explores the contrast between two spiritual worlds: the harmony-centered pagan traditions and the legacy of Abrahamic religions, which often channel humanity’s most violent instincts. While pagan rites served to express and contain primal forces, maintaining balance between humankind and nature, monotheistic dogmas have frequently justified war and destruction in the name of faith. This work stands as a tribute to life, to the sacred bond between people and the natural world — a bond shattered by centuries of religious conflict.

At the end of this article we’ll share more comments from Stygian about the album, including their statements about the meaning of each of the record’s 10 songs. In between here and there we’re also sharing a full stream of Dreadlands, which musically is itself an intersection or fusion of two worlds, a hybrid of crust punk and black metal. The music proves to be as fierce, as wounded, and as defiantly resilient as the album’s thematic insights. Continue reading »

ANTIHÆLIX: A SONG PREMIERE AND AN INTERVIEW

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Jul 012025
 

(Our friend Neill Jameson (Krieg) introduces our premiere of music from the debut album by the Philadelphia black metal band Antihælix, and also shares his fascinating interview with the band’s two members.)

Black metal in the United States has become, much like the global scene I suppose, infinitely shapeless, changing form, moving forwards and backwards. Genre blurring has become less of a unicorn and more of a regular horse you see by the road when you’ve driving through farm country. Those who consciously try to be unique are just as obtuse as the folks trying to live like the 1980s never ended.

I’m trying to say that there’s a lot of boring shit made by boring people, but in the nicest way possible. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: IMPERISHABLE — “OATH OF DISGUST”

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Jun 302025
 

(written by Islander)

The covid pandemic cast a dark and deadly cloud across the world, but it did have some silver linings in the musical world. With shows canceled and in-person rehearsal and recording sessions suspended, restless creative types began thinking in different directions, and that led to some collaborations that otherwise probably wouldn’t have happened.

One of those silver linings was the formation of the U.S. death metal band Imperishable (to be distinguished from the Swedish band of the same name, who released an album of their own last April). The U.S. band started in 2020 as the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist Brian Kingsland (from Nile and Enthean) and bassist Alex Rush (Olkoth, Enthean). They wrote material during covid, but then put that on the back burner as they got busy again with more normal life and activities with their main bands.

But they brought their ideas to the front burner again after completing their lineup with the addition of famed drummer Derek Roddy (of Hate Eternal, Malevolent Creation, and too many other bands to name), and now Imperishable‘s debut album Revelation In Purity is set for an August 29 release by none other than Everlasting Spew Records — and we’ve got a lyric video for the album’s astounding first single today. Its name is “Oath of Disgust“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HEXROT — “CONSECRATING LUMINOUS CONFLAGRATION”

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Jun 302025
 

(written by Islander)

Haxes and hexes…

Transcending Obscurity Records has established a global reputation for good taste, and quite varied taste. Their roster of bands run a broad gamut of metal sub-genres, and their releases over many years now have been consistently excellent. At this very site, we’ve had a vivid demonstration of this over just the past week.

Five days ago we premiered an astonishing epic-length song by the Floridian progressive death metal band Haxprocess, and today we’re following that with a song from the Massachusetts duo Hexrot, a much shorter song by comparison but thoroughly head-spinning nonetheless. Its evocative name is “Consecrating Luminous Conflagration.” Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BIOLENCE — “EXTERMINATION THROUGH MUTATION”

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Jun 272025
 

(written by Islander)

Formed in 1998 in Vila Nova de Gaia (Porto, Portugal), Biolence have more than 25 years of death/thrashing carnage under their belts and no shortage of the will or skill needed to continue delivering what is rightly claimed as “no-frills, old-school intensity”. That becomes vividly apparent when listening to their forthcoming fifth album, the aptly named Violent Obliteration. Its appeal is primal, its punishment ruthless, its effects exhilarating, the kind of music that gets heads hammering and blood rushing.

You sort of have to take our word for it at this point, because the album won’t be released until the first of September this year by a trio of labels — Doomed Records, Raging Planet, and Selvajaria Records. But you don’t have to entirely take out word for it because today we’re bringing you an official video for a mad and monstrous song off the album named “Extermination Through Mutation“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS — “IN THE GLOW OF THE VATICAN FIRE”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  1 Response »
Jun 262025
 

(written by Islander)

The lyrics of most extreme metal songs are often an after-thought, both for the bands and for fans and “critics”. They’re often written after the musical core of the songs has solidified rather than intertwined with it from inception; they’re usually difficult to hear, since vocals usually function as simply another instrument that adds fuel to the emotional fires; and if we’re being honest, the words are quite often uninspiring and forgettable.

The extensive lyrics of In The Glow Of The Vatican Fire, the forthcoming tenth album from the Connecticut-based “avant-sludge metal” outfit When the Deadbolt Breaks, are a startling departure from those norms. This writer had them in hand and decided to read all of them before listening to anything from the album. They left me shaken. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NO SHELTER — “ROTTEN”

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Jun 262025
 

(written by Islander)

We’re told that the German band No Shelter came into existence in May 2017 as the union of members who had played in many other bands. Since then they’ve discharged a couple of EPs,  a couple of splits, and a couple of albums (Rest In Death and Erasing Life). From the beginning they’ve brought together elements of hardcore punk, crust, and Swedish death metal in varying degrees of combination, spawning references among writers to a collision between such bands as Trap Them and Entombed.

This summer No Shelter will have a third album for us. Entitled Remission/Resolve and encompassing 12 songs (including a “Wolverine Blues” cover), it’s set for a July 25 release by This Charming Man Records. What we’ve got for you today is a song off the album pointedly named “Rotten“. Continue reading »

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