AN NCS PREMIERE: SIGORSPÉD — “ECSTATIC TRANCE OF THE WARRIOR”

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Jun 102025
 

(written by Islander)

Yesterday we premiered a song from the forthcoming second album by Azathoth’s Dream, a band that’s part of the “Order of the Broken Sword” circle, and today we’re premiering music from an album (also to be released by Iron Bonehead Productions) by another member of that circle, the black metal band Sigorspéd.

References to musical “circles” sometimes suggest not merely cooperation among musicians, sometimes including interlocking lineups, but also close musical similarities. That, however, is not the case with the Order of the Broken Sword, as a comparison of these two back-to-back song premieres vividly demonstrates. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AZATHOTH’S DREAM — “COVEN OF THE ANCIENT BLACK FLAME”

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Jun 092025
 

(written by Islander)

The last time we wrote here about the music of Azathoth’s Dream it caused us to wax poetical:

There is a world of the imagination in which the clock of the seasons has frozen and moves no longer, in which the freezing dark of winter is endless. Technology works no longer, and decay is the order of the day. What human life remains is now huddled around fires, and beyond those shrouds of light terrible predatory things wait in the endless night, inhuman and ascendant.

It is a world of dream, a nightmare for huddled humans but a hideous glory for the dreamer…. Other nightmare dreams of endless night may explain the title of the project’s debut album — Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment. But regardless, that title is well chosen because the music is all of those things — deeply nocturnal and viciously vampyric, and yes, also frighteningly bewitching.

And now we have new music from Azathoth’s Dream to consider, and specifically an excerpt named “Coven of the Ancient Black Flame” from the band’s forthcoming second album Solitary Forest Necromancy, which will be released by Iron Bonehead Productions on July 11th. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ETERNAL DISSONANCE — “EPHEMERAL GLIMPSE”

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Jun 092025
 

(written by Islander)

In a time when musical dissonance has the upper hand across a wide swath of black and death metal, a band name like Eternal Dissonance would seem to promise more of that — sounds of discord, disharmony, and disorientation.

But the word “dissonance” has other meanings outside the realms of music, signifying states of mental or emotional conflict, or the difficulty of finding a way to live which frees the spirit and transcends all the adversarial forces in life which ceaselessly hinder or halt the pursuit of any such objectives.

And so the name of this Spanish atmospheric black metal band whose music is the subject of today’s premiere may have a different significance than acting as a signpost of cacophonous decibels. You’ll be able to decide that for yourselves when you hear the song “Ephemeral Glimpse“, extracted from the band’s second album Through the Endless (set for release on June 17th by the Darkwoods label). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DRAWN AND QUARTERED — “LORD OF TWO HORNS”

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Jun 062025
 

(written by Islander)

Approximately 31 years ago the Seattle band Plague Bearer changed their name to Drawn and Quartered, and they’ve been living up to it ever sense. Over the course of eight albums and numerous other releases they’ve still found ways of spreading lethal musical pestilence, but ruthless death metal disembowelment and dismemberment has been their main stock in trade. (They weren’t kidding when they titled their second album Extermination Revelry.)

And now the time has come for these hell-spawned destructors (they’re actually very nice people!) to discharge a ninth album, this one named Lord of Two Horns. With fiendish pleasure, we’re helping spread the word about it today through our premiere of the album’s ferocious title track. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ALKEMIA — “LAMENTING SERENADES OF EDEN”

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Jun 062025
 

(written by Islander)

Alkemia is a new band that has emerged from Uppsala, Sweden, but the lineup is composed of metal veterans. They include three members of the long-running death metal band Sarcasm — Heval Bozarslan (vocals), Peter Laitinen (guitar), and Philip Borg (bass) — and drummer Alvaro Svanerö, who was also once a Sarcasm member.

But despite these connections, Alkemia isn’t a Sarcasm clone by any means. Instead, this new formation has delved deeply into doom. As Alkemia‘s label Chaos Records explains, the music on the band’s debut album Depulsus “balances the solemnity of traditional doom metal with the raw intensity of death-doom, forging a sound that stands apart yet pays homage to the greats.”

Identifying some of those greats, the label recommends the album “for those who seek the melancholy of My Dying Bride, the dark mysticism of Celtic Frost, the ominous grandeur of Black Sabbath, and the bleak weight of early Paradise Lost.”

Those are all very accurate reference points, as you’ll hear for yourselves through our premiere of the album track “Lamenting Serenades of Eden“. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP AND VIDEO PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): STORTREGN — “ONE ETERNAL”

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Jun 052025
 

(Today we help announce, and premiere a video playthrough, of a new EP by the Swiss metal band Stortregn, preceded by DGR‘s review of this very interesting and hair-raising new work on the eve of its release.)

Given the length of Stortregn‘s career it is impressive that they’ve been able to keep to such a consistent clip. Even while slowly metamorphosizing into a different genre from where they started, Stortregn have been a on a strong two-to-three-year cycle of quality releases. They even managed to land one well enough with 2023’s Finitude that it wound up ranking pretty highly at this here website’s year-end celebrations. If nothing else, we were certainly ready to throw down in defense of the one-two punch of “Xeno Chaos” and “Cold Void” in the early part of the album.

Stortregn specialize in a form of compositional chaos that is tightly controlled but still just off the map enough that they pleasantly surprise. Each song is a musical showpiece on its own without devolving into instrumental demo work, and that they do this at such a high speed for the majority of their last few releases has been stunning. Without ever letting their extremity become milquetoast, Stortregn have put in a valiant effort in the tech-death world. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVEIW): BIAŁYWILK — “WNIEBOWSTĄPIENIE”

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Jun 042025
 

(written by Islander)

On June 6th, two days from now, Fiadh Productions will release the third album by Białywilk, the solo atmospheric black metal project of California-based but Polish-born musician Marek Cimochowicz (formerly a member of Vukari). The album’s name is Wniebowstąpienie, which is Polish for Ascension Day. Marek describes it as “a deeply personal record about getting older and finding your place in the universe,” about “aging, and being comfortable in your own skin.” On Wniebowstąpienie he is accompanied by sessions musicians Elijah Debey (drums) and Abel Jara (bass).

We’ve reviewed Białywilk‘s two preceding albums, Próżnia (here) and Zmora (here). They each had their own distinct inspirations and were musically distinct (but uncommonly distinctive) as well. They gave the sense of a very talented artist engaged in exploratory and experimental creative ventures, and so they created a sense of intrigue about what Wniebowstąpienie would bring us.

Now we know, and now you’ll know, because we’re hosting a full stream of the new album today. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WITHERER — “DEVOURER OF ALL GRAVEYARDS”

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Jun 032025
 

(written by Islander)

In late 2019, paltry months away from the world being consumed and frozen in place by the covid pandemic, we came across a startling early single called “Milk Sea (Bathing in Its Waves)” by the Canadian black metal band Witherer, then the solo effort of one Tiamoath. It was a fascinating two-part piece of music that created the feeling of being caught in someone else’s disturbing yet transfixing hallucination, an intricate and unpredictable work that was by turns dreamlike, frenzied, and disorienting.

The song made a striking impression and, as I wrote at the time, left me eager to discover how Witherer would follow that first release. And then of course the world turned black, and even after it recovered (sort of) nothing more was heard from Witherer — until now.

Now, at last, Witherer is returning with a debut album entitled Shadow Without a Horizon (which will be released on June 20th by Hypaethral Records)‬, rising to the surface again only to lead us far down through crushing depths to witness stunning catastrophes.

But this isn’t the same Witherer we first heard more than five years ago. Both the band and the music have undergone a transformation, as you’ll discover for yourselves through today’s premiere of the song “Devourer of All Graveyards“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HATRED INHERIT — “SHRINE”

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Jun 032025
 

(written by Islander)

The German death metal band Hatred Inherit chose a good name for themselves. Humankind’s history, from the most ancient of times straight through to the grisly present, is replete with evidence that hatred is like an inherited trait. From one generation to the next, it seems to be passed down as if a central part of the species’ DNA.

In that context we can contemplate what inspires the band’s music: Is it an expression of our tribes’ undying hatefulness? Or a rage kindled by witnessing it, over and over again? Or a severe despondency and desperation caused by bearing witness to such destructive deviancy?

Each listener can draw their own conclusions from the music, most recently captured in the band’s 31-minute second album Void, which will be co-released on June 13th by Satanath Records (Georgia) and Pest Records (Romania) — and more immediately from the song we’re premiering today: “Shrine“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MORNINGSTVR — “WHISPERS OF A NAMELESS FEAR”

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Jun 022025
 

(written by Islander)

On June 20th the Los Angeles-based one-man black metal band Morningstvr will release the second album in a planned trilogy. Its name is A Fate Engraved, and it follows from its predecessor, In Memoriam of the Blvck Wind.

As Morningstvr explains, it “tells of a land far to the north of the world, with cold and abysmal ranges covered in snow, ancient structures of an empire from a forgotten age, much like in the image of the medieval period, continuing the tales of Slavic witchcraft, knights charging their last battles, betrayal, heartbreak and rituals upon a full moon,” and thus references Tolkien’s legendarium.

As for the music itself, Morningstvr describes it as “if (early) Darkthrone had a love child with Verses in Oath by Hulder and Kaer Morhen by Hekseblad.” We have a more tangible demonstration of the music today as we premiere a music video for the new album’s final track “Whispers of a Nameless Fear.” Continue reading »

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