SHADES OF BLACK: AMIENSUS, ELLENDE, HOLOGRAMAH, CAGED BASTARD

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Oct 052025
 

(written by Islander)

When I finished writing the SEEN AND HEARD column yesterday and scheduled it for automatic appearance this morning I really didn’t think I would be awake or clear-headed enough to prepare a SHADES OF BLACK thing for today, which is why I said there wouldn’t be one. But even though I didn’t get to sleep after my spouse’s Saturday night birthday party until 1:30 am, I woke up at 7 am — amazingly not hungover, only weary.

I still thought about not trying to do put this column together, but I really hate leaving holes in our regular schedule, so here we are. Fewer selections than usual, but (I hope you’ll agree) very good ones. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: EVEN IF WE LOSE, BELIEVE IN NOTHING, FIMBUL WINTER, JADE, HALLUCINATE, SPIRIT OF REBELLION, BINAH

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Oct 052025
 

(written by Islander)

I thought about deleting the placeholder post I made yesterday but then decided to leave it there so you can see the explanation for why this SEEN AND HEARD roundup arrives a day late. That way, I can get right to the music.

Sad to say, I don’t think I’ll be able to compile a SHADES OF BLACK feature today. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A BANDCAMP FRIDAY: GALUNDO TENVULANCE, MIND PRISONER, BEASTWARS, MAUDITS, QRIXKUOR, CATHEDRAL

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Oct 032025
 


(written by Islander)

It is another Bandcamp Friday. You will already have many suggestions and discoveries that point you toward how you might spend your music-oriented money today. Poor you, here are some more. (And I’ll have more tomorrow, so you can start complicating your life in advance of the final Bandcamp Friday of 2025 on December 5th.) Continue reading »

GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, SEPTEMBER 2025

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Oct 032025
 

(September 2025 is in the books, and so Gonzo is back with us to share his recommendations of five albums released in that month.)

It’s probably a pretty clear indicator of the world we’re living in when not one, not two, but three albums released in the same month are some of the most intense emotional experiences I’ve had all year. And friends, let me tell you—it’s been a year.

It’s with albums like the newest from Sundrowned and Heretoir that provide comfort in the darkest of times. Whether or not these are a direct result or response to world events is anyone’s guess, but music in 2025 has hit decisively differently than years previous.

All this being said, if you’re looking for coping mechanisms, emotional catharsis, or just a goddamn wild-ass ride you won’t forget, I can’t recommend my picks for September highly enough. Continue reading »

VALDUR – GUILDED ABYSS

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Oct 022025
 

(Andy Synn gazes deep into the Guilded Abyss in advance of its release tomorrow)

I’ve spoken before, both briefly and at length, about how thankful I am that NCS is a wholly incompetent independent entity.

Don’t get me wrong, when I actually wrote for a physical magazine I was still pretty much left to my own devices, but the fact that we have no advertisers to placate, no industry higher-ups to fellate, and for the most part aren’t reliant on PR reps/divisions to feed us potential content (which often comes with an assumed quid pro quo that future access will be contingent on positive coverage), means that Islander, DGR, and I are essentially a law unto ourselves.

And because of this, because we make our own rules and don’t have to answer to anyone else, we’re able to do things like start the week off by reviewing the already incredibly popular album from future mainstream Metalcore darlings Dying Wish and end it by telling you all to save space for the latest slab of suffocating Black/Death savagery from underground iconoclasts Valdur.

Continue reading »

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: “NOCTURNAL BIRDING”

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Sep 302025
 

(Here’s Wil Cifer’s review of Nocturnal Birding, the new album from Author & Punisher that will be out this Friday, October 3rd, via Relapse Records.)

Regular readers already expect this review from me, since I have championed this project since its earliest days. I’ll admit I’m proud of Tristan Shone’s evolution of his sonic torture machines, and now that evolution includes this being the first album to feature guitarist Doug Sabolick joining as a bandmate, which contributes to the more rock feel to things.

Bird-themed, though the first track “Meadowlark” finds Shone’s voice bare of the effects that normally color it. Midway into the song, things kick in with a more organic version of the heaviness we expect from this project. There is a more overt industrial crunch to the amazing stomp of “Mute Swan.” His vocals are more thought-out, rather than just a layer over the throbbing grind of his machines. Megan from Couch Slut lends her voice to the ruckus erupting, with more detailed layers of melody luring you in during this. It might be the best industrial song you hear this year. Continue reading »

DYING WISH – FLESH STAYS TOGETHER

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Sep 292025
 

(Andy Synn has a lot to say about Dying Wish and their meteoric, and well-earned, rise today)

There are some people, you know the ones, who will tell you that bands becoming more melodic, more popular, more “accessible”, is inherently a bad thing.

Heck, the name of our site is itself a tongue-in-cheek reference to a specific version of this particular phenomenon.

By the same token, however, I think it’s worth noting that “accessibility” isn’t the be-all and end-all – Imagine Dragons may be more “accessible” than Imperial Triumphant… in fact I’m pretty sure they are… but I know which one I’d rather listen to – and that “popularity” doesn’t necessarily correlate with actual “quality”.

And with the recent resurgence of Hardcore/Metalcore in the mainstream consciousness – I’m talking bands dropping massive breakdowns on live tv, showcasing unexpected pop-star collaborations, and hitting headliner status on festivals which previously wouldn’t have given them a second glance – I can absolutely understand why some folks might be concerned about “the scene” sacrificing integrity in favour of dubious celebrity.

But I’m here to tell you that just because a band starts to get “big” – and Dying Wish are well on their way – that doesn’t mean they suddenly become “bad”.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: AFSKY, DEADLAND, VEIL LIFTER, BAALBERITH

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Sep 282025
 

(written by Islander)

As was true with yesterday’s SEEN AND HEARD roundup, 21 days have passed since I was able to compile one of these SHADES OF BLACK collections. Unlike yesterday’s roundup, I’m not able to make up for the lapses with a mega-sized assembly today, due to… baseball. It’s the last game of the regular season for my hometown team, and I’m going.

I know that confession damages my kvlt credentials, yet I’ll try to repair the damage with the following five selections. Stylistically they’re not in the same vein, and yet I do think there are some connections, including a certain classical elegance and immensity among some of them, and a certain dark and even depressive cast common to some, which seemed fitting for the day — roughly one week into the Fall season, with The Big Dark looming here in the Pacific Northwest. Continue reading »

CARACH ANGREN: “THE CULT OF KARIBA”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Sep 262025
 

(NCS writer DGR has long-established his bona fides as a Carach Angren fan, and so it’s no surprise that he would focus on this Dutch group’s evil new EP The Cult of Kariba that will be released on October 17th by Season of Mist. He seems very happy with what he found there.)

Five years is a mighty long walk between an album and an EP for an active band but such is the case for the black metal storytellers of Carach Angren and their newest EP The Cult Of Kariba.

The distance between the group’s newest EP and their album Frankensteina Strataemontanus has been pretty sizeable. Granted, some of this was due to the pandemic years in which many bands saw the brakes effectively slammed on any sort of performance or touring plans, and for those who had literally just released an album and weren’t planning on being at home so soon, you can see in many different group timelines how it might’ve affected them.

For some, the need to create was immediate and you saw periods of intense activity while bands would hammer out singles and covers for lack of anything else to do. Others, probably a quiet sort of frustration. No two approaches could be deemed correct and creativity certainly doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s not a switch to be thrown on and off, and seeking inspiration so soon after you’ve just put out an opus to a ghoulish take on the Frankenstein story could freeze anyone’s mind for a while. That and an ever-fluid drummer situation not helping much either, having now reduced Carach Angren down to two core members, effectively transforming them into two studio-dwelling ghosts haunting the boards when they get the chance. Continue reading »

ASHBREATHER – LA GRANDE BOUFFE

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Sep 252025
 

(Andy Synn has spent the last week or so gorging himself on fine food and drink… which makes the new album from Ashbreather an interesting, if not entirely inappropriate, choice for his return to action)

Well… here we are again, almost (but not quite) back to normal operation (that’ll probably end up being next week after we’ve recovered from all the travelling and/or revelling we’ve been doing recently).

So, as we gear up to get ourselves back to speed (although thanks to DGR you might not have noticed too much difference, considering the number of reviews he was able to put together to cover our recent down-time) I’ve decided to turn my attention to a band we’ve only covered once here before (back in the tail-end of 2022) and whom I/we sadly kind of lost touch with in the intervening years.

And, let me tell you this… whatever happened to Ashbreather in those years (which included both an EP and a collaboration which I missed) has only made them stronger/stranger.

Continue reading »

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