Album Reviews Archives - Page 12 of 545

REVOCATION – NEW GODS, NEW MASTERS

Sep 172025

(Andy Synn offers some advance thoughts on the new album from long-time NCS favourites Revocation)

Seriously though, stop me if you’ve heard this before, but… sometimes it seems like we spend a lot, if not most, of our time here at NCS playing catch-up.

But, every so often, we do manage to get at least a little bit ahead of the curve and, with the new Revocation album (their ninth, and the first to feature new bassist Alex Weber and new guitarist Harry Lannon) set for release next week, today’s review marks a rare occasion where we’ve got an opportunity to set the tone and help structure the audience’s expectations in advance.

So let’s not waste any more time, and get to it, shall we?

PARADISE LOST: “ASCENSION”

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Sep 172025

(This is DGR‘s review of the new album from Paradise Lost, which is set for release on September 19th by Nuclear Blast.)

Ascension, the new album from Paradise Lost, marks the group’s first release of new material in five years since the heady days of 2020’s Obsidian. Paradise Lost have kept busy in that time since, with its members launching a bevy of other projects and working their way into music production and management, and the group themselves have even eased themselves into a bit of the nostalgia cycle with full-album performances of releases celebrating their thirtieth anniversaries.

Paradise Lost have seen and been through multiple eras, to the point where by both longevity and mark of quality the band have become a cultural pillar of the death and doom scene. In recent years, Paradise Lost have settled neatly into a sound that combined multiple eras for the band, letting Nick Holmes both sing and growl his way through crushingly heavy music, but even after doing so it had seemed like Paradise Lost were starting to stretch as far as they could with the style they had adopt on 2015’s The Plague Within.

Which may be why the five-year gap between releases might have worked in their favor because Ascension makes one hell of a lasting impression – even after many listens. Continue reading »

KRIGSGRAV – STORMCALLER

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Sep 162025

(Andy Synn is here to tell you whether to grab an umbrella, or just run for cover, when the new album from Krigsgrav arrives this Friday)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but… sometimes it seems like we spend most of our time here at NCS playing catch-up.

But the key word there is “most”.

You see, while it’s not easy to stay on top of all the new releases every week (although Islander does a damn good job of at least keeping track of new songs and/or album announcements) we do still manage to at least get a few reviews out each month in advance of their respective release dates.

And when the band is an old friend of the blog – figuratively speaking – like Krigsgrav (whose new album is out this Friday) we try to make a special effort to deliver our verdict in a more timely manner.

KAMRA: “UNENDING CONFLUENCE”

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Sep 162025

(Our Slovenian writer Didrik Mešiček prepared the following review of a new album by the Slovenian atmospheric/experimental black metal band Kamra.)

Slovenia is rarely, if ever, on the map of interesting metal countries so today I’m happy to get to talk about some local lads who are definitely doing a lot of things right. Black metal continues to be one of the more interesting and innovative subgenres in metal today, and Kamra’s first album, Cerebral Alchemy, was already a good representation of that, but the band will now be releasing their second full-length album called Unending Confluence through Avantgarde Music on the 19th of September. Continue reading »

THE GREAT WHITE NOTHING – PASSAGE I: MELANCHOLIA

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Sep 152025

(Andy Synn travels deep into The Great White Nothing… and likes what he finds there)

Sometimes it seems like we spend most of our time here at NCS playing catch-up.

And the reason for this is… well, we kind of do.

After all, there’s just so much released each week/month/year that it’s impossible to stay on top, or ahead, of it all, and often by the time we find something that really grabs our attention (and/or find the time to actually get some writing done in between all our other commitments) the release date for whatever it is has already passed.

Case in point, the debut album from Belgian Post-Metal/Post-Hardcore/Post-Black quintet The Great White Nothing was actually released on the 31st of August, but I didn’t stumble across it until over a week later, and then didn’t find time to sit down and properly pen a few thoughts about it until now.

But, as the unofficial mantra of this site goes, better late than never… right?

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME XX: CHANGES, TEMPERATURES, AND RIFFS

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Sep 152025

(Daniel Barkasi returns with his monthly collection of album reviews, this time recommending six albums released in August 2025.)

As summer nears its conclusion, the heat has finally (sort of) calmed down a little in the Floridian swamp. It’s about damn time. The dogs can finally be taken outside and we’re not a dripping puddle of sweat in 1.2 seconds. More like 10 minutes, which is an improvement that’s most welcome!

On a sad personal note, my wife and I lost our precious dog Kaiya last week. It wasn’t completely unexpected – she had just turned 17 and had some worsening health issues – and her body just couldn’t keep going. We had a hell of a 17th birthday bash only a few days prior, but she sadly plummeted quickly not long after.

My wife had her for literally half of my wife’s life, and I had the distinct pleasure of having her in my life for over a decade. She was the best girl – sweet as can be, loving, gentle, and quirky in the best ways. It’s still hard for me to write this, as I miss her terribly and it’ll be fresh for a while. One of our other dogs, Hiroki, has taken it especially hard, as they were incredibly close. He seems to be on the mend, thankfully, as he sits next to me. Continue reading »

GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, END-OF-SUMMER EDITION, 2025

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Sep 122025

(Denver-based NCS scribe Gonzo wrote the following album-review roundup, covering four albums released in July or August and one released a week ago.)

As per usual with every summer, I’ve spent about 75% of it in places that don’t include being in front of my computer. And when I am seated here in this vaunted throne, I’m staring at work. The kind that pays the bills. Sigh.

But really, who am I to complain? After a three-year wait, this summer’s resurgence of Fire in the Mountainswas everything it ever could’ve been and more, highlighting a July that was filled with all kinds of uplifting moments. And while I was out galivanting in the woods for undetermined lengths, tons of new releases came gurgling out of the ether that I have yet to write about.

Let’s fix that. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BERGSVRIDEN — “I HAGGANS AFTON”

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Sep 112025

(written by Islander)”Folk Metal” is such a sloppy label. It has been applied to such an extraordinarily broad range of bands who sound very little alike that it’s a near-useless appellation — near useless because it doesn’t tell you what kind of “folk” or what kind of “metal” or how those intertwined influences (whatever they are) might play out together.

And so, we’re steering way clear of that genre term as we introduce you to I Haggans Afton, the latest album from the wicked Swedish band Bergsvriden, which will see release tomorrow via the Dusktone label.

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Bergsvriden, you could guess that their music has a folk influence, else why would we begin by even mentioning the “folk metal” pigeonhole? But it’s the details that matter, and especially for listeners who might reflexively shy away from anything associated with that label. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): REVELATOR — “LIGHT OF THE DEVIL’S FIRE”

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Sep 102025

(written by Islander)

The Alberta-based black/death metal band Revelator named their debut album Light The Devil’s Fire, and that is exactly what they attempt to do in their music — to wake up Lucifer, to ignite his flames to bonfire intensity, and to ascend with them to heights of evil glory.

Bold words those, but we can back them up today with a full streaming premiere of Revelator‘s revels in advance of the album’s September 12 release by Nameless Grave Records. Continue reading »

DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT – INNERN

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Sep 102025

(Andy Synn takes a look deep inside the new album from Der Weg Einer Freiheit, out Friday)

I recently saw someone joking online – although, truthfully, it was more of a wry observation – that “true Black Metal is fuelled by ennui“.

And although this statement was slightly tongue-in-cheek (made in response to one of those oh-so-serious “Black Metal is only for those filled with true evil and hate” types) well… there might just be something to it.

After all, we’re talking about a genre which – for all the subsequent mythologising around its early days – was started by a bunch of angry, angsty teenagers chafing against the rigid strictures of religious morality and staid suburban life that left them with no real outlet for their emotions, or any real direction for the future… and if that’s not a perfect recipe for “listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement” then I don’t know what is.

And while some may have questioned how “true” Der Weg Einer Freiheit‘s particular brand of intensely introspective, blast-driven Black Metal actually is… there’s no question that when it comes to exploring and expressing this internal strife and struggle (heck, their new album literally translates as “Inside”) they’ve never been afraid to take a stark, unflinching look at their own inner workings.

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