AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NOCTURNIS — “DRANGSAL”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Nov 052026
 

(written by Islander)

Since the earliest days of metal’s dawning bands have expressed rebellious themes by embracing the symbology of Lucifer and his fallen angels, some have delved into the occult in more than symbolic fashion, and others have drenched themselves and their listeners in gore. And so it is refreshing to continue finding bands who put their thematic focus on historical events and social commentary.

The black metal band Nocturnis, who dwell in the Black Forest region of southern Germany, are one such band. Their powerful 2022 debut album Unsegen told the story of a young soldier in World War I, who was driven by his conscience into a no less harrowing inner struggle due to the atrocities he experienced, a struggle he ultimately loses.

And now we have a second Nocturnis full-length that explores a different series of historical events. Titled Drangsal, it is a concept album about the European witch hunts. It’s set for release on November 6th (tomorrow!) by Fetzner Death Records, but we’re sharing a full stream of it now. Continue reading »

LOCKSLIP – THE CONVERSATION

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Nov 052026
 

(Andy Synn wants to have a conversation with you about a new band and their killer debut)

As you all surely know, we are big proponents of balance here at NCS… for every light a dark, for every yin a yang, and for every big, iconic name we cover there must be a smaller, more underground artist we can give a helping hand to.

And, lo and behold, here we have The Conversation (out tomorrow), the debut album from wild-eyed Math-Punk Metalcore crew Lockslip, to even the scales once more.

Continue reading »

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME XXXIII: RIP KENNETH GALLANT

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Nov 052026
 

(Here we present Daniel Barkasi’s latest monthly collection of reviews for NCS. This one focuses on albums released in October 2026.)

Thankfulness can be tricky. Everyone’s life situation is unique, of course, and we all have encountered strife, heartache, sadness, but also joy, elation, and warmth. Lately as I’ve seen folks really struggling, it isn’t lost upon me how fortunate we’ve been in many facets of this winding adventure that is life. As I write this, I’m looking out at our horses, petting our wonderful Australian Cattle Dog, Jericho, as he attempts to tackle me with affection, and the importance of such moments aren’t lost on me. A reflective mood has struck my often pessimistic brain, and it goes to show that sometimes you’ve got to slow down a bit and embrace every good moment. They’re the ones you want to remember and call upon during difficult times.

Solidifying this feeling is the loss of a friend and fellow passionate music writer in Kenneth Gallant, who passed away back in July, and I unfortunately only recently found out about it. Continue reading »

HATEBREED – FATAL PARADOX

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Nov 042026
 

Hatebreed - Fatal Paradox

(Andy Synn says that these old dogs still bite just as hard as ever on their new album, out Friday)

What more is there to say about Hatebreed?

After all, we’re talking about a band who have been Hardcore royalty for almost thirty years now, and a veritable institution in the Metal scene for almost as long, selling millions of albums and touring around the world, from toilet bowls to stadium shows, along the way.

So you might think that everything that needs saying has already been said, in one way or another.

But you’d be wrong, because real fans know that while there’s never been a bad Hatebreed album, not all Hatebreed albums are created equal… especially when you consider their last few releases which, while never without at least a banger or two to their name (The Divinity of Purpose in particular features a bunch of killer cuts that have ended up on my regular playlist), have sometimes felt a little too formulaic for their own good.

Which is what makes Fatal Paradox worth talking about, because against all odds – and without radically reinventing the proverbial wheel or breaking the metaphorial mould – it might just be the band’s best album since The Rise of Brutality.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DISEMBODY — “AWAKENING OF ANCIENT EVIL”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Nov 032026
 

(written by Islander)

Last month we had the pleasure of premiering the second single from Awakening of Ancient Evil, the second full-length from the Finnish black/thrash duo Disembody. It’s set for release by Helldprod Records on November 4th (tomorrow!), but you can listen to it in its entirety now through our album premiere below.

The label has summed up the music as “raw, vicious and uncanny” — “eight tracks packed with hellish aggression, piercing riffs, and relentless pounding evilness,” leavened with “haunting melodies [that] will lull you into a dark slumber.”

That is accurate and succinct, but of course we have more elaborate thoughts of our own to share about this very remarkable album. Continue reading »

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Nov 032026
 

(Andy Synn presents another round-up of things from last month you may have missed)

Was October the busiest month in Metal so far this year?

Well, the jury’s still out on that one, but it definitely left me with so many options for this edition of “Things You May Have Missed” – including Black Royal, Coal & Crayon, The Curse Made Flesh, Dethroned, Detresse, Dread Witch, Hatalom, Hope Collapse, Litost, Minenfeld, Sneglefeber, Throes, Urarv, and Veret – that I might just have to do a another one of these articles next week, because four really isn’t a big enough number to even scratch the surface of what I want to recommend to you all from last month.

With that in mind then, let’s not waste any more time and get right to my first batch of recommendations.

Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SUNDAY: BAEST, SERPENT, GORMA, FORTRIU, DAWN OF SOLACE, HOLY DEATH, GEISTERFAUST, BELTEZ

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 012026
 

(written by Islander)

We all know that expectations can be disappointed even when the expected person is dependable. You probably expected a roundup of new songs and videos here yesterday, especially because it was Halloween, maybe even a grab-bag of horror videos. What you got instead was the premiere of an album whose themes had nothing remotely to do with Halloween.

What you’ll get today is the roundup you were probably expecting yesterday instead of the usual SHADES OF BLACK column, which I suppose is another dashed expectation. Rest assured that this collection does include some black metal, but overall it will be more cross-genre in its scope.

As usual, the choices were difficult because there was so much to choose from. With Friday being devil’s night and Saturday being Halloween, metal bands and labels really loaded up the week with new stuff. Hope you enjoy the picks I struggled to make. Continue reading »

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

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Oct 312026
 

(written by Islander)

We started paying attention to Haintgrove in June when this Texas-based solo black metal project released its first single, “Starless Passage“. That led us to host premieres for two more singles, “I Dream in a Tongue I Cannot Speak” in August and “Kingdoms in the Thicket” in September. And now we’re premiering the entirety of Haintgrove’s self-titled debut album, which includes those three songs and five more, on the day of its release.

Haintgrove’s inspirations and lyrical themes have been as much a part of its appeal as the music. Haintgrove has expressed the short version of that in these words: “Rooted in the history and lingering memory of enslaved Africans in the colonial South Carolina Lowcountry, this album exists to honor those who came before us, and to remember what was carried, what was taken, and what continues forward.”

Creating a further connection to the album’s historical settings and lineage, Haintgrove has created some videos which feature his film and photography of the Lowcountry, and we’ll include them as we work through the music track by track. But at the end we have an album-length stream that pulls all the songs together.

This is an extremely rare weekend premiere at our site — and on a Halloween no less! — but we hope and believe you’ll understand after hearing the album why we made this exception. Continue reading »

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

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Oct 302026
 

(written by Islander)

Today we help introduce the world to Comploratio, or at least the miniscule fraction of the global populus who find catharsis or solace in abject funeral doom.

Comploratio is a different kind of venture for its sole creator Jon Rosenthal, whose extensive musical resume includes such bands as Bergtagen (mentioned first because they released a terrific new EP earlier this year), Starless Domain, Stellar Descent, and Boreal. Hints of doom can be found in the music of some of those other bands, and in JR’s forays into dungeon synth, but sinking completely into funeral is a big new step.

That first step (or rather three of them) is captured in Comploratio’s self-titled debut album, which will be released on Halloween (tomorrow!). Earlier this month Decibel premiered the first of the three songs on Comploratio, and today we’re bringing you all three songs in their entirety. Continue reading »

EXTOL – AURA OF DECAY

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Oct 292026
 

(Andy Synn, ahem, extols the virtues of the band’s new album, out next week)

Let’s address the elephant in the room immediately, shall we?

Yes, Extol‘s long-awaited sixth album – coming some thirteen years after their seminal (and almost equally long gestating) self-titled record – deserves much, much better artwork, as it’s become painfully clear that Hugh Syme (famous for his work with Rush, Dream Theatre, and even Extol themselves) has been phoning it in for quite some time now.

Thankfully, however, this is one of those times when it’s worth remembering that you can’t always judge a book (or an album) by its cover, as there’s nothing half-assed about the band’s own work on Aura of Decay.

Continue reading »

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