SHADES OF BLACK: STYGIAN, OSMIUM, DEATHWINDS

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Jun 152025
 

(written by Islander)

Sad to say, this Sunday’s column is much shorter than usual. I got a late start on it, but the bigger explanation is that early tomorrow I’m flying to my former stomping grounds in Texas to be at a Tuesday memorial service for a close friend and vital mentor, with an even earlier flight back to Seattle the next day. That means I need to get a head-start today on premieres I had agreed to host over the next three days before my old friend’s passing following a long illness. Continue reading »

RETURNING – NUMINOUS

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Jun 122025
 

(Andy Synn returns to nature with the new album from Returning, out 20 June)

Ah, “numinous”… referring to something that arouses or engenders a spiritual or religious experience… what a perfect name for the new album from Returning.

If you’re not familiar with the band, the duo’s previous album (2023’s Severance) introduced us to their moody, mesmeric blend of earthen Black Metal and ethereal ambience, resulting in a haunting, often hypnotic, sound situated somewhere between the visceral vibrancy of Wolves In The Throne Room and the shadowy shimmer of Treha Sektori, with a dash of the mournful melancholy of early Agalloch on the side.

And while I’m not suggesting that the duo have found god – if anything, the divinity they’re seeking to commune with is that of nature itself – there’s certainly a sense of religious awe, if not ecstasy, to their new album.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): GROG — “SPHERE OF ATROCITIES”

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Jun 122025
 

(written by Islander)

High-energy metal can make people pump their fists and bounce their bodies off each other. We see that, we do that. And although hell-raising music doesn’t really cause blood to boil or heads to spin (or Hell to be raised), sometimes that’s also a good way to describe the impact of a fist-pumping album like Grog‘s Sphere of Atrocities.

We’ve commented before about how unusual it is for this Portuguese band of brutal death/grinders, who’ve been plying their deadly craft since 1991, to hold together with the same lineup for the past 20 years despite the usual upheavals in personal life and the world at large, not to mention the constant upheavals in the realms of heavy music.

It’s even more unusual that after such a long career they’re still pushing themselves musically, still sharpening their execution and still finding new ways of getting the blood of listeners rushing and their heads wildly spinning. You’ll realize this for yourselves when you dive into our premiere stream of their explosive new album today, in advance of its June 13 co-release by Helldprod Records and Murder Records. Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH: CWFEN / DESOLATED / TRIVAX

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Jun 112025
 

(Andy Synn highlights three more homegrown heroes who represent the Best of British)

There is, as I have long been telling you, such a wealth of variety and talent in the UK scene right now that it’s impossible for anyone – even someone as handsome, intelligent, and… above all else… modest as I am – to cover it all.

Still, that’s never stopped me trying, which is why today I’m presenting a killer combo of doomy introspection, aggro intensity, and iconoclastic blackened belligerence courtesy of Cwfen, Desolated, and Trivax.

Continue reading »

GRUESOME: “SILENT ECHOES”

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Jun 102025
 

(Here is Todd Manning‘s review of the tremendous new album by Gruesome, out now on Relapse Records.)

Critics love to beat up on bands that aren’t original enough, but to be fair, most bands try to downplay any obvious influences. Cross-continental death metal masters Gruesome are being very open about their latest album, Silent Echoes, due out on Relapse Records on June 6th. It is supposed to sound like Death’s 1991 masterpiece, Human. But the inspiration for such imitation comes from a very genuine, heartfelt place.

Drummer Gus Rios was mentored by and a close friend of Sean Reinert, the drummer who put such a unique stamp on the aforementioned classic record. Reinert passed away unexpectedly in early 2020, and Silent Echoes is a tribute to him. Continue reading »

OBSTRUKTION – THE END TAKES FORM

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Jun 092025
 

(Andy Synn investigates what form the new album from Sweden’s Obstruktion will take)

As has already been pretty well documented (if you’ve been paying attention, at least) I’m not a huge Thrash guy these days.

Don’t get me wrong, I acknowledge the seminal importance of the style – it does, after all, form the foundation of so much of what we listen to – and still have a lot of love for the classics (and will always have time for Kreator).

But, these days at least, it’s only when it gets mixed up in other styles – Death Thrash, Blackened Thrash, and especially the thrashier side of Hardcore – that it really gets my proverbial motor running.

And the new album from Obstruktion, which smashes a bunch of hefty Death and Thrash influences into the group’s central Hardcore sound, definitely ticks all the right boxes for me.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: UKHU PACHA, VAITARANA, IANTHIN, SUMERIAN TOMBS, LYUAOIEN, JORDFÄST

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Jun 082025
 

(written by Islander)

Welcome to another Sunday column focused (mainly) on black metal. This one goes pretty deep underground, with music from four debut releases, leavened with songs from two bands whose discography is more extensive.

I’m going to start with reviews of an album and an EP, to make sure I have time to say what I want to say about them, and then turn to a group of individual songs and videos. Continue reading »

OSSUARY: “ABHORRENT WORSHIP”

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Jun 052025
 

(This is Wil Cifer‘s review of a debut album by the Wisconsin death metal band Ossuary, which is out now on vinyl via Me Saco Un Ojo Records, and on CD and tape via Darkness Shall Rise.)

Embarking upon the path of death metal, it seems that a band is confronted with the choice, much like a video game, where they must choose a class, think Dungeons & Dragons in this regard. For this metaphor, we’ll use Mage (Morbid Angel), Fighter (Entombed), Barbarian (Cannibal Corpse), and Necromancer (Incantation).

This particular band, Ossuary, featuring members of Jex Thoth, has chosen to play as a Necromancer, with a darker sound, more atmospheric, with a mood as depressive as doom, and a great deal of sonic depth. Continue reading »

BALMOG: “LAIO”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Jun 052025
 

(In his review below, our Norway-based contributor Chile has some very nice things to say about the recently released fifth album by the Galician black metal band Balmog.)

Apart from being a generally well-conceived idea, black metal is also an excellently executed idea, evidenced by thousands if not tens of thousands of bands in existence. Bands coming from all four corners of the world, bringing their own cultural identities to the table and letting them shine through their music. Obviously, black metal being the subject, “shine” is maybe a bit misleading, but you get the idea.

All this makes life much easier for us reviewers, because you can pick any place on Earth, and you’ll find something interesting. Like our guests today, for example. Coming from the town of Soutomaior in the Spanish province of Galicia, Balmog is an undoubtedly interesting band, and also a very experienced one. With a career pushing on two decades, the band has been constantly releasing quality stuff and in good quantity too.  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 »

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