Reviews Archives - Page 4 of 594

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BARBARIAN — “REEK OF GOD”

Jan 192026

(written by Islander)

From everything we’ve read about the members of Barbarian over the last 15 years or so, they’re a trio of die-hard metal maniacs whose heads are filled to the brim with music from a variety of classic eras throughout heavy metal history. They have also consistently demonstrated a rare ability to let that array of influences almost instinctively flow through their own songwriting in ways that are familiar but never formulaic, so much so that you never know quite what they’re going to do from one album to the next, or even within individual songs, except you know it’s going to light a bonfire in your head.

Undoubtedly, the songwriting process of these Italians begins with riffs — because the songs are usually packed to the brim with them — but it’s also clear they devote a lot of care to refinement of their initial ideas, with the objective of leaving no one bored, and least of all themselves.

To repeat, you never know quite what’s going to happen, or even which inspirations might work their way into the music, but you can be damn sure the results will be interesting… and exhilarating… and heavy metal to the core.

Which brings us to Barbarian’s new album Reek of God, which we’re excited to share with you from start to finish today in advance of its January 23 release by their new label Dying Victims Productions. Continue reading »

ECTOVOID – IN UNREALITY’S COFFIN

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Jan 192026

(Andy Synn gets his Death Metal on with the new album from Ectovoid, out now on Everlasting Spew)

Playing “Extreme Metal” – whatever your chosen flavour may be – is, as we all know, serious business.

That being said, it’s not a crime to have some fun while you’re doing it, and Birmingham, Alabamaniacs Ectovoid – whose line-up comprises members of serious death-dealers like Metaphobic, Father Befouled, and Seraphic Entombment – sound like they’re having an absolute blast (pun only marginally intended) on their recently-released third album, In Unreality’s Coffin.

SHADES OF BLACK: BONG-RA, UDRĘKA, VERDUN, FERNDOM, SEAR, LUCERNA MUNDI

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

Jan 182026

(written by Islander)

Two days ago people in the tiny Spanish village of San Bartolomé de Pinares renewed a tradition that’s purportedly five centuries long — building bonfires in the central streets and riding horses through the flames. This is done on the eve of the festival of Saint Anthony the Abbott, the patron saint of domestic animals, because what honors domestic animals better than forcing some big ones to hurtle through an inferno?

I always look for photos of the event because they’re typically amazing and because they’re usually pretty good metaphors for people here and around the world trying to brave whatever fiery hells are burning around us. Lots of those to choose from these days.

Oddly, when I went looking for photos of this year’s ritual I had to wade through snowy photos of armed Greenlandic polar bears and sled dogs. What the hell was that about? (Well, I knew, and I guess it’s proof that AI is good for something besides kicking people out of work and threatening humanity with extinction.) Continue reading »

PUSH! – PLOWING AHEAD

Album Reviews No Responses »

Jan 142026

(Andy Synn is plowing ahead with reviews in 2026, aided and abetted by the new one from Push!)

There’s a line in the song “Movie Night” by Aesop Rock that answers the question “What kind of dog is that?” with the words “That’s a mutt… it’s five-dogs-in-one.”

And while we can’t be sure exactly what breed the spiky hound adorning the cover of Plowing Ahead is, it’s clearly not a pure-bred.

But, then again, neither are Push!, as while the Portuguese quintet are definitely a Hardcore band – one with the likes of Born From Pain, Sworn Enemy, and Merauder in their auditory ancestry – there’s also at least some Metal in their DNA too, as the hybrid-vigour of their new album so plainly demonstrates.

THE BEST METAL ALBUM OF 2025 (RAFI’S PICK): TRIVAX — “THE GREAT SATAN”

Album Reviews, LISTMANIA 2025 No Responses »

Jan 132026

Artwork by Nestor Avalos; recommended for fans of Melechesh, Behemoth, Dark Fortress

(Last month Israeli metal writer Rafi Yovell made his reviewing debut at NCS, and while he hasn’t brought us a year-end list to share in our nearly completed 2025 LISTMANIA series, he has enthusiastically identified his album of the year.)

Black metal almost always comes with rage for religious fanaticism, regardless of where or when you’d argue the genre began. Fascinatingly enough, though, I think the Middle East was where black metal would reach its conceptual summit.

There have been many great black metal releases from the region, but last year the Iranian-born but now UK-based Trivax blessed us with one of the best extreme metal records I’ve ever heard.

Surely, I wouldn’t be the first to point out that awesome metal tends to flourish from hardship. And my pick for the best metal album of 2025? Holy fucking J’hannam, The Great Satan takes that concept to a whole other level… Continue reading »

BEZDAN: “UPON THE ALTAR”

Album Reviews No Responses »

Jan 122026

(Our Norway-based contributor Chile has brought us his first review of 2026, and the subject is the long-awaited debut album by the Croatian extremists Bezdan.)

Where did the time go? Well, that’s not really a rhetorical question. Listmania 2025 started happening and the wheels just seemed to fell off my proverbial writing wagon, so the time mostly went with me pouring over all the published lists and scratching my head at how the hell did I miss this or that album. Nevertheless, as a wise man said once: “Metal is never late, nor is it early. It arrives precisely when it means to”. Or something like that.

As another wise man said once (or twice) on these very pages, it seems like we do spend a lot of our time here at NCS playing catch-up, so here we go once again. This review would have been better suited to have happened around the time of the actual release date of this album back in late November or at least early December, but time is relative anyway, as we are about to find out. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: COSCRADH, ENDSPACE, MERCULISTARYA, CAGED BASTARD

Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK 2 Responses »

Jan 112026

(written by Islander)

This morning I read an unexpectedly engrossing essay written by a woman who unexpectedly became an obsessive fan of a Broadway musical named Operation Mincemeat. She makes very clear that fanatical fandom isn’t typically part of her personality — far from it. She spends the entire essay thinking out loud, trying to understand why she has seen the musical at least 12 times, interspersed with evidence of her obsession and stories about how the musical came to be and what it’s about.

Eventually the writer comes close to an answer, which is that the musical is an exception to the “desert drought of originality and ideas” that surrounds us. She writes: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: INCANDESCENCE, SPEGLAS, PIGPEN, HEIR CORPSE ONE, DEADWOOD, PATRIARCHS IN BLACK, EXHUMED

Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET No Responses »

Jan 102026

(written by Islander)

I’m obviously still doing what I usually do around here, picking out some new songs and videos to share with you this weekend. But in addition to being overwhelmed by the sudden January surge in new music, the task has been especially difficult because I’ve been so infuriated and depressed by the murder in Minneapolis, the outrageous bald-faced lies spouted about it by Trump and his minions, including the fabricated demonizing of the deceased, and the likelihood that the murderer will face no accountability at all. Only ten days into the New Year, and 2026 already looks devastatingly dark here in the U.S.

I haven’t listened to new music over the last couple of days to take my mind off these events, or other terrible events both here and around the world. I do often immerse myself in music for that very reason, as many people do — to get some relief from more awful aspects of existence. But not now. The rage and the sadness aren’t going to be diverted. Now, I’m just trying to keep my head down and carry on because I don’t have any better ideas, even though it seems on days like this that what we’re doing here is unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Well, sorry for unloading like that. I still want you to listen to all the songs I picked for today. In my humble estimation, they’re all very good, even though I suspect I’ll appreciate them even more on some distant and brighter day. Continue reading »

KREATOR – KRUSHERS OF THE WORLD

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Jan 082026

(Andy Synn has loved Kreator for a long time… but does he love their new album, out 16 January?)

Let’s get one thing straight… Krushers of the World is one of the best albums of the year so far.

Of course, we’re only 8 days into the year, so if you really think about it the above statement isn’t really saying much, but it’s a nice way to start the review, right?

Maybe it’ll be more helpful to say this… Kreator have been going for over 40(!) years now, and are considered living legends for a reason, but on their 16th(!!) album they somehow still come out swinging with the energy and intensity of a much, much younger band.

And, really, at this stage in their career, what more could you ask for than that?

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Jan 062026

(Andy Synn has not one, not four, but six albums from 2025 to recommend that may have passed you by)

We might be in a new year… in fact, I’m pretty sure we are… but that doesn’t mean we can leave 2025 behind without one last look at a few releases that might have flown under the radar.

Of course, you may also want to check out my extensive, five-part year-end assessment to find even more stuff to check out before 2026 really kicks into gear (and to help you out I’ve provided the relevant links below):

But before you do, make sure to give each of these artists/albums – which collectively cover a pretty good swathe of styles and genres – a chance, as you might just like what you hear!

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