AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CNOC AN TURSA — “A CRY FOR THE SLAIN”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Apr 222026
 

(written by Islander)

For those of us who were electrified and bewitched by Cnoc An Tursa’s first two albums, The Giants of Auld (2013) and The Forty Five (2017), the wait for something more from these Scots has brought its fair share of woe, because the wait has been so long. But even though it’s rarely true that all good things come to those who wait, something exceptionally good has at last arrived from Cnoc An Tursa, a new album named A Cry for the Slain.

The album richly rewards the long-suffering patience of the band’s fans. As their label Apocalyptic Witchcraft describes (and as we might have expected) it is “an evocative tribute to the history, the folklore, the unique magic of their homeland,” a compendium of songs “that bring together mourning and defiance, mystery and fear, pride and passion.” The band themselves have said:

“With this new album we feel like we are going back to our roots with a more guitar-driven style and bringing back some of the folk elements musically and lyrically which was the original inspiration for the band.”

Of course, we have thoughts of our own to share about the album (many of them), though the main purpose of this feature is to provide the chance for you to hear it in its entirety in advance of its release on April 24th by Apocalyptic Witchcraft. Continue reading »

PORTRAYAL OF GUILT: “…BEGINNING OF THE END”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Apr 212026
 

(Here we present Wil Cifer’s review of a new album by Texas-based Portrayal of Guilt, which will be released on April 24th by Run For Cover.)

If you had to ask me what band would be the future of heavy music, I would say Portrayal of Guilt. They are not hampered by being tied to any sub-genre. They are forward-thinking, rather than being bolted to the nostalgia of an era, no aspirations to recreate ’90s Tampa or Bergen. Their album We Are Always Alone stands as a masterpiece that this band’s work is measured against. After releasing that album, they pushed themselves to sonic extremes, and …Beginning of the End finds them pushing themselves into a more experimental direction, while making music that might resonate the most with larger, more mainstream metal audiences without compromising who they are. Continue reading »

ORDH – BLIND IN ABYSSAL REALMS

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Apr 202026
 

(Andy Synn stares blindly into the abyssal realms… and is very pleased by what stares back)

It probably shouldn’t (I know how the game is played, after all) but it still rankles with me whenever I see bands getting major deals, support slots, etc, based on who their members are rather than the quality of their music.

At the same time, however, when bands we love here at NCS break up – and in this case we’re talking about Vermont-based Prog-Sludgers Barishi – I’m always happy to keep an ear out for whatever their members do next.

Does this make me a hypocrite? Probably. But I comfort myself with the thought that there’s at least a qualitative difference between, say, a major festival giving a so-called “super-group” a slot before they’ve even released any music and a site like ours trying to keep up with the careers of some of our favourite underground artists.

Hypocrisy or not though, the debut album from Ordh demonstrates exactly why it’s so important to keep track of this level of talent, wherever they end up.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DUIR, LORN, TYRANNUS, HAJDUK, BANSHEE MOON, LIVIDUS

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Apr 192026
 

(written by Islander)

I mentioned yesterday that I had collected 69 new songs or complete releases as a starting point for deciding what to recommend in this weekend’s usual columns. After yesterday’s selections that magic number had diminished, but not enough to make today’s choices any easier. Still, choices must be made.

I can’t identify any musical or thematic throughline for these six recommendations, so you’re in for a fair amount of bouncing around. I do have reasons for why I arranged them in the order I did, but I doubt those are very interesting so we should just get to the music.

P.S. I want to recommend something else today besides music. After a long time of anxiously waiting for the movie Sirāt to hit streaming services, I was finally able to watch it last night (it never played at any theaters anywhere close to where I live). I thought it was a stunning as the many stunned reviewers said it was. Be forewarned: it’s a desolate and devastating story, one that creates a shroud of near-ever-present tension. But it’s also a near-perfect piece of filmmaking, and if you see it I don’t think you’ll forget it. I’ll leave this link to a more comprehensive review.

P.P.S. These lines appear on the screen when the movie begins, and explain the meaning of its Arabic title: “There is a bridge called SIRĀT that links hell and paradise. Whoever crosses it is warned that it is narrower than a strand of hair, sharper than a sword.” Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: UNDERGANG, CORPUS OFFAL, FUNEBRARUM, BARÚS, VINTREGAL, LACASTA, THERE WERE WIRES, CLASS TRAITOR

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Apr 182026
 

(written by Islander)

As I often do, I made a list of links for new songs and videos I wanted to check out in anticipation of this Saturday’s column, i.e., things that had surfaced or that I had noticed since last weekend. Having done that, I counted the number of links, and there were 69 of them (I swear that number is completely coincidental!), including a few I noticed for the first time this morning. It wasn’t even a complete list; I had a bunch of other tabs open on my desktop that I didn’t add to the list because I knew time was running short.

I recognize this is odd behavior. Why make a list that long when you know you won’t make it through even a quarter of the items? Why make a list that long when you know it will only knot up your brain in deciding which of them to check out? I have no answer, though perhaps a trained therapist would have some theories.

As usual, I resorted to impulse. The only calculated part of the process was a desire to mix up bands I already like and others that were new to me, and a further desire to mix up the genres so that visitors here will be at least somewhat caught off guard if they move from one choice to the next and the next. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VAEOVON — “SPIRITUAL NULLIFICATION”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Apr 172026
 

(written by Islander)

The origins of the phrase “elevator pitch” are murky, but the meaning isn’t. It refers to someone describing an idea to someone else who doesn’t have long to listen, or doesn’t want to give you much time. You’ve got the length of an elevator ride to get your point across and sell it.

In our field, record labels, publicists, and artists make elevator pitches too, usually in writing. Some are better at it than others. Sometimes the elevator pitch for a band’s music tells you pretty much all you need to know in deciding whether to check out the goods, especially when a band’s music isn’t much more complicated than a couple of quick paragraphs can capture. But sometimes the elevator pitch really doesn’t tell you (and can’t tell you) everything that makes the music worth hearing.

Which brings us to the New Zealand band Vaeovon and their debut album Spiritual Nullification. Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH: CHALK HANDS / SUGAR HORSE / VOID OF LIGHT

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Apr 162026
 

(Andy Synn offers up three more prime Brtish exports for you to enjoy)

Like I’ve said before, we like to keep you guessing here at NCS, which is why after spending the start of the week covering riff-happy ragers from At The Gates and Inherit the Curse I’ve decided to dedicate the end of the week to three UK-based bands who err more towards the expressive, progressive, and/or atmospheric side of the musical spectrum.

Continue reading »

ARCHSPIRE: “TOO FAST TO DIE”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Apr 162026
 

(This is our DGR’s review of Archspire’s new album, which was self-released on April 10th.)

While 2026 still finds itself on shaky ground overall, the opening few months have proven to be an interesting rollercoaster of releases in the heavy metal world. While we’ve had some decent gaps available for discovery, the still-young year has produced a fair share of surprises and a steady drip-feed of known names unleashing their latest monstrosities upon the world.

The most recent wave in particular has been among the more tech-death minded of the metal scene, with a small handful landing at near the exact same time, all with the general philosophy of keeping their foot planted firmly on the accelerator. The guiding light of “all X-games big ramp, all the time” is undeniable when it comes to the viewpoint of some of these bands, and no group has proven to be chief among them more than Canada’s Archspire, who released their newest album Too Fast To Die last week – their newest venture as an independent artist without a label. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MYLINGAR — “ÚT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Apr 152026
 

(written by Islander)

Recently we have been reminded by photos from the vicinity of the Moon that in many respects the Earth is a verdant, beautiful, and serene place. Closer to ground level, however, it still often remains ugly, violent, saturated with suffering, and shrouded by death. Of that we don’t need reminding, because the evidence is all around us, every day.

The music of the anonymous four-person entity known as Mylingar has always drawn its fuel from the worst that humanity has to offer and the perspective that the world is a killing machine, or so it seems when you listen to their ruinous black/death assaults. And now, nearly seven years after their last album, we’re reminded of that by a new one named Út, which will be released in cooperation with Amor Fati Productions on April 17th.

But as we’ll explain, and as you can now discover for yourselves, there’s even more going on in the album than you might expect based on Mylingar’s previous works. Continue reading »

CLAD IN SHADOWS: “MONUMENTS IN RUIN”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Apr 152026
 

(The Texas-based melodic death metal band Clad In Shadows released their debut album in late February, DGR managed to come across it, and now he’s turned in the following appreciative review.)

You can use your band name for many things in heavy metal, such as head-turning shock value or as a mission statement. You can even make it dual-purpose, as is the case of New York’s Clad In Shadows. They took their name from an early In Flames song that was a live staple of theirs for a bit, thereby not only making their mission statement clear but also laying out their influences and providing a good basis point for anyone with bare knowledge of metal music’s subgenres as to what they might sound like without hearing a note.

Let’s play a game then, because many of you will have guessed both by the band’s name and who is writing this here writeup what exactly Clad In Shadows sound like on their first album Monuments In Ruin. You have twenty seconds to think, and then come check back in and tell us how closely you landed with the rest of this introduction.

Did you guess that this was going to be blindingly faithful melodeath worship with enthusiasm that shines so brightly it could scour your shadow into the wall? Yes? Perfect. Because that is what Clad In Shadows are doing, and although the album isn’t breaking down any boundaries, it is doing a fantastic job in adding to the overall genre’s collective archive and blueprint. Continue reading »

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