SHADES OF BLACK: ENSLAVED, NOCTEM, OBSIDIAN TONGUE, BORKNAGAR, HAUNTOLOGIST, MAUDISSEZ

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, SHADES OF BLACK  2 Responses »
Dec 242023
 

For reasons explained yesterday, this is likely to be the last Shades of Black column until we reach Sunday, January 21st, when I hope I can then resume.

I barely have time for this one before the iron hand of commerce rudely forces my nose down to the grindstone again, even though the nose is already ground down to a nub. So let’s get right to it.

P.S. If you don’t see something here you wish I had included, see yesterday’s explanation and then feel free to mention the release in a comment and share a stream link. Continue reading »

THE WEEKS AHEAD (AND SOME MUSIC NOW)

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Dec 232023
 

I didn’t name this column “Seen And Heard On A Saturday” because it’s not the usual assortment of recommended new songs and videos, though I do have a few of those in here at the end. Mainly I wanted to let people know what’s going on at NCS and what the next few weeks will look like.

We’re still in the midst of our annual Listmania orgy, though nearing the end of its main phases. Our Readers’ Lists (in the comments on this post) are still growing, and the only way that stops growing is when people lose interest in 2023 and wholly give themselves over to 2024. We’ve completed rolling out the lists we traditionally share from bigger platforms than our own. And we’re well along in the rollout of lists from our writers and usual guests.

At this point I have three more of those latter lists to present, in addition to the final two Parts of Neill Jameson‘s 5-part list. I’ll get all of those posted in the coming week after Christmas Day. Another list or two might arrive after I write this, and might spill over into the week after next.

Next week I’ve also got three premieres on the schedule, and then five more for the first week of 2024. But beginning that week, things are going to have to change around here. Continue reading »

DGR’S YEAR-END REVIEW ROUNDUP (PART 4): PSYGNOSIS, VALE OF TEARS, Θλίψις

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 212023
 

This isn’t DGR‘s annual year-end list. That might yet come. This is the final Part of his four-Part collection of reviews that we started rolling out earlier this week, focusing on 2023 albums we hadn’t managed to review before. You’ll find his full explanation for what he’s doing here at the beginning of Part I. Continue reading »

DGR’S YEAR-END REVIEW ROUNDUP (PART 3): SNAKEMOTHER, ABSOLUTISM, DEVILS REEF

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 202023
 

This isn’t DGR‘s annual year-end list. That might yet come. This is the third Part of his four-Part collection of reviews that we started rolling out yesterday, focusing on 2023 albums we hadn’t managed to review before. You’ll find his full explanation for what he’s doing here at the beginning of Part I. Continue reading »

DGR’S YEAR-END REVIEW ROUNDUP (PART 2): NIGHT CROWNED, GHOSTS OF ATLANTIS, MORTIS CRUENTAS, SECRET OF DARKNESS

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 192023
 

This isn’t DGR‘s annual year-end list. That might yet come. This is the second Part of a four-Part collection of reviews that we started rolling out yesterday, focusing on 2023 albums we hadn’t managed to review before. You’ll find his full explanation for what he’s doing here at the beginning of Part I. Continue reading »

DGR’S YEAR-END REVIEW ROUNDUP (PART 1): THE BREATHING PROCESS, BERZERKER LEGION, COSMITORIUM, THE RITUAL AURA

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 182023
 

(This isn’t DGR‘s annual year-end list. That might yet come. This is the first Part of a four-Part collection of reviews, focusing on 2023 albums we hadn’t managed to review before.)

Every year we do this; the final clearing of the slate before the annual list-making season begins. This year will be no different, because like every other year, I’m also opening this with an apology to the bands included.

Normally my reviews tend to be long-winded and wordy as can get because I enjoy the long-form dissection of an album – no matter how repetitive in my choice of phrases as I may get – and the final clearing tends to be shorter. It was my intent not to do so this year but life happened.

Not only that, life happened hard and life happened in such a way that I’m going to have a very, very difficult time talking about it for a long time and I’m not entirely convinced that we’ll ever be any definition of ‘okay’ again around here, so much as we are just getting by and in a permanent state of ‘recovering’. It’s been tough.

But, I haven’t forgotten about this because as much as we’ve spoken about how life and work kick our asses and the website takes a backseat, this is one of my few outlets. As a result, I’m not sure if I have it in me to do my usual end of the year clusterfuck – though I will try – but I do want to at least get some words out about the last remaining groups of releases that have haunted my ‘to review’ notes over the year. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THE SEPT — “MMXXIII”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Dec 152023
 

We’re at an inhospitable time of year for the release of new music. Ardent metal fans tend to be looking backward in reflection rather than keeping their eyes on what’s coming from the near horizon or noticing what just dropped in front of them, and of course everyone is immersed, whether in joy or misery, in the distractions and chores of the inescapable “holiday season”.

And yet, as always, the end of the year brings musical gems, even if they sadly may go unnoticed, and The Sept‘s new EP MMXXIII is one of those.

But let’s be clear up-front: This isn’t a pretty, sparkly gem. It has many facets, but their edges are jagged and may leave you bleeding if you’re not careful, and the colors are obsidian. Staring too long may also bring about madness. Continue reading »

BEER & LOATHING IN THE ROCKIES: DECIBEL METAL AND BEER FEST DENVER, 2023, DAY 2

 Concert Reviews  6 Responses »
Dec 142023
 

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo didn’t miss the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Denver on December 1st and 2nd. We’ve already published his report on the fest’s first day (here), and today we present his report on Day 2.)

Festivals are always full of surprises. Most of the time, these surprises are new bands I discover or friends I meet for the first time, but when I woke up in the morning after day 1 of Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, the true surprise was that I didn’t have a crippling fucking hangover.

Ah, but there was still time. Tonight would be a glorious second installment of the festivities orchestrated by the Philly-based Decibel crew. And if last night was any indicator of what I could expect this evening, there was much reason for excitement. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): MRTVI — “GREAT CLEANSING COME UPON US”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Dec 142023
 

Beginning in the spring of 2017 we’ve premiered music and videos by MRTVI six times. Today makes the seventh time — but it may be the last.

We’ve been consistently fixated on the music of this solo project of Serbian artist Damjan Stefanović because it has been so consistently interesting, and so difficult to pigeonhole in genre terms (though “experimental black metal” might come closest, simply because the music has been unconventional).

The music has always been personal, and often autobiographical. For that same reason, it may have run its course with the EP we’re now premiering in full on the even of its release. Here is what Damjan has told us about Great Cleansing Come Upon Us: Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: KATATONIA, GOST, THROWN INTO EXILE — LOS ANGELES, NOV. 30, 2023

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 132023
 

(Erstwhile NCS contributor Ben Manzella attended the performances of Katatonia, Gost, and Thrown into Exile at the Echoplex in Los Angeles on November 30, 2023, and he has given us the following concert review along with lots of the photos he made during the show.)

Until last night, it had been six years since my last opportunity to see Katatonia live. I wasn’t sure what to expect with what I saw as a confusing three-band lineup on a Thursday night. Even Jonas of Katatonia mentioned as he greeted the audience that he doesn’t often go to gigs on Thursday nights but he and the band greatly appreciated all of us making time to see them. The collective cheer at the Echoplex made it clear the appreciation was mutual. Continue reading »

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