SHADES OF BLACK (CHRISTMAS DAY EDITION): SKAGOS, WĘDROWCY~TUŁACZE~ZBIEGI, ZÉRO ABSOLU, THE MAN AND THE ABYSS, ISTAPP

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  6 Responses »
Dec 252024
 

(written by Islander; photo by Islander)

I hope you got a holiday today. If you did, I hope you’ll be able to spend the time happily, however you choose to spend it and whatever it may mean to you. If you didn’t, from all of us at NCS the same wishes still apply.

I wasn’t able to compile a SHADES OF BLACK column last Sunday. I didn’t think about trying to cure the omission during this week, but then DGR said I should run it today “for kvltness so cheesy it would qualify as proper parmigiano.” It’s nice that he picked “the king of cheeses”, and also fitting that it’s often served shaved or grated, since that’s what some of the following selections might do to your brain.

As an aside, did anyone notice that we served up lists from a Grover and a Gonzo yesterday? I wish I was clever enough to have done that on purpose, but I was just following my habit of posting lists from our writers and other friends in the order received. Sometimes the stars align. (And thanks to Dan Barkasi for pointing out the Muppets connection to this dummy.)

And now, onward with some gifts we were all given as the year’s nights turned longest, and which will keep things dark even with the solstice now behind us. (My family’s all old enough that we don’t give gifts any more, so I had some money to spend on this music, and hope you’re not too broke to do that yourselves.) Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2024: GONZO’S TOP 25 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

 LISTMANIA 2024  8 Responses »
Dec 242024
 

(This is Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo‘s list of 2024’s Top 25 albums.)

It’s probably a grim sign of the times when, upon assembling this list, my first thought is “which albums helped me endure the horrors?”

That’s really why we listen to music in the first place, though. In that sense, this year was no different than any other. And I’d defy anyone to name a better form of self-guided therapy than blasting a metal record at god’s volume to help them navigate said horrors of existence.

Holy shit, that all sounded a lot bleaker than I’d intended. Whatever, though. We’re going with it. Continue reading »

DREAMING OF A BLACK CHRISTMAS

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 242024
 

(Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, Andy Synn has three early Christmas presents for you)

I know not everyone out there celebrates Christmas – either as a religious event or an example of crass commercialism – but for me this period of the year has (with the occasional exception) always been about stepping back and taking some much-needed time to rest and relax and reconnect with family and friends.

Not everyone, of course, is so lucky, which is why today I’d like to share my many blessings with those who are less fortunate… by bringing them a black Christmas, featuring two bands I mentioned during “List Week” (but hadn’t had a chance to cover beforehand) and one whose latest album I didn’t manage to include at all (an omission I am hoping to make up for here).

Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2024: A YEAR-END LIST BY PROFESSOR D. GROVER THE XIIITH

 LISTMANIA 2024  1 Response »
Dec 242024
 

(Our friend Professor D. Grover the XIIIth (ex-The Number of the Blog) has been joining us this time of year for many years to share his diverse year-end lists, and does so again now. There’s a lot here, and, once more, it truly is diverse.)

Greetings and salutations, friends. Here we are again, poring over a year’s worth of music and taking stock of our thoughts about it. I always enjoy the opportunity to reflect on what I’ve heard throughout the year, to see how my music taste has evolved from years past. It’s been a busy year for me, working while trying to adapt my schedule to the sports activities of three kids, but I’ve still found plenty of time to check out a solid number of albums.

As always, I’ll start with some honorable mentions. This is not an exhaustive list of everything that I’ve heard through the year, of course, but it is most of the albums that caught enough of my attention to warrant at least some attention. Many of these could have made my final list, but then said list would have been absurdly long, and I just don’t have the time for that. Unlike last year I’m not dividing them into categories, either, but rest assured, I enjoyed all of these albums a great deal. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2024: NEILL JAMESON’S “ODDS & ENDS”

 LISTMANIA 2024  No Responses »
Dec 232024
 

(Last week we published a three-part series of year-end lists (which you can find here) prepared by Neill Jameson (Krieg), but it turned out those lists omitted some things, and Neill has cured the omissions in another list installment we’re presenting below.)

I was certain I forgot a few things in my main list(s) since I tried to get everything written and submitted early this year in an effort to be responsible, something I’ll never be again, so I put together an additional list of some of the things I forgot as well as some of the cool shit that got reissued this year. 2024 was a pretty loaded year for music overall but one thing I really enjoyed was being able to finally pick up a few pieces that were just too goddamned expensive on the secondary market that were handled with obvious care to the source material in a trend that I hope continues. 

Anyway, here’s a few of them: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: OBSCUREVIOLENCE — “REFUTING THE FLESH”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Dec 232024
 

The people behind Obscureviolence, two of whom are also members of the death metal band Horror God, lit upon a very good name for their new entity, given the obscure and violent nature of the music they’ve made for their debut album Refuting the Flesh, which will be released by Transcending Obscurity Records on February 7th.

Two songs from the album have previously surfaced, and today we’re presenting a third one, which is the record’s macabre title track. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NECROMANIAC — “CALLING FORTH THE SHADE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Dec 232024
 

(written by Islander)

Just in time to fiendishly defile Christmas, today we’re premiering the second advance track from the debut album of Necromaniac, which bears the title Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable. Invictus Productions will handle the album’s release for Europe while The Ajna Offensive will offer it in North America.

Some of you have previously encountered Necromaniac through their 2015 debut demo (Morbid Metal), their 2018 EP (Subterranean Death Rising), and/or their second demo last year. For newcomers, the band is London-based but formed by Swedish, Spanish, Greek, and Polish musicians.

On the new album, they’re also joined by some notable guest performers: A.A. Nemtheanga of Primordial, Negative Plane’s Nameless Void, and one A Corpse Without a Soul, “whose signature throat should not be unknown to astute underground dwellers.” Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2024: A TOP 20 LIST FROM DIDRIK MEŠIČEK

 LISTMANIA 2024  1 Response »
Dec 232024
 

(As our year-end LISTMANIA series proceeds, what we have for you today is the Top 20 list of NCS writer Didrik Mešiček.)

I’m pretty sure I said about how the world is horrible at the moment in this intro last year, and this year I feel a bit more optimistic, as the world is still horrible but at least we have consistency. That’s… good, right?

Anyway, what about the metals? I reckon it’s been a really solid year, perhaps the best since like 2021? Ironically, the pandemic years are some of my favourite in regards to new musical releases and there’s something to be said there about artists and suffering.

Most of all, I think 2024 has been phenomenal for black metal. I’ve included quite a few albums who are more or less a part of the aforementioned genre and there’s at least three or four more that have been considered but just missed, partly also because I did try to keep it a bit varied in regards to the subgenres. After all, I could easily switch the 19th and the 17th (for example) best album in these lists just based on my mood, the position of the moon, the number of cats currently trying to be in my lap. and whether I’ve eaten a croissant today.

But without further ado, here are the albums! Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (BREAK)

 SHADES OF BLACK  12 Responses »
Dec 222024
 

I have an explanation and a request.

The explanation concerns why I haven’t written a Shades of Black column today for one of a very few times since I started this Sunday thing many years ago. After finishing the Saturday roundup I checked out of listening to music or writing about it the rest of yesterday and last night, and spent all that time with my spouse and cats instead.

And then this morning I left the house very early with her and another friend to go to a reputedly great breakfast place about a half hour away that you reportedly couldn’t get into without a long wait if you didn’t arrive when it opened (turned out to be true). By the time I got back home, having satisfied my total recommended caloric intake for the whole week, the morning was gone.

Now for the request I’d like to make of you. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: OBSCURE SPHINX, THIS GIFT IS A CURSE, SH-BO-OO-OM, BANK MYNA, MISANTHROPÆ

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Dec 212024
 


Obscure Sphinx

(written by Islander)

It seems like the end of the year is coming up in a big rush. It’s now four days before Christmas and the start of Hanukkah and 10 days before New Year’s Eve, a block of time when many people do something different from what they normally do (like taking time off from work), and other people feel grumpier about what they normally do because they’re still having to do it (like working).

We’re still here of course, and not even feeling grumpy about it. For a bunch of reasons I won’t bore you with, it’s the fanatically commercialized “holiday season” that makes me feel grumpy, and it’s continuing to pound away on this blog that helps get me through it.

Part of what we’re pounding on, of course, is year-end LISTMANIA. Even on a Saturday I nailed another list to the door. Next week we’ll have lists from at least four more of our writers, plus a bag of odds and ends from Neill Jameson.

But for now, just more new music — quite a lot of it actually. Continue reading »

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