AN NCS INTERVIEW: OLD FOREST

 Interviews  No Responses »
Feb 252025
 

(James Fogarty is a man of many talents and musical incarnations, but clearly one of his favorites is in the guise of Kobold within the British black metal band Old Forest. That band, and their newest album Graveside (out now on Soulseller Records) is the focus of Comrade Aleks‘ interview with him that we present today, though the discussion turns to come of his many other projects and bands as well.)

Bands practicing any of the old school genres nowadays do not have to be original, they are not required to be. We approach such bands with a very specific request and expect to receive impressions conditioned by a clear code, a set of musical, lyrical and visual attributes common to the genre.

British black metal band Old Forest does not hide its intentions to express itself with the traditional features of the “second wave of black”. The name and logo itself, and the cover of the new album based on the 18th century painting ‘Moonlit Stoke Poges Cemetery’, exude a unique old-fashioned charm. Song titles such as “The Curse of the Vampire”, “Forgotten Graves”, “Spawn of the Witch” and so on categorically indicate the subject of their lyrics.

Although the label describes Old Forest’s approach to recording as “primitive and regressive”, this does not mean that Graveside will irritate your eardrums with its sound like the scraping of dead man’s claws on your window pane. Old Forest‘s eighth album is an honest and artful piece taken to the extreme level of verisimilitude. Their moderately angry, sincere, coffin-grim black metal comes straight from the ’90s, which is not surprising if you remember that the band has been active since 1998. With a deliberately simplified approach to writing music and a general tendency towards traditionally repetitive themes that build up the atmosphere, Old Forest catches you with memorable, sharp solos, rhythm changes, and even vocal melodies or the utterly vampiric harpsichord’s tunes.

Here’s the interview Kobold conducted with us soon after the Graveside release on Soulseller Records. Continue reading »

LIGHT DWELLER – THE SUBJUGATE

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Feb 242025
 

(Andy Synn bows down before the new album from Light Dweller, out this Friday on Avantgarde Music)

It’s pretty well documented by now that, generally, I prefer “bands” over solo projects.

There’s just something about the magic that happens when you get a group of musicians together and they start to bounce ideas off of each other, introducing an element of randomness and quantum chaos as they feed on each other’s energy, which seems to produce (in my opinion anyway) more interesting results.

But the work of Cameron Boesch, aka Light Dweller, has always been an exception to this particular “rule”, as he’s developed such a distinctive creative voice over the years  weaving together bits and pieces of Immolation and Ulcerate, Krallice and Gorguts, and beyond, that there’s never any fear of his work falling afoul of stock tropes and standard clichés.

2022’s Lucid Offering in particular stood out as easily his magnum opus, striking a brilliant balance between atmosphere and dissonance, introspection and aggression, that was always going to be hard enough to replicate, let alone surpass.

Which I suppose begs the question… what do you do when you’ve reached the top of your particular, personal mountain? Where the heck do you go from there?

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CRYPTS OF DESPAIR — “TERMINAL DAIS”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Feb 242025
 

(written by Islander)

We’ve had lots of good things to say about the previous music of the Lithuanian band Crypts of Despair, most recently within Andy Synn’s review of their 2021 album of blended death and black metal All Light Swallowed, which he described as “a perfect example of the level of annihilation that can be achieved by the crossbreeding of these two savage styles” — “the sort of highly-evolved, apex predator that doesn’t really need to do anything particularly new or revolutionary to achieve its goals – it simply kills and kills and kills again, without remorse or restraint.”

At an earlier time, in the context of their preceding album The Stench of the Earth, I also referred to their music as both “an irresistible headbang trigger” and a simulacrum of “what it feels like to suffer a cranial fracture and concussive trauma.”

Now these killers are returning with a third full-length (their second one for Transcending Obscurity Records), and a title as bleak as those of the first two: We Belong In The Grave. What we have for you today is the third single from the album, “Terminal Dais.“ Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PENTAGRAM

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  No Responses »
Feb 242025
 

(At the end of January the US doom metal legends Pentagram, in collaboration with Heavy Psych Sounds, returned with their first new studio album in a decade. Not long before it was released, our Comrade Aleks reached out and then conducted the following very good interview with current Pentagram guitarist and sound producer Tony Reed, who also leads Mos Generator and Hot Spring Water. With thanks to Tony Reed, we present that interview today.)

The first incarnation of doom metal legend Pentagram was founded in 1971. Back then Bobby Liebling (vocals) gathered around himself a bunch of like-minded persons who dug heavy bluesy rock and wanted to do their own things. The band had a reputation of “street Black Sabbath”, and a lot of talented musicians went through its ranks.

Almost all of Pentagram‘s rises and falls were the result of Bobby’s actions, and it’s a miracle that after so many years the band is still alive. Nearly 40 musicians went through the band, and nowadays Bobby is accompanied by the guitarist and sound producer Tony Reed of Mos Generator, his colleague bass-player Scooter Haslip, and drummer Henry Vasquez from Saint Vitus, Legions of Doom, and more.

At the time of this interview Heavy Psych Sounds was scheduled to release the new Pentagram album Lightning in a Bottle on January 31st. It’s the tenth album in the band’s extended career (and the first one in this decade), and it’s an absolute killer, something I couldn’t ignore. Tony Reed was kind enough to find some free time in his busy schedule and helped with this interview. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: KARG, MATAVITATAU, SUTTUNGR, FINAL DOSE, LOW BEFORE THE BREEZE, DÉMONOS, LESATH, ANTROPOCENO

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Feb 232025
 

(written by Islander)

I’m hurrying to post today’s collection before I have to turn to much more mundane tasks, so I’ll spare you a wordy introduction and just say that I’m extremely proud of these choices, not only because I think all of them are excellent but also because they’re going to give you so many twists and turns, right up through the final choice. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: GRAVE INFESTATION, DARK MEDITATION, SPIRITWORLD, ANCIENT DEATH, TYRANNOSATAN, ARV, EXILIUM NOCTIS, PRIMORDIAL BLACK (AND TWO INTERVIEWS)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Feb 222025
 

(written by Islander)

Greetings on another Saturday. I have another globe-hopping-and-genre-hopping selection of new songs and videos filtered from what I was able to check out over the past week.

At the end, I’m also recommending a pair of recent interviews published at locations other than NCS, not just because the bands are favorites of mine but also because the discussions are so interesting.

But we’ll start with the music…. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BEWARE OF GODS — “TEMPLE OF THIEVES”

 Premieres  8 Responses »
Feb 212025
 

(written by Islander)

“Industrial-tinged Doom with vocals in the style of Chris Cornell, Chino Moreno, and Thou. FFO: Conan, NIN, Radiohead & Failure.”  That’s the intriguing elevator pitch for the music of the Chicago-based one-man band Beware of Gods and the band’s new album Upon Whom The Last Light Descends II: Amnesia Island.

As the album title signifies, it’s the second installment in a four-part work, a conceptual work inspired by ‘The Blind Idiot God’ from the HP Lovecraft mythos known as Azathoth — “a malevolently indifferent Infinite Creator of Chaos re-imagined as the Looming Dread treading all of Us which can only be overcome by turning to face it.”

We’re told that other literary and film inspirations include: Dune,The Matrix, Dracula, Demian, Mad Max, Blade Runner, Jonah & The Whale, and Foundation.

While “industrial-tinged doom” is a decent shorthand for the music, it’s also too limiting. There’s another combination of invocations in the band’s bio that’s more evocative: “Cosmic Horror / SCI FI / Psych / Myth / Noir“.

Hopefully, the foregoing paragraphs have effectively teased you into listening to a song from the new album we’re premiering today, even if you missed Beware of God‘s first album, because this new song really is one you should not miss. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GRYLA — “BANNERS SOAKED IN CRIMSON ESSENCE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Feb 212025
 

(written by Islander)

We get a lot of first impressions of music before ever hearing a note. In the case of Gryla‘s second album, we see a primitive rendering of a naked Christ under the bleak light of a black sun, about to be stoned by angry men under the observation of a gnarly logo. We see the album’s name, The Redeemer’s Festering Carcass. We see a photo of the sneering performer, who appears just as angry as the assaulting figures in the cover art.

First impressions are followed by second impressions, the music itself. And even though you’ll have some idea of what’s coming if you’ve heard this Norwegian one-man band’s first album (2024’s Jaundiced Hag of the Wood), you’ll have a better idea from the song we’re premiering today — “Banners Soaked in Crimson Essence“. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEATHRITE

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Feb 212025
 

(Last fall, the German band Deathrite released their fifth album, and our Comrade Aleks got in touch with them to find out more about it. After some delays, we’re finally able to bring it to you today.)

Hell! The fifth album of Deathrite, Flames Licking Fever, was released in October 2024, and we managed to organize this interview with these guys from Dresden exclusively fast. But Ruinous Powers interfered at some point, and this fast interview arrived only in the winter of 2025.

A feverish and lunatic mix of deranged death metal and hardcore punk doesn’t need a long introduction. Dig or die. But read it before you choose any of these options. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: PELICAN, VENENOSUM, BÅKÜ, BLASTANUS, LAUDARE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 202025
 


Pelican – photo credit Mike Boyd

With very rare exceptions, the only times when I’ve managed to put together one of these roundups during the week (instead of waiting for Saturday) is when I’ve unexpectedly had time left over after finishing premieres and the other things I do around here. On this occasion, however, I just forced myself to make the time.

Of course I can’t actually make time – wouldn’t it be wonderful if that were possible! — and so what I mean is that I shoved aside other chores and pleasures because, for varying reasons, I really wanted to spread the word about the following songs without waiting ’til the weekend. Hopefully, when you hear them, you’ll understand the feelings or urgency. (Also, I will have my hands full on Saturday dealing with a ton of other new releases over the past week or two, and this should make that task a bit easier.)

I’ll add that, by coincidence, this collection makes for an extremely varied listening experience. Continue reading »

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