AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CLOUDS — “DESPRINS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 132025
 

(written by Islander)

Today the Romanian/UK band Clouds are releasing their sixth album, Desprins, and we’re helping spread the word by sharing the premiere of the entire record.

From “Disguise” through “The Fall of Hearts,” Desprins includes seven new songs, plus two bonus tracks — “Sorrowbound” and “Chasing Ghosts,” which were released as stand-alone singles in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The band describe the album as “a fearsome journey into the darkness of consciousness, an introspective reflection upon the human existence.”

The lyrics of the new songs are poetic, which is what we’ve come to expect from songwriter Daniel Neagoe. As we have also come to expect, they are expressions of the crushing disappointments, pain, and hollowness of life (“this mockery of hope”) — dark reflections filled with acrimony, loss, regret, and the realization of delusion. Insanity and rage also mark the narrator’s bleak memorials, but not joy or hopefulness; life has extinguished those. Continue reading »

ANDY SYNN’S MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2025

 Forthcoming Albums  No Responses »
Jan 132025
 

(Andy Synn looks ahead to what we might expect from 2025)

Is it just me or does 2025 seem to be off to a bit of a slow start?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve already written about a couple of gems (Am I In Trouble?, MEM//BRANE) and I’ve got my eyes on a few upcoming releases (including one which, having heard it in full, is probably destined for my “Disappointing” list) but, for the most part, it feels like 2025 has yet to properly kick into gear.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, since it gives us a bit more time to get our shit together and start planning out the year to come… which in this case means highlighting some of the albums which I really hope make an appearance, and make an impact, some time over the next twelve months.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: PLAGUEWIELDER, FROSTNATT, SAMIARUS, SCHATTENFALL

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Jan 122025
 

(written by Islander)

Here we are again in the very early part of another new year. In these dawning new days with a long stretch of more days looming ahead I’ve thought about why I continue toiling away on this blog after so many years despite the mental pressures and time demands it imposes. I think there are two main reasons.

The first is a continuing fascination with the music we cover and how it has changed and continues to change. If all the numerous sub-genres had stagnated, boredom would have set in. Repeatedly listening to newer generations of musicians doing basically the same thing as older generations might not have been completely fruitless, but I doubt I would have wanted to keep writing about it.

The second reason is the challenge of the writing, the challenge of not saying the same kinds of things over and over again. Repeating the same methods of describing audio sensations would also have become boring. Falling into a rut and not trying to get out would have been easy; trying to do better is frustrating, a mission of only incremental gains beset by recurring feelings of failure and backsliding. But so far, that mission has seemed a better alternative than just giving up.

These thoughts have been on my mind today because I decided to devote this Sunday’s column mainly to a small group of complete releases. Writing about entire albums or EPs is harder for me than introducing individual songs — a bigger challenge. And on the other hand, I thought the records I chose represent, in different ways, a resistance to stagnation. Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS: CHAOS!

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Jan 112025
 

(written by Islander)

Normally I use the “Seen and Heard” title for Saturday roundups of recommended new songs and videos. When the number of picks swells to gargantuan proportions I use “Overflowing Streams,” because the number of streams in the column is overflowing. Get it?

I’ve got a baker’s dozen of bands in today’s collection, too many names to try to cram into the post title. I used the exclamatory word “Chaos!” in place of all the names because I got on a roll with the kind of high-energy, high-intensity, sometimes batshit-crazy, music I was hearing. With just a couple of exceptions, I filtered out everything that wasn’t Chaos!, leaving them for another day.

Stylistically, the Chaos! comes in different packages. Though the opening segment is pretty heavy on tech-death, I arranged the choices so they begin to change. You’ll see. You’ll also see that there’s no black metal in this collection (or at least nothing I’d call black metal or its variants), but I’ve got tomorrow to focus on that. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2024’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 7): JOB FOR A COWBOY, SPECTRAL WOUND

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2024  No Responses »
Jan 102025
 

(written by Islander)

Welcome to the lucky 7th Part of this infectious song list. To see and hear the preceding six and to understand what this list is about (if you don’t know), go HERE.

JOB FOR A COWBOY

After spending Part 6 with some very obscure groups I’m beginning today with a better-known outfit, who, after a decade-long hiatus, released what many of us think was their best album last year in a career that has now extended past 20 years, and an album that probably even re-defined their career. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SCITALIS — “SUFFERING”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 102025
 

(written by Islander)

It seems to have become a tradition at our site to spread the dark word of the Swedish black metal band Scitalis: In 2021 we premiered their 2021 debut EP Awakening (and what an awakening its was!). In the following year we then premiered a song from their debut album Doomed Before Time. In 2023 we also premiered their stand-alone single “Thy Offering,” which was the work of a revised lineup. And now…

…and now we’re helping Vendetta Records announce a new Scitalis album, which has been set for release on January 24th. Entitled Maledictum, it is described as “a haunting exploration of despair and wrath inspired by Sweden’s witch trials during ‘Det stora oväsendet’ (1668–1676).” Once again, today we’re also hosting a song premiere from the new record. Accompanied by a gripping video, its name is “Suffering“. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MOONDARK

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jan 102025
 

(In December NCS contributor Zoltar introduced our full streaming premiere of the long-awaited debut album by Sweden’s Moondark, which was released in that same month by Pulverised Records. And now he follows that with an interview of Moondark‘s Johan Jansson.)

Remember what your mom always said back when you were a kid: good things always happen to those who said innit? She probably hadn’t Moondark in mind when she told you that but I’m sure you get the point as, indeed, those Swedes’ first proper album The Abysmal Womb is one titanic, heavy-as-fuck doom/death monster, with the emphasis on the DEATH part if you will.

And the fact it only took them almost thirty-two years (!) to complete it and that they somehow perdured over the years despite having recorded until then only one demo tape and played one single show is a testimony to how freakin’ good this is. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BLACKDEATH

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jan 092025
 

(We like to think that we’ve never published a “bad” interview, but of course some are better than others. The one below that Comrade Aleks brought us from his discussion with Para Bellum from the Russian band Blackdeath is one of the best ever. You’ll see.)

If we take into account the pre-Blackdeath projects Draugwath and Black Draugwath, then it’s easy to count that the band will reach its 30th anniversary in 2025.

For almost three decades, brothers Para Bellum (vocals, bass) and Abysslooker (guitars) keep on producing their own black metal with absolute dedication and some tendency to experiment, remaining one of the oldest Russian bands in this genre. With Maya on drums since 2007, this time Blackdeath enlisted the support of the second guitarist Der Nukleare Herjann (better known as Arjan Peeks), who spread the heathen malice through the Netherlands bands Cultus, Heimdalls Wacht, Uuntar, and more.

Naturally, an enhanced lineup produced the recording of a different kind, and the band’s eleventh album Mortui incedere possunt proves its firm position in the black metal underground. Even though Blackdeath never dealt with Lovecraftian beliefs directly, the interview with Para Bellum turned out great. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2024’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 6): CALCARATA, POLEMICIST

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2024  No Responses »
Jan 092025
 

(written by Islander)

In my discussion of a Warlust song in yesterday’s Part 5 of this list I hinted that today’s selections, like that one, would include some fantastic guitar solos, which tend to be a rarity in extreme metal. The presence of those solos is a big reason for my choice of today’s two songs. It’s also the reason why I put these two together in today’s installment, though I think you’ll discover other reasons when you listen.

CALCARATA

When I came across the cover image for this German atmospheric black metal band’s debut album Der müde Mensch last September I couldn’t resist checking it out. A giant snail being ridden by a hooded figure? I’ll bite! Turns out I found the music irresistible too. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): GRAVE ALTAR — “SHRINES OF HATRED”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 092025
 

(written by Islander)

To cut to the chase: You are about to hear one of the most thoroughly exhilarating, constantly surprising, and utterly devilish albums this baby of a new year has yet given us. We will be lucky indeed if the rest of the year gives us anything else that’s this much fiendish fun.

What we’re referring to is Shrines of Hatred, the second full-length of Grave Altar from South-West UK that’s coming out on January 13th via the Vicious Witch label. “Black/Thrash” is the genre label that will be affixed to it, but it’s better called Black Magic. Continue reading »

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