AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: EYELESSIGHT — “VUOTA SOLITUDINE”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Dec 112025
 

(written by Islander)

The Eyelessight duo from Pescara, Italy present themselves as manifestations of the name they chose — blindfolded and bloodied, as if their sight had been destroyed by violent events, and their visions must now come from some other means of perception.

The pair have lived together in music since the project’s inception in 2011. The following years brought forth a demo, a live album, a collaborative release with Imber Luminis, and two albums — Mantra per sopravvivere inutilmente (2014) and Athazagorafobia (2018).

Originally released on CD, Athazagorafobia is now receiving vinyl treatment by Talheim Records Germany. The vinyl reissue will occur on December 17th, and it will include two bonus tracks, one of which we’re now premiering with a visualizer video. The song’s name is “Vuota Solitudine“. Continue reading »

CLEARING THE SLATE PART III: THEMES FALL APART

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Dec 112025
 

(This is the third Part of what projects to be four record-review collections by DGR — collections of multiple reviews that are shorter by his standards than what you usually see from him — all of them intended to clear his slate in preparation for his year-end lists to come.)

Just four albums after the shovelfuls of music you’ve been flinging at us already? What sort of madness is this?

At one point I swear I had a theme going for this particular grouping of albums. I cannot for the life of me remember what that theme was. I think at one point it was just me archiving September releases but that fell apart quick. The other was an attempt to cover bands that’ve been long-running but have somehow not found much footing here at the olde’ NCS cliff wall, but that too kind of hit a snag.

Finally, the ever-constant moving cogs of the metal machine assured that releases would shift back and forth and my review archive would soon resemble a crayon box after an attack by a toddler. An interesting swatch of color all splattered around places you don’t necessarily want them to be. Thus, as Part three of four, my inevitable “organization can get fucked” mindset finally kicks in. Ballast must be launched, otherwise this review boat is going down. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): UPON THE ALTAR — “PROFANATION’S VAPOR”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Dec 102025
 

(written by Islander)

In thinking about the music from Upon the Altar’s side of a 2022 split with DeathEpoch, we wrote that it left “no doubt that Upon the Altar’s mission is to devour all light.” The music was often toxic, suffocating, granite-heavy, vicious, and vocally horrifying. They allowed very little wholesome light to shine in their second album, Descendants of Evil, which followed that split. What did shine through was the band’s talent for creating hateful musical horror — a complex of vile, malicious, oppressive, desolate, and violently furious experiences.

Those of us who’ve enthusiastically fallen beneath the previous malign assaults of this Polish band will be thrilled to learn that on December 12th Godz Ov War Productions will release a new Upon the Altar EP, a six-track manifestation of pitch-black ruin named Profanation’s Vapor — and even more thrilled to hear it today through our full streaming premiere. Continue reading »

2025 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE GREAT

 LISTMANIA 2025  36 Responses »
Dec 102025
 

(Andy Synn continues his ongoing round-up of the year with his selections for the top tier albums)

Like I said yesterday (you have read yesterday’s wide-ranging round-up of all the “Good” albums, right?) 2025 may have been a little lacking when it comes to the big names and famous faces – lots of them put in good work, don’t get me wrong, there just weren’t as many supreme stand-outs among the “old guard” as we might have hoped – but the younger and/or newer and/or more underground bands continued to absolutely kill it this year (with the “debut albums” section once again being far bigger than even I had predicted).

That being said, it was also a year of unexpectedly awesome come-back albums too, with some of the smaller gaps of this nature ranging between 7 and 9 years, and some of the larger being as long as 13 or even 30+ years, thus demonstrating that – as much as it’s awesome to see so many new bands kicking off their careers in style and helping to keep the scene alive – you never truly know when a band is going to do their best work.

Once again, I need to stress that this list of “Great” albums is in no way comprehensive – I’m sure there’s lots of albums that should be here that I simply wasn’t able to give the time and attention that they deserved – and, as “objective” as I’ve tried to be (these albums aren’t necessarily my favourites of the year, though quite a few definitely are) it’s probably worth pointing out that of course my personal tastes, values, and preferences are going to influence what gets included… so please don’t fly off the handle if an album you think is a “masterpiece” (though, personally, I try not to use that word) isn’t included here (and check the “Good” list to see if it’s there).

PS – if you’re going to comment (and I hope that you do, if only to highlight some bands/albums that you’ve discovered today or yesterday that you really like, as it’s always good to hear that these articles are proving useful) please note that I probably won’t be able to respond straight away, as I’m currently in Switzerland (which is particularly apropos considering the surprising number of Swiss bands in this list) enjoying a much needed end-of-year/post-wedding break, and I’ll try and get back to you if/when I get a chance!

Continue reading »

DARVAZA: “WE ARE HIM”

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Dec 102025
 

(We present Daniel Barkasi’s review of. new album by the international black metal band Darvaza, released last week by Terratur Possessions. Band photography by Necroshorns.)

When attempting to think of an active band who embodies the essence of what black metal is, can, and should be, the name Darvaza should be at the forefront of thought.

Harnessing the tried-and-true of the genre’s originators, while imposing their own devilish defiance and musical ideals, the two-piece has blazed their own path since their 2015 EP The Downward Descent, and since have steadily cemented their place in the pantheon of darkness. Ascending into Perdition in 2022 set a high marker for the band, especially impressive with that being their first full-length – a release that even the most skeptical approve of without hesitation.

At long last, the wait for the eagerly anticipated album number two is at an end, with We are Him ready to be unleashed. With the weight of expectation hanging overhead, the question is if Darvaza can continue delivering as they have. No pressure.

Continue reading »

2025 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE GOOD

 LISTMANIA 2025  13 Responses »
Dec 092025
 

(Today we have Andy Synn‘s mammoth second article rounding up the year that was 2025)

As we get into the real meat of “List Week” it’s probably worth stating a few things up front, for the sake of clarity if nothing else.

First off, none of these lists are a traditional “Best Of…” (the only one that’s actually ranked is my “Personal Top Ten” and that’s solely an issue of personal preference), rather they’re meant to be viewed, and used, as a curated catalogue of links and recommendations designed to help our readers catch up on some of what they may have otherwise missed over the last twelve-ish months.

Secondly, note that I said “some“, because that’s a pretty important point that might need re-affirming… since these lists (the “Disappointing”, the “Good”, and the “Great”) are neither definitive nor comprehensive in any way.

In fact, if anything, it feels like my listening habits have diverged even further from what’s “on trend” than usual since January, meaning that – either due to a lack of time or a lack of interest – you won’t be seeing some of the bigger names that have appeared elsewhere (Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, Lonely People With Power, Viribus Unitis, Hideous Aftermath, The Hardest Thing About Being God…, etc) on any of my lists this year.

To be clear, I’m not trying to say that I have the most eclectic/esoteric tastes in the world  – there’s more than enough other writers out there claiming to have listened to 500 different albums every month that I wouldn’t dare try and compete with them – nor am I trying to “show off” how much I’ve listened to this year (I think I actually ended up hearing fewer full-length releases in 2025 than I did in 2024).

But I do think that you’re probably going to find at least some stuff here you won’t have seen featured much elsewhere (not by the bigger sites, anyway) and while I’m not saying everything here is “great” (that is what tomorrow’s “Great” list is for, after all) it’s all worth checking out, at least, because you never know what sorts of hidden gems you might uncover.

PS – as always, I’ve tried to break up the list into distinct/discreet sections, highlighting a few releases here and there which I think are deserving of specific attention, and have provided links for every album here!!

Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: THE SECOND FOVEA — “CLAWS OF BENGAL”

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Dec 092025
 

(written by Islander)

Today we’re touching base again (for the seventh time in the last four years) with The Second Fovea, a band originally birthed in India but whose members are currently spread among the U.S., India, and Canada.

Two of their previous singles which were the subject of all those previous writings focused upon wildlife — manta rays and snakes – but all of their songs, including those two, have carried socio-political messages, and most directly in the song “Headshot”, which was a potent condemnation of racism and hate crimes across the globe.

What we have for you today is the premiere of a lyric video for a new single from the group, and as you can see, it’s devoted to Bengal tigers, and more specifically (as the band tell us), it’s “dedicated to the legendary Bengal Tigers of the Sundarbans in India — the world’s largest mangrove forest and one of the last remaining strongholds for this endangered species.” Continue reading »

CLEARING THE SLATE PART TWO: BRUTALITY

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 092025
 

(This is the second Part of what projects to be four record-review collections by DGR — collections of multiple reviews that are shorter by his standards than what you usually see from him — all of them intended to clear his slate in preparation for year-end lists to come.)

Part Two of this completely out of control yet still well-intentioned slate clearing comes to us as the result of yours truly realizing that a lot of his review collective consisted of some pretty overwhelming death metal albums.

On top of this, there’s still more but they’re being shuffled around as best I can because even then there were still one or two “surprise motherfucker!” late additions to the list that, in this case, served as good balance to the meteor impact albums that otherwise comprise this fucking monster of a collection. Knuckle dragging and neck snapping walk hand in hand among this collection, save for one surprisingly introspective battering in the middle, and it only clears the way for an even more steady pile of music to follow… and we haven’t even descended into the year end list depravity yet.

Send help. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: FOSSILIZATION — “CREMATION OF A SERAPH”

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Dec 082025
 

(written by Islander)

It is with terrible delight today that we help announce a new album by the tremendous Brasilian death/doom band Fossilization. It bears the name Advent of Wounds, and it’s set for release on February 13th by the ever-tasteful Everlasting Spew Records. The label rightly describes it as “a work of sheer ferocity and oppressive gloom” — “bleak, crushing and claustrophobic”, “a summoning of despair that drags the listener into a chasm where brutality and anguish entwine.”

In its current configuration, Fozzilization is still principally the work of V. (voices, guitars, bass) from the sludge/death/doom metal band Jupiterian, but now joined by  guitarist Z. Before we get to the main subject of this post — our premiere of the first advance song from Advent of Wounds — we want to share a statement by V. about this new album: Continue reading »

CLEARING THE SLATE PART I: THE ADVENTUROUS (DESSIDERIUM, OMNIVIDE, MECHINA)

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 082025
 

(This is the first Part of what projects to be four record-review collections by DGR — collections of multiple reviews that are shorter by his standards than what you usually see from him — all of them intended to clear his slate in preparation for year-end lists to come.)

Here’s how this happens: Inevitably at some point in November, year-end lists start dropping and the reality of the fact that the year is ending suddenly feels more “real”. The compulsion to cover everything begins to vanish and the compulsion to grid everything instead becomes stronger, yet the same imagined debts to bands that you’ve been listening to throughout the year remains.

I swore up and down this year that I wouldn’t do many articles like this and I like to pretend I held to that promise. If I intended to review a band, they received the full investment and treatment, rarely broken out into these articles where the reviews are a little more freeform, freeflowing, and more casually written. It was meant to reflect that I was taking time with these bands, which is why articles like this one tend to frustrate me. For the reader they’re an obvious blessing, given that it’s a much quicker series of recommendations, but it’s a gap I can’t mentally jump just yet. Continue reading »

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