NO CLEAN SINGING

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME XIX: MR. OZZY

Aug 112025

(Here’s Daniel Barkasi‘s monthly NCS roundup of reviews, focusing this time on records released in July 2025.)

To begin, a quick word about the loss of one of the legends of legends in metal music. Not long after my last column for June releases, we lost Ozzy Osbourne. To say it was a surprise would be disingenuous, as his health hadn’t been great for a time. The rousing performance he and the rest of Black Sabbath gave everyone at Back to the Beginning was nothing short of stunning, a perfect sendoff for the band who is responsible for all of this.

A quick anecdote: I actually met the man, albeit very briefly. I was set to interview Silenoz of Dimmu Borgir at Ozzfest 2004. I was waiting backstage, and he was running a little behind. Lo and behold, here comes Ozzy with his entourage. He just wanted to make the rounds and say hello to people. I was lucky enough to get a brief greeting, and starstruck, I managed to thank him for making all of this possible. He just thanked me for being there, and moved on, holding court like only he could.

A blip in his day, I’m sure, but he made you feel like you were the most important person in the world for those few seconds. Silenoz came by not too long after, and I thanked him for his delay; he couldn’t have been cooler and still is one of my favorite interviews that I’ve done. The performance that evening was nothing short of brilliant, of course, and how can one complain about seeing Dimmu Borgir, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath on the same bill? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: AMORPHIS, PROGENY OF THE SUN, TEMPEST, LAANG, DARK WATCHER, ZLOBNIK, CRUSTY OLD TOAD, DISTRESS

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC No Responses »

Aug 092025

(written by Islander)

It’s unlikely I will be able to write a SHADES OF BLACK column for tomorrow, due to conflicting weekend plans with my wife. So I’ve made this Saturday roundup a big one, and I’ve included a greater-than-usual number of black metal bands.

I decided to put a shiny bauble at the top of the group, hoping that it might lure some people to dig deeper into the pile before realizing they’ll get cut up by all the sharp objects underneath. Which is to say, there’s really nothing like Amorphis waiting for you later on. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HENERE — “WINDS OF ELDRITCH NORTH”

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Aug 082025

(written by Islander)

Gaze upon the cover art for Henere‘s new album The Chosen Path and you’ll begin to get a sense of the music, through the artwork’s portrayal of ice and snow, of ancient battle-death and looming peaks, of dark clouds and strange spiraling brilliance. The music itself conjures those same visions, and more, as you’ll discover today through our premiere of a song from the album named “Winds of Eldritch North” in advance of the record’s co-release by Void Wanderer Productions (Netherlands) and War Productions (Portugal) on September 19th.

For the new album (Henere‘s first full-length following a pair of EPs), founder Wretch (vocalist and multi-instrumentalist) was again joined by guitarist Blood clot and bassist Lament. As the labels describe, this U.S. band’s new music “captures the force and mournful grandeur of black metal shaped by cold winds, ancient myth, and the weight of destiny…. Carefully placed synth passages rise like distant signals through the snow, adding atmosphere without overtaking the storm.” Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A FRIDAY: OMNEUM GATHERUM, BELPHEGOR, WRETCHED, AUTHOR AND PUNISHER, GORLEBEN, ORBSTRUCT

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC No Responses »

Aug 082025

(written by Islander)

For the second time this week I found myself with enough spare time to pull together a week-day roundup of recommended new music and videos, getting a head-start on the usual Saturday collection.

Like the one I sorted out for Wednesday, today’s collection includes some very well-known names but also foists upon you a couple of comparative obscurities to help even things out (and by my lights the most interesting song — and the strangest one — in today’s group comes from one of those lesser lights). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IMPERISHABLE — “SPEWING RETRIBUTION”

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Aug 072025

(written by Islander)

Little more than a month ago we had the pleasure of premiering the jaw-dropping first single off Revelation In Purity, the debut album from the U.S. death metal band Imperishable, which is set for an August 29 release by Everlasting Spew Records. Today we’re happy to premiere another high-octane song from the album, this one aptly named “Spewing Retribution“.

If you haven’t already been introduced to these marauders, Imperishable started in 2020 as the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist Brian Kingsland (from Nile and Enthean) and bassist Alex Rush (Olkoth, Enthean). They later completed the recording lineup with the addition of famed drummer Derek Roddy (of Hate Eternal, Malevolent Creation, and too many other bands to name). Continue reading »

FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS 2025: THE DAWN OF A NEW AGE OF HEAVY CEREMONY

Concert Reviews 12 Responses »

Aug 072025

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo prepared the following extensive report on this year’s edition of the Fire in the Mountains festival. All photos except where noted by Jacob Juno.)

Like more than a few who will read this, the experience of the 2022 Fire in the Mountains festival left an indelible mark on me. That July weekend in the Tetons, now over three years in the rearview mirror, gave more than just a weekend of music in the wilderness to everyone in attendance. It took what easily could’ve been a risky one-off experiment and turned it into something decidedly different. Its success can be measured entirely by the community it built over those three unforgettable days.

Some of it was the incredible lineup, which included Enslaved, YOB, Wolves in the Throne Room, Wayfarer, and many others. Still more of it was the beautiful setting just outside Grand Teton National Park. But so much beyond that felt intangible, as if any human tongue lacked the words necessary to describe how it felt to be there.

I thought about all of this as I finished packing up my Subaru to the brim with camping gear two weeks ago. The wait was over. After three long years of uncertainty, the Fire in the Mountains festival would finally be making its triumphant return in a new place, rife with the potential for new beginnings.

And even though I didn’t know it at the time, the 2025 edition of this festival would not only obliterate every expectation I had for it, but it would signal the dawn of a new kind of heavy ceremony, paving the way for yet another weekend for which I’d struggle to find the words to describe.

The following recap is me trying anyway. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A WEDNESDAY: HOODED MENACE, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, GORYCZ, ORBIT CULTURE, LOWBAU, ASHEN

Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Aug 062025

Hooded Menace photo by Pasi Nevalaita

(written by Islander)

Today is another rare day when we have no premieres on our daily calendar, and we only had one on Monday and one on Tuesday. This seems to be just a brief ebb. Next week we have either two track premieres or an album premiere slated for every day. Other premieres are already scattered across the calendar through the rest of August and into September.

But in light of this week’s ebb, I used the free time to pull together the following mid-week roundup of recommended new songs and videos. This one might lean into a greater share of bigger names than usual, but I have also sling-shot a few into the mix that will even out the notoriety scale. Continue reading »

BAEST – COLOSSAL

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 052025

(Andy Synn has always been Baest‘s biggest cheerleader here at NCS, and that’s not about to change)

As the dude who’s been singing the praises of Danish death-dealers Baest (or Bæst, as I still prefer to call them) for a long time now, and who believes that they deserve just as much hype and attention as the Tomb Molds and Blood Incantations of the world, it was only natural for me to be the one to cover their upcoming fourth album (set for release 15 August on Century Media).

But, I must admit – having purposefully avoided all the pre-release singles so that I could experience (and, hopefully, enjoy) the whole record in one go – my first encounter with Colossal wasn’t quite what I expected.

Because it was way more… whisper it… fun than I ever would have imagined.

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: MATT MILLER — “EFFECTIVELY NEUTRALIZED”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Aug 052025

(written by Islander)

Whiz-bang can only carry an extreme metal guitarist so far, especially in a modern era marked by what one of our writers is prone to call the “tech death nuclear arms race,” in which blistering speed and near-inhuman dexterity have become main marks of competition, often leaving actual songwriting melted in the wake of the blast fronts.

And that brings us to the subject of Oregonian Matt Miller. He has earned a reputation as a death metal shredder par excellence, on top of his reputation as an award-winning producer and engineer. He built that reputation in part through a flurry of solo instrumental albums and EPs released from 2021 to 2023.

But with his new album Fiber Tormentum, forthcoming from Exitus Stratagem Records in September, it is entirely fair to say that Miller has reached a pivotal moment in his musical evolution, with new ambitions made evident and new stylistic ingredients impressively melded together. We have vivid signs of this in the song from Fiber Tormentum we’re presenting today through a video premiere. Continue reading »

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 042025

(Andy Synn has four more recommendations from last month which you might have overlooked)

For the most part, when putting together these “Things You May Have Missed” articles, I try to cover as varied an array of artists and albums as one possibly can when they’ve limited themselves (to preserve their own sanity) to just four records.

But, as it happens, the four records I’ve chosen to highlight here today – a succulent slab of gnarly, narcotic Sludge, a harrowing howl of soul-scarring Black Metal, a prime cut of prodigiously proggy Death Metal, and an unexpectedly ambitious (if flawed) attempt at combining the metallic and the metaphysical – all have at least two things in common.

One, they’re all from bands with one-word names and, two, they all hail from the good ol’ US of A.

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