SÁTAN FESTIVAL, JUNE 5TH, 6TH, AND 7TH, STYKKISHHOLMÚR  (ICELAND)

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Jun 272025
 

(Our French contributor Zoltar made his way to Iceland again to attend the June 2025 edition of Sátan festival, and we received the following report, with a few of Zoltar‘s photos.)

Be warned, you’ll often read this same phrase over and over again in the following report: Only in Iceland…

Mind you, it’s far from being my first time here as after a first visit in the mid-00s as a regular tourist (no metal involved), I had the chance to attend a few times the now defunct Eistnaflug festival and also to be invited to be part of the Wacken Battle Iceland jury. Yet, this tiny country with a big heart never ceases to amaze me, on all levels.

And yes, only in Iceland could a festival be set up in the middle of freakin’ nowhere (that would be in this very case Stykkishholmúr for you, roughly one three-hour drive up from Reykjavik, population 1,300) in early June called Sátan Festival. And yes, there’s a twist here. The accent makes all the difference, since Sátan (look it up, google it if you don’t believe me) is first and foremost the name of a local mountain with an old legend attached to it.

Besides a hard-to-transcribe-on-paper pronunciation – try something like ‘sauthan’ – the name has actually something to do with a legend about a troll, a haystack, a horse, and a couple of extra things I’m not entirely sure of anymore… But that’s not what really matters here, as this new and up-and-coming festival (this is their second edition) encapsulates everything that makes the Icelandic scene such a special one. Continue reading »

THE SUN DOES NOT SET ON THE “SONS OF SET”: A REVIEW OF LYCOPOLIS’ NEW FULL LENGTH

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Jun 262025
 

(After a months’ long hiatus our Vietnam-based contributor Vizzah Harri has arisen again to write (as only he can) about a new album from the Egyptian black metal band Lycopolis, and many other wide-ranging subjects that the music led him into.)

Let’s play a game?

The adults running things are playing lots of games out there these days that started out as silly and became rather fucking terrifying of late.

Our game is simple.

Go to Bandcamp.

Type Sons of Set.

Play Eldest Son.

Try to sit still.

Fuckit, I’ll spare you the effort, here it is:

Verify human?

Success! You’re not a robot if you failed, though if you were absolutely comatose the past 117 seconds, please call a doctor.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS — “IN THE GLOW OF THE VATICAN FIRE”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  1 Response »
Jun 262025
 

(written by Islander)

The lyrics of most extreme metal songs are often an after-thought, both for the bands and for fans and “critics”. They’re often written after the musical core of the songs has solidified rather than intertwined with it from inception; they’re usually difficult to hear, since vocals usually function as simply another instrument that adds fuel to the emotional fires; and if we’re being honest, the words are quite often uninspiring and forgettable.

The extensive lyrics of In The Glow Of The Vatican Fire, the forthcoming tenth album from the Connecticut-based “avant-sludge metal” outfit When the Deadbolt Breaks, are a startling departure from those norms. This writer had them in hand and decided to read all of them before listening to anything from the album. They left me shaken. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NO SHELTER — “ROTTEN”

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Jun 262025
 

(written by Islander)

We’re told that the German band No Shelter came into existence in May 2017 as the union of members who had played in many other bands. Since then they’ve discharged a couple of EPs,  a couple of splits, and a couple of albums (Rest In Death and Erasing Life). From the beginning they’ve brought together elements of hardcore punk, crust, and Swedish death metal in varying degrees of combination, spawning references among writers to a collision between such bands as Trap Them and Entombed.

This summer No Shelter will have a third album for us. Entitled Remission/Resolve and encompassing 12 songs (including a “Wolverine Blues” cover), it’s set for a July 25 release by This Charming Man Records. What we’ve got for you today is a song off the album pointedly named “Rotten“. Continue reading »

BARREN ALTAR – BOUND BY IMPERMANENCE

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Jun 262025
 

(Andy Synn hopes that his love for the new album from Barren Altar is in no way impermanent)

For those of you who still think my review slate recently – Cryptopsy, Deadguy, Heaven Shall Burn, etc – has been a little too “big time”, here’s something undeniably uglier and more underground courtesy of Black/Doom death-worshippers Barren Altar.

Continue reading »

FORTRESS FESTIVAL 2025 — MAY 31-JUNE 1, SCARBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND: DAY 2

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Jun 252025
 

(This is Part 2 of Daniel Barkasi‘s extensive report on the 2025 edition of the UK’s Fortress Festival, covering the second day of the two-day event, again accompanied by his own photos. To check out his report on Day One, go here.)

Sunday, Day 2

As it turns out, running stage to stage for 11 hours taking in as many bands as possible may sap the energy reserves a little. Who knew? This was always going to be a whirlwind of an excursion, so we were mentally prepared for the madness. My body, however, said no – at least to getting out of bed early enough to grab breakfast at the hotel. Alas, we made due with some protein bars and various other food items I had picked up from a Sainsbury’s, as time was of the essence to get down to the Spa for the second day of insanity. Today would prove just as wild as the first. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GOLGATA — “SORG”

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Jun 252025
 

(written by Islander)

In August Satanath Records (Georgia) and WP And RO Productions (Netherlands) will co-release Själabod, the powerful fourth full-length by the Swedish black metal band Golgata. Here is part of how they introduce the new record:

The album Själabod is about new beginnings and closure…. The music is inspired by the history and nature that surrounded the part of Sweden where the duo originates. The music is raw and intense but at the same time melodic and atmospheric. The lyrics are darkly poetic and narrative. With music and lyrics combined, Golgata explores the past to describe their view of modern day.

As a vivid sign of what the new album brings, today we’re premiering a song named “Sorg“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HAXPROCESS — “SEPULCHRAL VOID”

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Jun 252025
 

(written by Islander)

“Haxprocess are playing incredibly heavy death metal music – leaden, thick and dark, and are somehow attempting to go progressive wielding that sound. It’s like Morbid Angel covering The Chasm songs under the influence of Blood Incantation.”

That’s part of how Transcending Obscurity Records pitches Beyond What Eyes Can See, the forthcoming second album by the Floridian quartet Haxprocess. They also mention that the album includes only four songs that average 10 minutes per track — epic in length, and allegedly epic in impact.

Well, to say the least, expectations have been raised. How well does the reality conform to them? Discerning listeners already have half the answer, because T.O. has already streamed the album’s opening two songs — “Where Even Stars Die” and “The Confines of the Flesh“. Now you’ll get three-quarters of the answer because we’re about to premiere the album’s closing track, “Sepulchral Void“. Continue reading »

NOISE TRAIL IMMERSION – TUTTA LA MORTE IN UN SOLO PUNTO

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Jun 252025
 

(Andy Synn encourages those of you who want a little more chaos in their lives to check out the new album from Noise Trail Immersion, set for release this Friday on I, Voidhanger Records)

I feel like I’ve been covering quite a few big – or, at least, well-known (in Metal circles at least) – bands recently, so perhaps it’s about time to switch my/our attention to a group who are a little less (in)famous?

That doesn’t mean that Noise Trail Immersion don’t already have a reputation to uphold with Tutta La Morte In Un Solo Punto, their upcoming fifth album – in fact, we’ve probably played a small role in helping raise their profile over the years – but for the wider community, including some of our readers I’m sure, this could well be their first time encountering the Italian quintet.

And what will they encounter? Nine tracks of swarming, swirling, switch-blade sharp Dissonant Black Math Metal whose main purpose seems to be to repeatedly punish and perforate your eardrums over the course of forty-three furious minutes.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THE BLEAK PICTURE — “SHADES OF LIFE”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Jun 242025
 

(written by Islander)

“There are times when sorrow seems to me to be the only truth. Other things may be illusions of the eye or the appetite, made to blind the one and cloy the other, but out of sorrow have the worlds been built, and at the birth of a child or a star there is pain.”
– Oscar Wilde, “De Profundis”

Those words feature prominently in The Bleak Picture‘s previews of their second album Shades of Life, which will be released by Ardua Music on June 27th. The music will remind you of them, but the music will also inspire other moods and other visions.

The album is a formulation of melodic death-doom metal that is at once earthy and astral, immensely heavy and gossamer light, stricken by sorrow but elevated by expansive visions of splendor, a powerfully immersive, emotionally moving, and often spine-shaking experience from beginning to end. And we are very fortunate to premiere its full stream today. Continue reading »

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