AN NCS PREMIERE: MARIA OF COPPER MOUNTAINS — “КОЛЫБЕЛЬНАЯ (LULLABY)”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  No Responses »
Apr 032026
 

(written by Islander)

We have made a startling new discovery through the song we’re about to premiere, a discovery of the Russian atmospheric black metal band Maria Of Copper Mountains. Now we know that the band was founded in the Southern Urals in 2022 by the extraordinary vocalist Maria Azanova, who is accompanied on the band’s debut album by instrumentalist Nikita Sapogov.

The song we’re about to present through a lyric video is one of seven on the duo’s debut album В чёрны омуты (Into The Black Whirlpools), which will be co-released on April 16th by Satanath Records and Afterlight Records. The song’s name is “Колыбельная (Lullaby)“. Continue reading »

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Apr 022026
 

(Andy Synn presents another round-up of cool stuff you may have missed last month)

A couple of days ago I promised you a second one of these “Things You May Have Missed” articles… and here it is.

Of course, even with double the usual number of bands to cover I’ve still barely scratched the surface of what March had to offer, so if you have any extra time on your hands I’d recommend also checking out the new releases from Alkhemia, Cult of Occult, Defacing God, Dionysiaque, Dollhaver, Gorenado, The Oldest House, Qwälen, and Rivers Ablaze.

Before then, however, here’s four artists/albums – including two debuts – that I’ve personally selected as being particularly worthy of your attention.

Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PLAGUEWIELDER — “SON OF THE SERPENT, SON OF THE WHORE”

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Apr 022026
 

(written by Islander)

As long-time visitors here well know, we’ve been following the continually evolving music of Ohio’s Plaguewielder for many years. Most recently (late last summer), we premiered an eye-catching video for an excellent new Plaguewielder song, “Blood of the Astral Gate,” the first single from a forthcoming release entitled Year of the Plague.

Plaguewielder’s current plan is to continue disclosing singles this year leading up to the release of Year of the Plague as an album near the end of the year, which will be distributed through the band’s independent new label Mourning Shroud.

What we’re bringing you today is the second single from the album, “Son of the Serpent, Son of the Whore“, and it arrives just in time to scorn the coming Easter Sunday. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BLACK CILICE — “INTO THE INNER TEMPLE”

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Apr 022026
 

(written by Islander)

In contemplating the discography of the Portuguese black metal band Black Cilice, the word “prolific” leaps to mind. Beginning with their first five(!) demos released in 2009, they’ve released something almost ever year — more demos, many splits, a trio of EPs, and six albums. Now there’s a seventh album on the horizon, slated for release by Iron Bonehead Productions on May 1st.

The album’s name is Votive Fire. It includes only four songs, but they are long ones, none shorter than seven minutes and the opener almost reaching 10 1/2. What we have for you today is the third of these tracks in the running order, “Into the Inner Temple“. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ENTERRÉ VIVANT

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Apr 022026
 

(Today we present Comrade Aleks’ interview of the two members of the atmospheric black metal band Enterré Vivant, with a focus on their very interesting latest album released by the Antiq label.)

Akuzaï, the third album of Enterré Vivant, a duo of Erroaik and Sakrifiss, was released almost one year ago, and it’s still the most up-to-date album of this project which I didn’t totally skip yet failed to investigate properly during 2025. Being influenced by Summoning, Woods of Infinity, and Mystic Forest, this duo works remotely, as Erroaik locates in France, and Sakrifiss relocated to Japan over 25 years ago.

Enterré Vivant progresses coherently if we speak about the music, and Akuzaï delivers both depressive and atmospheric black metal with an authentic touch for sure, yet this time the projects also hooks with the plot behind ten new tracks. The album’s concept is centered around a Buddhist idea of ten sins and World War II, and one can barely connect one to another, so it was one of many points to organize in this interview. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 193): DOODSESKADER

 THE SYNN REPORT  No Responses »
Apr 012026
 

Recommended for fans of: Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Death Grips, Godflesh, clipping.

The thing about blending genres is – just like mixing together too many shades of paint – what you often end up with is just… beige.

But when you get it right, not just sloppily blending together all the most generic and familiar aspects of different styles but relying on the clashing, kaleidoscopic contrasts between them to create something weird and provocative that smashes through all the established boundaries… that’s when you get Doodseskader.

And with their third album set for release on Friday, now seemed like the perfect time to shine some light on the duo’s unique amalgam of Electro-Industrial-Hip-Hop and Nu-Punk-Sludge-Metal.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VANIR — “WYRD”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Apr 012026
 

(written by Islander)

For people of a certain age and living in a certain time, melodic death metal opened a magical musical portal. Principally originating in Sweden, it eventually led enormous numbers of listeners around the globe (including this writer) into new worlds. Other portals forged of metal were opening at the same time, and many others have opened since then, but thanks to bands like the Danish group Vanir, this one has remained open.

Vanir have been musically exploring other worlds (often mythic ones) since 2010, with a discography that has come to include seven albums, and their eighth one — Wyrd — will be released in just a couple of days by Mighty Music. As the label describes, “The record revolves around the timeless theme of fate – spun from war, from the choices of humankind, and from the consequences that have shaped our world”, and it “invites the listener into stories of downfall and triumph, of lives lost and victories won.”

What we bring you today is the chance to hear Wyrd in its entirety. Continue reading »

CULTHE FEST 2026 — EASTER TURNS DARK AND HEAVY

 Metal News  No Responses »
Apr 012026
 

For several years No Clean Singing has been a proud sponsor of Culthe Fest in Münster, Germany, and we’re helping to spread the word about it again this year.

The 2026 edition of the fest is imminent — it will take place over two days on April 4th and 5th. The fest will include performances by 20 acts from over 7 countries on three stages, headlined by Ultha and Warning. It will also include a reading and an exhibition closely related to the festival’s music, all taking place at Sputnikhalle, Café Sputnik, and Triptychon at Hawerkamp Münster.

For further details, here’s the text of Culthe Fest’s latest press release: Continue reading »

INFERI: “HEAVEN WEPT”

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Apr 012026
 

(The Artisan Era will release a new album by Nashville-based Inferi on April 10th, and DGR has managed to beat that deadline with an extensive review of it today.)

I ain’t no fancy law-talkin’ indivigible but I would argue that the case for what sort of band Inferi are is made within twenty or so seconds of their opening song “The Rapture Of Dead Light” from their new album Heaven Wept.

Inferi are a tech-death band of what could now be considered a classic style. Born of an early and mid-2000s collision of hyperspeed melodeath, proper death metal, and the more technically inclined stylings of groups like Necrophagist and Spawn Of Possession that overtook an entire subgenre in one fell swoop. They are part of a collective that helped crystalize what we now recognize as tech-death proper, enough so that you can mention specific record labels and have a good idea of the waterfall of guitar and drumming that will be headed your way.

Inferi were the band that took every element and just cranked the volume up to ten on everything. They would regularly release such densely packed albums that even years after a release you could go back to one and you’d be stunned by just how much general stuff you missed within each song. The prospect of an Inferi album was in some ways terrifying because you knew it meant you’d be getting hit with these gigantic, multi-suite songs that resulted in near-hour-long releases that would leave the brain scrambled by the time you were done.

Inferi are the sort of band that puts out an album and it doesn’t even occur to you that it had been five years since their previous release, mostly because you’re still not sure you’ve digested that previous one. They are a band where you’ve likely never been more thankful for an album to consist of just eight songs. which is what their newest album Heaven Wept is. Eight songs of hyper-fast, densely packed tech-death built out of the sort of overstimulation that can send lightning crackling across the grey matter in your skull. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MALAURIU

 Interviews  No Responses »
Mar 312026
 

(Today we follow up yesterday’s NCS premiere of Malauriu’s new album The Third Nail with this interview by Comrade Aleks of bandmembers Schizoid and RM.)

Malauriu (“Bad Omen”) was formed in Sicily in 2013. The band’s lineup has changed several times, fitting its anarchic black metal image. Today, all of Malauriu’s members have relocated to the UK, and the only remaining original member is guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist Schizoid. Having recorded two full-length albums, five EPs, and participated in nearly ten splits, Malauriu have prepared their third major effort, aptly titled The Third Nail.

The album’s cover, which depicts a unique scene from a Sicilian religious festival, is undoubtedly a highlight, but for a more complete picture, check out the tracklist, which includes a cover of GG Allin’s “Abuse Myself, I Wanna Die,” featuring the growl of the monstrous Mentors’ founder Dr. Heathen Scum. This unbridled ode to self-destruction is delivered with a distinctive, unbridled punk drive and extreme vocals, and its lyrical content, as well as its destructive delivery, generally matches the spirit of the album. Fueled by nihilism and prickly malice, the blackened “Death Celebration,” “The Curse of All Flesh,” and “Empowerment Rites”, or the slower, dense, textured “Purple Ceremony” grant everything you may expect from the songs with such names.

In order to reveal some details behind The Third Nail’s production, we organized this interview with Schizoid himself and the band’s vocalist RM. Continue reading »

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