AN NCS INTERVIEW: GROND

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Apr 302026
 

(Today is the day when Xtreem Music releases a new album by the band Grond, and to coincide with that long-awaited event we’re publishing Comrade Aleks’ in-depth interview with Grond frontman and founder Kist. Below you will also have a chance to stream the album in full.)

Moscow-based Grond are stalwarts of the death metal underground and dedicated worshipers of Lovecraftian Horrors. After a huge break the band returns with a new full-length album, and needless to say it’s their most mature, most sophisticated, and most cold-blooded work to date.

Xtreem Music gave Grond the green light, and The Temple, a concept album based on Lovecraft’s story with the same name, but the guys are true to themselves and they offer you their own interpretation of the master’s classics. We interviewed Grond’s frontman and founder Kist, and I’m excited to share this interview with you. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SOULBURN

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Apr 272026
 

(The Dutch metal extremists Soulburn will release their fifth album on June 12th through Testimony Records, and that created a good opportunity for our Comrade Aleks to check in with Soulburn co-founder Eric Daniels. A great discussuion ensued, and you can check it out below along with the album’s first two singles.)

Dutch extreme metal act Soulburn was born 30 years ago after the first disbanding of legendary death-doom aggressors Asphyx whose core members Eric Daniels (guitars) and Bob Bagchus (drums) taught a new lesson of extremity with the devastating debut Feeding on Angels (1998). Years passed, and Eric is the only original Soulburn member now, although his bandmates Twan van Geel (bass, vocals), Remco Kreft (guitars), and Marc Verhaar (drums) are hardened veterans of the metal underground too.

Honestly, I didn’t expect any surprises from the band’s new album Quantifying Cosmic Doom but more good old blasphemous extreme stuff, yet the album strikes me not only with its high technical quality but also with a much wider concept, both lyrically and music-wise. The album is scheduled for the 12th of June by Testimony Records, so be forewarned! Quantifying Cosmic Doom this way comes.

I was lucky to get this in-depth interview with Eric himself, and there’s no better way to learn more about Soulburn than to read it. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VIDE

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Apr 232026
 

(Vide’s unusual new album Aux enfants des ruines was released by the Antiq label in late February of this year, and it may have flown beneath the radar of many listeners who would appreciate it. But Comrade Aleks has done his best to elevate it through the following interview with its French solo creator.)

French multi-instrumentalist Hylgaryss’ solo project, Vide, remained in the shadow of another, slightly more atmospheric black metal duo, Sainte Obyana du Froid. But the balance may change, as Vide has returned after a four-year hiatus, and the project has not only slowed down but also become less extreme and more atmospheric.

One of the key features defining the sound of the new full-length Aux enfants des ruines is the use of actual recordings of a children’s choir, performing parts reminiscent of Gregorian chants. In fact, the opportunity to use a children’s choir recording largely guided Vide, and while some of the release is framed by a flurry of familiar black metal misanthropy with a depressive edge, the main storyline of Aux enfants des ruines is almost a spiritual mass, a call to the outcasts, to the “children of ruins,” as the artist calls them.

An atheist, Hylgaryss sought to give the album an “ultra-religious atmosphere, steeped in Christian mysticism.” The album’s entire atmosphere revolves around children: the visuals, the sound, the lyrics, the sheer purity of the voices brings something unusually tender to the raw and melancholic black metal. So there were more than enough reasons to take a deeper view in Vide’s work with Hylgaryss himself. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: GRAVES FOR GODS

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Apr 222026
 

(In late January of this year Meuse Music released the second album from the Australian doom/death metal band Graves for Gods, and that prompted our Comrade Aleks to contact them for a second interview — and here it is.)

Three years ago we interviewed Graves for Gods. Jak Shadows (Voices of Doom) and Matt Spencer (Resonant Strings) told a story behind the band’s debut album The Oldest Gods, and they mentioned that the music for their second full-length was already written. It took more time than anyone might have expected, yet here’s Graves for Gods’ sophomore album Last Light Fades, released earlier this year. As you understand, there was no chance to miss a moment and talk to these two guys again. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MÖHRKVLTH

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Apr 202026
 

(We present Comrade Aleks’ interview of Gregory Person from the Breton black metal band Möhrkvlth, whose new album Gwenojennoù An Ankounac’h is set for release by the Antiq label on May 5th.)

In the eight years since the release of their first album, the French band Möhrkvlth has seen almost a complete lineup change. However, this hasn’t stopped the new members from following the masterplan of the band’s lead guitarist Gregory Person, and another full-length work entitled Gwenojennoù An Ankounac’h is here. Their atmospheric black metal with notes of depression, lyrics in Breton, and very light hints of traditional music influences may be considered as authentic, and indeed it’s one of the most interesting and memorable black metal discoveries of this spring.

Antiq Records focuses on albums with stories behind them, and so do I, thus let me introduce you to Möhrkvlth further through this interview with the band’s founder.

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: RÖTUAL

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Apr 172026
 

(For the Dead, released in March on Remorseless Records, is the first full-length from the Canadian death-doom entity Rötual, and what follows is Comrade Aleks’ interview of band-member Nicolas Miquelon.)

Since the release of the Canadian Norilsk’s first album, I haven’t missed a single one of their albums, and at some point I noticed that their guitarist Tom Hansen and vocalist Nic Miquelon, alongside their comrades Ben Bertrand (bass) and Mike Berrigan (drums), had formed a side project called Rötual. Over the course of a couple of years, the project grew into a band and recently released their first full-length album.

While Norilsk has taken liberties with the doom genre throughout their career, allowing for various experiments in related areas, Rötual strictly adheres to quite traditional death-doom. The men have invested expertly in the material and managed to successfully include virtually every element in the album For the Dead, from short bursts of lead guitar to its massive and dirty riffs, from growling parts to brief passages of clean vocals – and all in all it works and hooks.

The band’s ideology adheres to a pernicious, deadly canon, as evidenced not only by the cover and the album title, but also by track titles like “Mycelium,” “Worms,” ​​and “To Live Is to Rot,” which I adore for its mournful, clear-voiced chorus. At the same time, For the Dead doesn’t feel particularly decadent – ​​it’s clear that the band approached the work creatively, not simply taking the framework of ’90s death-doom but transforming it with their own ideas. As always, there’s hope that such a move as an interview may draw more attention to the band, and here we are to spread the word For the Dead together with Nicolas Miquelon. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: RIKET

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Apr 152026
 


photos by Ekaterina Yakyamseva

(Comrade Aleks has brought us many good interviews for many years, all of them worth some attention, but some stand well forward of others, and this discussion with Johan from Rikets is one of them. Read it and you’ll see why.) 

The debut album by Swedish death metallers Riket was released to mark the band’s tenth anniversary. And it’s not just another melodic death metal band, as, foremost, all lyrics are written in the native language and it’s inspired by historical events in Sweden. And as you may imagine, the album’s title 2026 isn’t just a number. At the same time, there’s no room for the usual metal cliches like Vikings’ conquests or war in Riket’s lyrics, and every song is named after the year when this event took place. The band focuses on more specific authentic topics, which you will learn from the interview below.

Meanwhile Riket has created an organic, well-produced, and honest album in the key of sophisticated yet straightforward melodic death metal. And 2026 has every chance of being remembered by listeners for more than just the lyrics. 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 »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MALAURIU

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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 »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: URLUK

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Mar 262026
 

(Comrade Aleks brought us the following excellent interview of the two members of Urluk, an Italian band whose new album will be released next month by Pest Records.)

We interviewed Italian Urluk two years ago or so, and back then they performed haunted and doomed black metal with an original authentic concept that was soaked with bleak shadows of abandoned dwellings and grim countryside. At least this description helped to better perceive their full-length More, and I expected something similar from the band’s second album Memories in Fade that is announced to be released on April 10th via Pest Records.

Yet the truth is that Urluk remained true to their lyrical concept but changed musical direction significantly. Memories in Fade combines the elements of alternative rock, black metal, and ambient alongside some specific pieces which are difficult to categorize. But in the end of the day, they are still Urluk, and I’m glad to support the band with another interview. Continue reading »

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