OBSCURITIES – VOLUME XX: CHANGES, TEMPERATURES, AND RIFFS

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Sep 152025
 

(Daniel Barkasi returns with his monthly collection of album reviews, this time recommending six albums released in August 2025.)

As summer nears its conclusion, the heat has finally (sort of) calmed down a little in the Floridian swamp. It’s about damn time. The dogs can finally be taken outside and we’re not a dripping puddle of sweat in 1.2 seconds. More like 10 minutes, which is an improvement that’s most welcome!

On a sad personal note, my wife and I lost our precious dog Kaiya last week. It wasn’t completely unexpected – she had just turned 17 and had some worsening health issues – and her body just couldn’t keep going. We had a hell of a 17th birthday bash only a few days prior, but she sadly plummeted quickly not long after.

My wife had her for literally half of my wife’s life, and I had the distinct pleasure of having her in my life for over a decade. She was the best girl – sweet as can be, loving, gentle, and quirky in the best ways. It’s still hard for me to write this, as I miss her terribly and it’ll be fresh for a while. One of our other dogs, Hiroki, has taken it especially hard, as they were incredibly close. He seems to be on the mend, thankfully, as he sits next to me. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A FRIDAY: RUNEMAGICK, NEW WORLD DEPRESSION, INNUMERABLE FORMS, TITHE, CANCER VOID, SUM OF R

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Aug 012025
 

(written by Islander)

Today is another Bandcamp Friday, a good time to buy or pre-order music because a greater percentage of the proceeds will reach bands and labels. I had a few hours to myself yesterday afternoon and this morning that I spent surveying new music that’s come out over the last week or so. From that, I picked music from six bands to recommend today.

With one exception, all these songs are advance tracks from albums that will be released either later this month or in September or October. The one exception is the first single from an album that’s being released in full today. There’s a hell of a lot of great cover art in today’s collection too.

If things go as planned, I’ll have more recommendations in the usual space for these roundups tomorrow. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: ALTARAGE / DĀMIM / INNUMERABLE FORMS / MORNU / TRIPHEAD / WOODS WITCH

 SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Jun 162023
 

(Andy Synn collects a series of six short-form releases you may not have heard)

Time, as they say, is a cruel mistress.

No matter what we do, she never seems to give us enough of herself, and always demands that we try to do more, write more, say more, with what little she allows us to have.

It means that we frequently have to make some harsh decisions when it comes to what we do, or do not, cover here at NCS, and so it’s inevitable that stuff we might otherwise have liked to write about – for example, the delicious new Depeche Mode covers record by SOM – sometimes doesn’t make the cut.

Which, ultimately, makes it extra important that you all check out the following EPs… because so much already gets missed out that you really can’t afford to let these pass you by too!

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: INNUMERABLE FORMS

 Interviews  No Responses »
Nov 082022
 

(We’ve been closely following the progress of the Boston-based death doom band Innumerable Forms for the last six years, straight up through a very enthusiastic review by Andy Synn of the band’s newest album, released by Profound Lore in September, and now Comrade Aleks adds to the attention with this interview of the band’s founder, vocalist, and guitarist, Justin DeTore.)

Honestly, I don’t remember where I learned about this death-doom (with heavy emphasis on its death aspect) band from Boston, but I just couldn’t get past a band with such a name. So when I found their second full-length Philosophical Collapse released on September 16th by Profound Lore Records, I added them to my list of “need-to-interview” bands.

To my surprise my request was answered by the band’s founder Justin DeTore, who played in the heavy/doom metal outfit Magic Circle, which I loved, and also took part in Phil Swanson’s heavy metal bands Sumerlands and Vestal Claret! And I need to tell you that Sumerlands’ debut blew my mind! So that was a pleasant surprise, which turned into pleasant conversation.

You see how it was hard, but I did my best to focus on Innumerable Forms, and we’re close to learning what this name means. Continue reading »

ONLY DEATH IS REAL: INNUMERABLE FORMS / PHOBOPHILIC / TRIBAL GAZE

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Sep 132022
 

(Andy Synn presents his thoughts on three titanic slabs of Death Metal, all due for release this Friday)

If last week was a big one for fans of the more “techy” side of the Death Metal spectrum, then this one is at least as big a deal for those whose tastes run towards the grittier, riffier side of things that one might, if one were so inclined, refer to as “Old School”.

And yet I’d rather not put too much emphasis on that particular term, as while each of these three bands/albums is obviously following a path laid down by the genre’s “Old School” originators, they’re also taking steps – some small, some large – to push things forward in their own way (something which, let’s be honest, can’t always be said about a lot of the OSDM “revival” scene).

But even if you don’t agree with the above statement I think you’ll still find a lot to love within this article, because every one of these bands kicks a significant amount of ass.

Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): NOCTEM, CULT BURIAL, INNUMERABLE FORMS, CRIPPLED BLACK PHEONIX

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jul 222022
 

Welcome to Part 2 of this Friday round-up of new songs and videos. It includes perhaps even more musical scatter than what I collected in Part 1 (be forewarned, there’s singing in the last of these tracks!), which may increase the odds that you’ll find something to like. And if you don’t, try your chances tomorrow when I’ll have one more collection to throw at your head.

NOCTEM (Spain)

We’ve been following the twisting and turning path of this Spanish band for a lot of damned years. It has been something of an adventure to witness their musical evolution, but a generally exiting one, and now we get to discover their next steps through an album named Credo Certe Ne Cras that’s coming out in late October via MNRK Heavy. Just today they released a video for the album’s first single, “We Are Omega“. Continue reading »

DEATH RITUALS: JUST BEFORE DAWN, GRISVELOS, PRECAMBRIAN, INNUMERABLE FORMS, DEIQUISITOR, AFFLICTION VECTOR

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Aug 222020
 

 

Sigh. Yet another week when I didn’t have enough time, or didn’t set aside enough, to do even one round-up of new music. I did do a lot of listening last night and this morning, and found enough promising new black metal to fill a two-part SHADES OF BLACK post tomorrow, and then narrowed down other things I found into this post. As the title suggests, it leans mainly into death metal or blackened death of various kinds.

There are four complete releases in the following collection, which I book-ended with singles from forthcoming records.

JUST BEFORE DAWN

One of my favorite practitioners of Swedish death metal, Just Before Dawn, will be returning on September 25th with a new 45-minute soundtrack from the warzones of the last global conflict. The title is An Army At Dawn, and Raw Skull Recordz will handle the release. Once again, JBD riff-meister Anders Biazzi has enlisted a platoon of guests — 10 guest vocalists and three guest guitar soloists, if my count is correct — along with his steadfast JBD allies Gustav Myrin (guitar/bass) and Jon Rudin (drums). Continue reading »

THREE FACES OF DEATH: BÆST, INNUMERABLE FORMS, NAILS OF IMPOSITION

 Album Reviews  10 Responses »
Aug 312018
 

 

(We present a collection of three death metal reviews by Andy Synn.)

If you’ve been paying even a modicum of attention to the digital metalsphere over the last several months then it’s highly likely you’ll have noticed quite a lot of people talking/writing about how this has been a real banner year for Death Metal, to the point where it’s starting to feel like its corpse-painted cousin, Black Metal, is really struggling to keep up.

And while there has been a solid number of truly great Black Metal albums released this year so far (with more still to come), there’s definitely some truth to this assertion. 2018 really is a great time to be alive if you’re a fan of massive riffs and guttural vocals.

So, in that spirit, here are three more ravenous recommendations, straight from my brain/fingers to your eyes/ears. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (HGD EDITION): DEICIDE, CARNATION, BAEST, INNUMERABLE FORMS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Jul 162018
 

 

Editor’s Note: NCS patron HGD, who has been kind enough to send us recommendations of new music in the past, prepared the following round-up of new music, which we’re presenting here with his own introductory comments, and with our thanks. As he wrote, “The overarching theme here is death metal of the old school variety, but having said that there are still significant differences from song to song.”

DEICIDE

Deicide are the highest profile group amongst the bunch included here so it’s best to start with them. NCS has already covered the announcement of their new album Overtures of Blasphemy, due out September 14 on Century Media. The first single from that album, “Excommunicated“, was released last Friday. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: INNUMERABLE FORMS, REBEL WIZARD, ABHORRENCE, MAJESTIC MASS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Jun 222018
 

 

As was also the situation on Wednesday, when I posted the last round-up before this one, I’m feeling hurried. Too much stuff going on in the fragments of life that aren’t devoted to NCS. But even though I don’t have time to cogently explain just how much I like the music I’ve chosen for this collection, and why, I didn’t want the week to end without putting more new music before you. (And of course we will have more for you this weekend as well.) So, without further ado, and without many complete sentences, let’s begin…

INNUMERABLE FORMS

…slow, titanic, teeth-loosening heaviness… a groaning melody that bespeaks utter soul-shattering misery… a monstrous voice that roars from an ice-cold void… and in the middle it becomes a rumbling, thundering, bone-snapping tank attack with a delicious solo (and there’s one more ravaging assault at the end)… This is “Punishment In Flesh“. Continue reading »

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