AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): IVOIRE — “URAGANO”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
May 042026
 

(written by Islander)

On May 8th the Italian metal band Ivoire will release their debut album Uragano. It began a long process of taking shape more than four years ago through a series of personal reflections written by the band’s founder Nicolò Lenoci, and then gradually evolved as he sought musical expressions for those ideas — musical expressions that ultimately moved between post-metal, sludge, and black metal influences.

When the time arrived for fully fleshing out the music and recording it, Nicolò (performing guitars and bass) was joined by vocalist Antonio Caggese, drummer Giovanni Solazzo (Turangalila, Duocane), and some guests whose contributions we’ll identify a bit later. Afterward, the band found its definitive line-up for live performances, with members we’ll also identify below.

Here is how Nicolò introduces the album: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: DIMMU BORGIR, SHADOWSPAWN, THORIUM, TERROR, VEIL OMEGA, IVOIRE, SLEEPBOMB, BLOOD GRAVE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 282026
 

(written by Islander)

I took a break from NCS last weekend, a short vacation that led me to eastern Washington. That means I now have twice the usual number of new songs and videos sitting in front of me as I ponder what to feature today. But rather than try to go back and figure out what I might have done last Saturday, today I focused mainly on what surfaced within the realms of metal over just the last week. It was a lot, and so I’ve made this roundup a bit bigger than usual.

I’ve managed to pull out eight new songs, six of them accompanied by videos. I think they provide considerable variety, and I’ve arranged them in a way that made sense to me as I listened to everything. Of course, they’re also a reflection of the darkness inside my head these days.

Tonight I’m going to a retirement party for a close friend. She’s too young to be stopping work altogether, just closing one chapter in her life and starting a new one, but I still want to be there. Doubtless, it will keep me out late, with probably a three-hour round-trip on the travel alone. I don’t know if that will impact tomorrow’s SHADES OF BLACK column, but it might. Another reason why today’s collection is bigger than usual. Continue reading »