AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): KARLOFF — “REVERED BY DEATH”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 202026
 

(written by Islander)

Reportedly, the German band Karloff “formed in 2018 initially as a means for erstwhile Graveyard Ghoul member Tom Horrified to blow off some punk-oriented steam with a couple close comrades.” But they’ve obviously turned out to be more than a one-and-done “let’s do this for the hell of it” outfit.

Not only have Karloff followed up their initial 2018 demo with five more releases, including an EP, a handful of splits, and their 2022 debut album The Appearing, they’ve persistently evolved their music in ways that most listeners probably wouldn’t have expected based solely on their first couple of releases.

And they’ve done that again on their forthcoming second album Revered by Death, as you’re about to discover for yourselves based on our full streaming premiere of the record today. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A NEW YEAR’S DAY: KARLOFF, TOMBSEEKER, HEXER, 1986, KATHAREIN, HURSAN

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Jan 012026
 


Seattle Space Needle in the fog, Dec. 31, 2025, photo by Akash Pamarthy for The Seattle Times

(written by Islander)

Yesterday a newsletter I subscribe to (“This, Not That“) compiled quotations by many famous writers about New Year’s Day and the ending of the previous year, some of them humorous, some of them depressing, some of them wise. One of the quotes, by Charles Lamb, seemed to sum up all the others: “No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference.”

I’m certainly not indifferent. I’m determined… determined not to let the day go by without posting here about new music, notwithstanding the likelihood that many people are too hungover or sleep-deprived to wreck their heads with our preferred sonics today. It’s a compulsion of long standing, one that has resulted in our making some kind of music post 365 days a year, or close to that, with fewer than a dozen missed days over the 16+ years of our site’s existence.

As it always does, the new year of heavy music won’t waste much time taking off and achieving orbit velocity. We’ve already seen and spotlighted lots of songs from albums slated for release in the new year’s first quarter, and more will begin surfacing at an accelerated rate after this relatively slow week ends. I’ve picked an array of recent surfacings in this New Year’s Day column.

But, for better or worse, we haven’t completely finished reflecting in other ways on the music that 2025 brought us, including a few of today’s picks. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: KARLOFF — “HATE CONSUMER”

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Jun 082021
 

 

Last year Dying Victims Productions released Raw Nights, a 20-minute vinyl/digital record that combined the German band Karloff’s new EP and the tracks from their debut demo. After encountering it, I wrote: “Karloff’s formulation of raw punk and black metal is undeniably sinister, and it runs like a wild wolf-pack on the hunt (or an angry gang marauding through mean streets), but it has made me feel not just glad to be alive, but kind of rapturous too. Its feral, stripped-down attack and high-voltage energy appeal at a primal level, and the immediately infectious nature of the songs makes them easy to stick with, and to use as a means of lighting a fire to any playlist whenever they pop up.”

It was thus exciting to learn that Karloff were following up Raw Nights with a debut album entitled The Appearing, which will also be released by Dying Victims (on July 30th), and we’re just as excited to now premiere a video for an album track named “Hate Consumer“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KARLOFF — “BASTARD OF THE NIGHT”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Mar 312020
 

 

In these dark times music lovers have a lot of extra time to spend listening and exploring (at least those of us who don’t work in essential activities). I suppose most of us have devoted that time moving around among genres rather than staying on the same road all the time. Variety can indeed be the spice of life, especially when our moods have turned sour and could really use some spicing-up. Karloff has done that for me, giving me something I didn’t realize I needed, and I hope Karloff will do the same for you.

Karloff’s formulation of raw punk and black metal is undeniably sinister, and it runs like a wild wolf-pack on the hunt (or an angry gang marauding through mean streets), but it has made me feel not just glad to be alive, but kind of rapturous too. Its feral, stripped-down attack and high-voltage energy appeal at a primal level, and the immediately infectious nature of the songs makes them easy to stick with, and to use as a means of lighting a fire to any playlist whenever they pop up.

I overlooked Karloff when the band released its first demo in 2018, or when it released the Raw Nights EP last year. Thankfully, I’ve encountered them now, thanks to the decision of Dying Victims Productions to combine those two releases into a single 20-minute vinyl/digital record, also called Raw Nights, with new cover art. Today, in advance of the record’s release on April 24, we’re presenting one of the eight songs, “Bastard of the Night“, along with a stream of a previously released song. Continue reading »