TERROR: “STILL SUFFER”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Apr 292026
 

(Here’s Wil Cifer’s review of the latest album, released last week via Flatspot Records, by the L.A. hardcore band Terror.)

Yeah, I know this is a metal blog, but Terror crosses over enough to give hardcore-leaning headbangers what they are looking for. The focused intention this album (Still Suffer) hits you with is something that would be amiss to not recognize. Ten albums into their career, the band’s origins date back to the band Buried Alive from the ’90s. The caustic elements in motion here are well-balanced for all the thrash metal embraced by the guitar riffage; there are more than enough gang vocals, and the attitude of the lead vocals makes it clear these guys are hardcore.

This band is perhaps even more harcore than most of the bands claiming that title in 2026. Taking you back to the ’90s, when that scene had a vital energy that made you feel like you were a part of something bigger than music. The title track sets the tone with a more groove-driven riff. When you hear it from the safety of your home, you still know this would be a brutal pit. The songs are concise one-two punches, rarely feeling the need to venture over three minutes. 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 »

AN NCS PREMIERE: TERROR — “PÉOS THANÁTOU”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Nov 292024
 

(written by Islander)

It’s always a challenge to write about the releases of Sentient Ruin Laboratories, not because the music leaves us feeling meh (far from it!), but because it’s tough to match, much less exceed, the way Sentient Ruin describes its records. Today’s example is a forthcoming debut EP named Hymni Belli Occultum, depicted by the label in these words:

Brazilian one-man bestial black/death commando Terror emerges with its first act of ritual terrorism, an eighteen minute EP of gruesome extreme metal warfare weaponized from the cult of Archgoat, Holocausto, Tormentador, Sarcofago, Bestial Warlust and Conqueror.

Across these five edicts of third world barbarism the totality of our new world dystopia is glorified and instigated down to its most antihuman and savage traits, with the cult of all crime syndicates, gangs, slums, warfare, violence, militarism and corruption thrown into an abyss of occultism and esotericism to embody the true lineaments of the modern world antichrist.

See what I mean? Continue reading »

MORE 2010 SICKNESS (Part 4)

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
May 012010
 

We’re now a full four months into 2010, and it’s time for our fourth update to the list of forthcoming new albums we posted on January 1. (See the original list here, the first update here, the second update here, and the third update here.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases that we didn’t know about on January 1 or at the time of our last three updates (or that we’ve found updated information about) — and the new sickness is still spreading in epidemic proportions.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway), these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted blurbs from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and put reminders on your calendar. Or if you’re old school like us, just get em tattooed someplace you can see without a mirror (because reading stuff backwards is hard).

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS: “Abigail Williams have completed recording of individual performances for their still untitled second full-length. Captured at Conquistador Studios in Cleveland, Ohio, eight new songs were laid down with vocalist/guitarist Ken Sorceron and engineer Cole Martinez controlling the audio takes. The songs are currently being mixed by Peter Tagtgren (Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, Celtic Frost) and are expected to be completed later this month.”

ABYSMAL DAWN: “Los Angeles-based metallers ABYSMAL DAWN will enter Trench Studio in Corona, California in May with producer John Haddad (PHOBIA, INTRONAUT, HIRAX) to begin recording their new album for a tentative fall release via Relapse Records. The follow-up to Programmed To Consume will be mixed by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, VITAL REMAINS, CANNIBAL CORPSE) at his Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.”  (the list continues after the jump .  .) Continue reading »

BREAKDOWN CITY! “MOSH LIVES II” HAMMERS SEATTLE

 Concert Reviews, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Feb 052010
 

Ah, the visceral* joys of live Core — as in hardcore, metalcore, and deathcore. Some of the best bands in each of those genres are featured in the current MOSH LIVES II tour, and your three NCS Co-Authors were there when the tour hit Seattle’s El Corazon on the night of February 3. We bring you this report and a batch of our usual amateurish photos.

(*Visceral: from the Latin word viscera, referring to the internal organs of the body, specifically those within the chest or abdomen. Definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

1.  Felt in, or as if in, the viscera
2. Not intellectual
3. Dealing with crude or elemental emotions
4. Of, relating to, or located on or among the viscera)

Man, talk about getting your money’s worth. Emmure, Terror, After the Burial, Miss May I, Thick As Blood, and local bands Helles and Dire Wolf. In a word, this show was epic. (read more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »