(Andy Synn recommends you all drive carefully, because there’s a Psychohazard ahead) It was about three-and-a-half years ago, by my count, that I first wrote about excellently-named Polish “Post-Black...

(Andy Synn recommends you all drive carefully, because there’s a Psychohazard ahead) It was about three-and-a-half years ago, by my count, that I first wrote about excellently-named Polish “Post-Black...

(written by Islander) When we premiered Aodon’s last album Portraits in 2023 we ventured the guess that listeners would have a hard time finding an album more overwhelmingly powerful in its sound and ...

(written by Islander) When we premiered Aodon’s last album Portraits in 2023 we ventured the guess that listeners would have a hard time finding an album more overwhelmingly powerful in its sound and ...

(Andy Synn sinks his teeth into the new album from Great Falls, out this Friday) It’s no secret that sludge-slinging noisemongers Great Falls were one of my highlights of this year’s edition of Northw...

(Andy Synn sinks his teeth into the new album from Great Falls, out this Friday) It’s no secret that sludge-slinging noisemongers Great Falls were one of my highlights of this year’s edition of Northw...

(written by Islander) We are helping spread the word about a powerful new album-length split that Transcending Obscurity Records will release on November 18th. Aptly titled Indomitable Hostility, the ...

(written by Islander) We are helping spread the word about a powerful new album-length split that Transcending Obscurity Records will release on November 18th. Aptly titled Indomitable Hostility, the ...

(Andy Synn is still large and in charge this weekend, so here’s four more recommendations from him) Islander is still AWOL I’m afraid (and, yes, there will be a court-martial when he gets back) so you...

(Andy Synn is still large and in charge this weekend, so here’s four more recommendations from him) Islander is still AWOL I’m afraid (and, yes, there will be a court-martial when he gets back) so you...

(Andy Synn is in charge today… woe unto us all) These are dark days, my friends. Our beloved overlord has abandoned us to go off and… checks notes… have something called “a social life”? Which means i...

(Andy Synn is in charge today… woe unto us all) These are dark days, my friends. Our beloved overlord has abandoned us to go off and… checks notes… have something called “a social life”? Which means i...

(written by Islander) Those of us who dwell in the moldering and morbid halls of NCS were first attracted to the Scottish death metal band Penny Coffin through their Conscripted Morality EP in 2023 (t...

(written by Islander) Those of us who dwell in the moldering and morbid halls of NCS were first attracted to the Scottish death metal band Penny Coffin through their Conscripted Morality EP in 2023 (t...

(Andy Synn gets ready to run with the wolves again, ahead of the release of their new album this Friday) There’s a commonly held belief… or a tacit acceptance, at least… that bands tend to mellow out ...

(Andy Synn gets ready to run with the wolves again, ahead of the release of their new album this Friday) There’s a commonly held belief… or a tacit acceptance, at least… that bands tend to mellow out ...

(written by Islander) “Raw, vicious and uncanny….” That’s the succinct summing-up offered by Helldprod Records for a new album named Awakening of Ancient Evil by the Finnish black/thrash duo Disembody...

(written by Islander) Transcending Obscurity Records doesn’t often release splits, but on November 20th they’re dropping one that’s likely to leave a smoking crater in the midst of the coming winter. ...

(written by Islander) The Swedish metal band Hyperion have not been prolific, and they do not work quickly. They didn’t release their first demo until roughly three years after their formation, and six more years passed before they released their 2016 debut album Seraphical Euphony. But who would have guessed that a decade would drift [...]

(Andy Synn heads into the slaughterhouse once again with Aussie antagonists To The Grave) Sweet zombie jesus… this is a heavy fucking album. And, to be quite honest, I could probably leave this review...

Recommended for fans of: Hacride, The Ocean, Benea Reach As the person who’s largely been responsible for featuring Hippotraktor here in the past, it only made sense for me to be the one to write abou...

Recommended for fans of: Hacride, The Ocean, Benea Reach As the person who’s largely been responsible for featuring Hippotraktor here in the past, it only made sense for me to be the one to write abou...

(written by Islander) Each of us who contributes to NCS has favorite bands (many of them!) that we try to follow over time, and we try to pay special attention to underground groups and projects who l...

(written by Islander) Each of us who contributes to NCS has favorite bands (many of them!) that we try to follow over time, and we try to pay special attention to underground groups and projects who l...

(Andy Synn has five recently, and one not-so-recently, released recommendations to share with you all today) People sometimes ask me how I stay on top of all the new releases every month, and the answ...

(Andy Synn once more serves as our in-house ambassador for the UK Metal scene) Like I’ve said before, many times, it’s impossible for any of us here at NCS to cover all the artists/albums we really wa...

(Andy Synn once more serves as our in-house ambassador for the UK Metal scene) Like I’ve said before, many times, it’s impossible for any of us here at NCS to cover all the artists/albums we really wa...

(written by Islander) Today we are most happy to renew your acquaintance with the Dutch black metal band Asgrauw, a member of the Zwotte Kring circle whose music we’ve enthusiastically covered since t...

(Andy Synn delivers another justified “exception to the rule” courtesy of Denmark’s Maunah) I was today years old (well, actually, by the time you’re reading this that won’t actually be true any more,...

(Andy Synn delivers another justified “exception to the rule” courtesy of Denmark’s Maunah) I was today years old (well, actually, by the time you’re reading this that won’t actually be true any more,...

(Andy Synn presents an exclusive premiere of one of the darkest, harshest albums of 2026) Success, or so they like to say, can be a double-edged sword. And the music business in particular is full of ...

(written by Islander) The prime curator of Personal Records continues to prove the depth and quality of his tastes by joining forces with the Belgian black metal band Bokkerijders for the release of t...

(Andy Synn takes a journey through a dying city with France’s Plèvre) This… is not the review I was supposed to be posting today. No, that review will now be coming next week, due to the fact that – j...

(Andy Synn takes a journey through a dying city with France’s Plèvre) This… is not the review I was supposed to be posting today. No, that review will now be coming next week, due to the fact that – j...

(written by Islander) As you know by now (or damned well should!), No Clean Singing is the chief sponsor of Seattle-based Northwest Terror Fest. Since the first year of the fest in 2017 we’ve been sup...

(written by Islander) Today we again find ourselves in the favored position of premiering a song from an album by the long-running Czech death metal band Cutterred Flesh. We have done this twice befor...

(written by Islander) Today we again find ourselves in the favored position of premiering a song from an album by the long-running Czech death metal band Cutterred Flesh. We have done this twice befor...

(written by Islander) Bone Eater is a New Brunswick-based death/doom/sludge unit, led as a solo outing by the multi-instrumentalist Scott Miller. Formed in 2021, it takes its name from a worm that bor...

(written by Islander) Bone Eater is a New Brunswick-based death/doom/sludge unit, led as a solo outing by the multi-instrumentalist Scott Miller. Formed in 2021, it takes its name from a worm that bor...

(Andy Synn presents six short-but-sweet releases from across the Hardcore spectrum) A book I read recently (and I’m just now realising that “recently” was actually months ago) brought up the topic of ...

(Andy Synn presents six short-but-sweet releases from across the Hardcore spectrum) A book I read recently (and I’m just now realising that “recently” was actually months ago) brought up the topic of ...

(Andy Synn catches up with a long-time NCS favourite and their long-awaited new album, out now) Correct me if I’m wrong, but eight years is a pretty long time to go between albums. Hell, in the last e...

(written by Islander) Over the last five years we’ve paid close attention to the horrid ambitions of the Virginia-based death-doom band Night Hag, beginning with a feature about music from their then-...

(written by Islander) Over the last five years we’ve paid close attention to the horrid ambitions of the Virginia-based death-doom band Night Hag, beginning with a feature about music from their then-...

(Andy Synn says to expect the unexpected when it comes to the new album from Krallice, out Friday) Love them or hate them (and, of a certainty, there’s plenty of folks in both camps) Krallice have lon...

(written by Islander) Hymns of Despair is the entirely fitting name of the debut album from Chicago-based Shrineburner. Press materials we’ve received describe the music as “earthquake-inducing”, and ...

(written by Islander) Hymns of Despair is the entirely fitting name of the debut album from Chicago-based Shrineburner. Press materials we’ve received describe the music as “earthquake-inducing”, and ...

(Andy Synn has a darkly dynamic Danish debut to recommend today) Being a music lover – and I mean a real music lover – means being constantly caught in a tug of war between listening to what you alrea...

(Andy Synn has some heavy music to share on this heavy Monday) Last week was a busy one for new releases, that’s for sure, and I hope to be able to catch up with at least some of them as the month goe...

(written by Islander) In February of this year we helped introduce listeners to Wince and Frisson, a “dissoblack and death metal” duo consisting of Triumvir Kaleido from North Carolina and Steve Wiene...