Nov 132019
 


Katharos XIII

 

(In this article Andy Synn combines enthusiastic reviews of three 2019 albums that are departures from our normal musical fare.)

One of the oddest things I’ve observed recently is a surprising number of people bemoaning the fact that “underground sites/magazines don’t cover enough mainstream bands”.

This seems like an odd complaint to make. Not only do mainstream/popular bands already get more than enough attention/coverage, but choosing to read a site/zine which specialises in a certain area, only to then moan about that speciality, feels like an exercise in futility.

Thankfully this doesn’t really affect us here at NCS all that much, as while we do prefer to cover artists and albums that don’t necessarily get a lot of exposure elsewhere, we’re also not afraid to write about more mainstream or popular bands when we feel the occasion calls for it.

This also extends to writing about artists/albums whose work is an “exception to the rule” when it comes to our “no clean singing” policy (although, let’s be honest, that was always more of an in-joke than an actual edict), as while the three bands featured here today are far from “mainstream” they’re still all far more melodic, far more listenable, and far more laid-back than the majority of what we usually cover. Continue reading »

Jun 162017
 

 

(We present another edition of Andy Synn’s three-line reviews.)

With Islander and associates currently knee-deep in the complexities and logistics of this weekend’s Northwest Terror Fest, it looks like it’s fallen to me to try and keep the lights on around here.

Honestly, the things I do for this place…

Anyway, to keep things ticking over, here’s a little something to highlight three bands who have, so far, slipped between the cracks of our usually comprehensive coverage (other than a couple of mentions in some round-ups), all of whom lean towards the darker, more atmospheric side of things. Continue reading »