(Andy Synn is hoping for even bigger things for all three of these bands)
If everything has gone to plan, while you’re reading this I’m going to be in Seattle getting ready to attend another edition of Northwest Terror Fest.
And if something goes wrong?
Well, at least you’ll have this edition of “The Best of British” to remember me by.
ACCEPTANCE – CRUCIFIXION OF ORCHIDS
As the opening song from their debut album tells you, Acceptance‘s music is all about “Grief”, as channelled through the medium of five tracks of broodingly-atmospheric, bottom-end-heavy (trust me, the bass has some serious presence to it) Post-Black Metal that also betrays some noticeable (though not overwhelming) Crust and Sludge influences.
And while it is, as you might imagine, a distinctly dark and haunted album – with the spectre of grief and loss looming large over each and every track – it largely avoids the extravagant histrionics of DSBM in favour of a more morose and inward-looking approach (less “Depressive Suicidal Black Metal” more “Introspective Cathartic Black Metal”) which, nevertheless, absolutely bristles with raw, incandescent rage.
That rawness also extends to the overall sound of the album, whose unassumingly organic production – all tactile, textured distortion and thick, palpable bass, backed up by an ear-pleasingly natural, physical drum tone and topped off with an array of visceral, agonised shrieks – recalls the Blackened Crust vibes of bands like Iskra and Dawn Ray’d as much as Fall of Efrafa and Amenra (with the influence of the latter becoming more and more apparent as the album goes on).
And although there aren’t any weak songs on the album (a good thing too, as there’s only five tracks here in total) the biggest highlights – to my ears, at least – are scorching mid-album stand-out “Wither” and epic, eleven-and-a-half minute closer “Paradise”… albeit for very different reasons.
The former, for example, is seven minutes of blackened blastery and gloom-shrouded grooves (interwoven with threads of moody, introverted melody) built around an unforgettable and irresistible refrain of “I suffer, I wither, I rot at the end of a rope”, while the latter is a lengthy, immersive study in light and shade, chaos and calm, which leans more strongly towards the bleak and brooding Post Metal side of the group’s sound, as its final cry of “there is no light at the the end of the tunnel / because there is no light at all” sets the stage for a pulsing, hypnotic crescendo that elevates the emotional impact of the sound to an even higher level.
This is, if you hadn’t already guessed, a very good album, from a band who possess all the hallmarks of having great things ahead of them, so you’d be well advised to jump on the wagon right now before it gets too full!
EMPLOYED TO SERVE – FALLEN STAR
We’ve been covering Employed to Serve here at NCS for quite a while now – I’ve been a fan for over ten years, as it happens – and it’s been a real pleasure to watch their star slowly but surely rise to the point where they’re now getting major support slots at increasingly massive venues (they’ve just been announced as openers for the upcoming Killswitch Engage/Fit For An Autopsy/Decapitated tour in Europe later this year, for example).
Inevitably, of course, this is going to have an impact on the band’s sound – bigger shows require bigger songs, after all – and Fallen Star definitely showcases a conscious shift towards what you might deem a more “accessible” version of their sound, with tracks like “Atonement”, “Breaks Me Down”, and “Familiar Pain” opting for a more Killswitch-adjacent approach, while also continuing to showcase guitarist Sami Urwin’s love of spiky, Slipknot-esque riffs (and, speaking of the ‘knot… drummer Casey McHale is definitely channelling his inner Jordinson on this record, in what might just be a career-best performance).
The group have also drafted in a handful of high profile guests, including Lorna Shore‘s Will Ramos (who, to be brutally honest, adds very little to “Atonement”, which could easily have gotten by on the strength of Justine and Sami’s performances alone), Svalbard‘s Serena Cherry (who adds a totally different tonality and texture to “Last Laugh”, in what is arguably the best “guest spot” on the record) and KsE‘s own Jesse Leach (who absolutely dominates the second half of “Whose Side Are You On?”), whose presence on the album will hopefully help inch them that little bit closer to playing their own arena shows some time soon.
For me though – and this might just be because I’ve been a fan for such a long time – the best moments on Fallen Star are those which straddle the line between “arena-ready” band they’re becoming and the “club level” killers they used to be, with the likes of straight-for-the-throat opener “Treachery”, the stomping “Brother, Stand Beside Me”, and massively heavy mid-album highlight “Now Thy Kingdom Come” being among my personal favourites… though I can’t not mention, again, how good “Last Laugh” is, or how much I love “The Renegades” (which, it’s worth noting, didn’t need a guest appearance to achieve its full potential).
Sure, the title-track is a weirdly mawkish misfire, and the shift towards a more crowd-pleasing, “Heavy Metal Unity”, vibe might have some long-time fans worried that the band have “sold out” (whatever that means these days) but there’s still a lot to love about Fallen Star (I hope I’ve made that clear enough) and the band have more than earned every ounce and inch of success that is (hopefully) coming their way.
KNIVES – GLITTER
Despite only forming in 2022 (I think), and having only just released their first full-length album, Bristolian sextet Knives are already receiving a lot of buzz and rapidly racking up tour dates both in the UK and the EU (in fact, depending on when you’re reading this, they’re probably on the road in Europe right now)
And, in the absence of any obvious nepotism or “industry plant” allegations, I can only attribute this to the fact that the band have tapped directly into the zeitgeist, both musically and lyrically (with songs like pulse-pounding opener “The Dagger” and the anxiety-inducing “Rhinestone Cowboy” focussing their ire on xenophobic politicians and sociopathic landlords, respectively, while “PHD” and “Post Macho” reflect upon corruption and parasitism iin the music industry) in a way which connects with what so many of us are feeling right now.
Being in possession of such a uniquely eclectic, undeniably electric sound (think “punchy Post Hardcore meets predatory Post Punk meets jazzy Nu Metal”) it’s not necessarily all that easy to pin down Glitter as being “for fans of”, but references to the likes of At The Drive In, Killing Joke, Skindred, and Refused, should – even if they’re not 100% accurate descriptors of the group’s musical make-up – at least give you some sense of what to expect from their mix of jagged riffs, off-kilter grooves, and weirdly infectious, sax-drenched hooks.
Picking out specific highlights also isn’t that simple, as Knives prove to be impressively adept (and intriguingly unpredictable) songwriters, such that each track has something special to recommend it, while still staying firmly locked in to the group’s already solidly established sonic identity.
If pushed, however, I’d have to express – in addition to my instant love for both the aforementioned “The Dagger” and “Rhinestone Cowboy” – a slight preference for the danceably deviant “PHD”, the ominously atmospheric “Chroma” and the menacing slow-burn of “Ultraviolet” (while reserving special mention for the cruelly catchy chorus refrain of “You Think You Know”)… though to be honest I’ve yet to find a song I actually want to skip on any of my multiple re-listens to the record.
Look, I like to think I’m a pretty good judge of when a band is “the real deal” (versus when they’re just going through the motions) so I’m going to be very upset if it somehow turns out that Knives aren’t actually the real deal, as what they’ve done here feels so urgent and authentic and honest that I truly hope they go on to be the biggest band in the world (and if they ever fancy taking us on tour with them, all the better).