Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 176): OBSIDIAN MANTRA

Oct 312024

Recommended for fans of: Decapitated, Meshuggah, Replicant

It’s the end of another month, which means it’s time for another edition of The Synn Report.

But not only is it the end of another month, it’s also very close to the end of the year, meaning that – including this one – there’s only three more editions of this column left before the end of 2024.

So I’d better make each of them count, right?

Which is why today I’d like to direct your attention to the Polish powerhouse known as Obsidian Mantra and their hybrid blend of densely-wound, Decapitated-esque riffs and galvanised, Meshuggah-like grooves.

MITOCHONDRION – VITRISEPTOME

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Oct 302024

(Have they achieved enlightenment, or simply gone mad? Andy Synn sets out to see what eight years wandering the wilderness have done to Mitochondrion)

As we rocket towards the end of the year – looking at the calendar it appears I’ve got five, maybe six, weeks to start putting together my mammoth annual round-up of all the Good, Great, and Disappointing albums I’ve encountered since January – the pressure on my already limited time just seems to grow with each passing day.

But sometimes, when something special comes along… sometimes you just have to make time in order to give a record the review it deserves.

And the colossal, cacophonous new album from Mitochondrion – their first new release in eight years, and their first full-length album since 2011 – is one that both deserves, and demands, your full attention… and mine.

TRAKTAT – DOGMATIC ACCUSATIONS

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Oct 292024

(Andy Synn dons his black mask and his bullet belt to get gnarly with the new album from Traktat)

Some people say that you shouldn’t judge a book – or, in this case, an album – by its cover.

But when said cover depicts a single knife, rendered in rich, bloody red, on a dark, crimson-tinged background… well, let’s face it, you know things are about to get real.

FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY – THE NOTHING THAT IS

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 282024

(Andy Synn might be the biggest Fit For An Autopsy fan out of all of us, but he hasn’t let that stop him being critical of the band’s new album when necessary)

My first reaction to the new album from Fit For An Autopsy was, to be frank, one of disappointment.

Look, I know a lot of you are going to be mad that I wrote that, and you’ll probably be even more mad by the end of this review (though, please, do try and stay until the end, as there’s a few twists coming, and the added context will be important).

But the truth is that most of the pre-release tracks seemed fairly bland and toothless to me, and upon finally receiving the full album I quickly became concerned that the band had finally reached that point where they felt obliged to tone things down and play it safe in order to stay “on top”.

And, if we’re being honest with ourselves (and not just engaged in some sort of sycophantic parasocial relationship where the band can do no wrong), there’s probably at least a little truth to this – whether consciously or not – because much of the band’s new album, in line with their increasing status and popularity, feels like an attempt (whether a successful one or not depends on where you stand on these things) to capitalise on what’s already worked for them without necessarily moving things forward at all.

But, thankfully, that’s not all that The Nothing That Is… is.

SHORT BUT SAVAGE: DISENTOMB / EMASCULATOR / PERSECUTORY

SHORT BUT SWEET No Responses »

Oct 242024

(Andy Synn presents three short but savage releases to terrify your eardums)

Look, a while back I promised I’d be better at covering more EPs this year.

And, let’s face it, I have failed in that task pretty abjectly.

But I’m trying… which is why today I want to draw your attention to three recently-released (or upcoming) bite-sized portions of brutality courtesy of Disentomb, Emasculator and Persecutory.

UNEXPECTED SURPRISES: SERPENT COLUMN / UNDERNEATH

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Oct 222024

(Andy Synn highlights two surprise releases from last week)

Don’t you just love surprises?

Well, the good kind anyway… you know, like the unexpected return of a musical project you thought was gone for good, or another new album from a band who already produced one of your favourites of the year?

Because that’s exactly what we’re looking at (and listening to) today.

BEYOND GRACE – FRAGILE

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Oct 212024

(Andy Synn presents a brand new single… by his own band)

As it turns out, Islander, DGR, and I were all so busy this weekend that none of us had any time to prepare anything for NCS today.

So when the boss man asked if I wanted to take the opportunity to promote something of my own – which I generally feel a little weird doing here – I decided, for once, to take him up on the offer.

Because today we released a brand new single, a cover of Sting‘s 1987 anti-war anthem “Fragile“, and I’d love for you all to check it out!

SCHAMMASCH – THE MALDOROR CHANTS: OLD OCEAN

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 162024

(Andy Synn plumbs the depths of the new album from Schammasch, out next Friday)

Let me tell you something – I regard Schammasch‘s stunning second album, the now decade-old duology entitled Contradiction, to be one of the finest, yet also most underrated, Black Metal albums of the post-millennium period.

And while I understand and appreciate (and, to an extent, share) the love for Triangle – their even more ambitious triple-disc follow-up – and the way it allowed them to explore three subtly different aspects of their sound, the truth is that nothing since then has quite managed to achieve that same balance between esoteric creativity and focussed fluidity (with 2019’s Hearts of No Light in particular being a collection of artistically intriguing tracks which still, somehow, felt like less than the sum of its parts).

So when I say that Old Ocean is, in my opinion at least, the band’s strongest, most consistent, and most captivating work since 2014… you’ll understand how much that means.

VOMIT FORTH – TERRIFIED OF GOD

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Oct 152024

(Andy Synn says that when you’re as heavy as Vomit Forth it doesn’t really matter what they call you)

It’s funny how the use of certain words, certain terms, can prompt such drastically different reactions.

Case in point, if I were to call the new album from Connecticut crushers Vomit Forth a “Death Metal” album there’d be a bunch of people who’d immediately go and check it out purely because of that… and just as many people ready to string me up for daring to call it that.

But if I were to call it a “Deathcore” album? Well, those self-same people would either immediately hate it… or get mad at me for insulting the band.

The thing is – after having listened to it a hell of a lot over the last week or two – Terrified of God absolutely is what I’d call a “Deathcore” record… one which has just as much in common with the likes of The Acacia Strain and Black Tongue as it does Cannibal Corpse or Suffocation… but that’s nothing to be afraid of!

ORYX – PRIMORDIAL SKY

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 112024

(Andy Synn follows the migratory patterns of the majestic Oryx as they prepare to release their new album)

To witness a band go from “good” to “great” – as Oryx did with 2021’s Lamenting a Dead World – is one of the great pleasures for a music writer/reviewer.

But being there to see them go from not just “great” to truly “world-class” is an even rarer phenomenon.

Which is why you should all keep an ear out for the band’s newest – and best – album next week.

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