Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Mar 032026

(Andy Synn tries his best to catch you up with some of what you may have missed last month)

Today’s edition of “Things You May Have Missed” is going to be another bumper one – six albums, instead of the usual four – due to the ridiculous number of new releases that came out in February.

In fact, here’s an abbreviated list of everything that didn’t make the cut this time around, just so you can see what I’ve been struggling with – including Ashbringer, Atlas, Ensanguinate, Diespnea, Farson, Fayenne, Fossilization, Howling, Misotheist, Muertissima, Palaces, and Puke Wolf – all of which are well worth checking out (Advent of Wounds in particular is likely to make an appearance on a lot of “end of year” lists).

There’s a small chance, of course, that I might find time to do a follow-up article to this one covering some of the above artists/albums in depth… but don’t bet on it (after all, the more time I spend on last month the less time I have to dedicate to albums from this month).

However, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by the bands I’ve selected for today’s article – some of which have received very little coverage elsewhere, as far as I can tell, and several of whom are making their first appearance here at our site as well – which, hopefully, cover a pretty wide spread of styles and (sub)genres, meaning there should be something for almost everyone here.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 192): JUODVARNIS

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Mar 022026

Recommended for fans of: Vintersorg, Enslaved, (early) Sólstafir

When one talks about “Progressive Black Metal” there are certain names that tend to get mentioned the most (some of which I’ve noted above already).

But Lithuania’s Juodvarnis (who recently released their 4th album) tend to get overlooked, which is a damn shame because the band’s evolution – their progress, if you will – has been a real joy to watch/hear.

Beginning as a a more ruggedly melodic, folk-ish band of brothers, the group have slowly evolved in an increasingly heavier and more “blackened” direction, which reached its apex on January’s outstanding Tékmés and – luckily for all you folks reading this right now – today’s edition of The Synn Report will give you an opportunity to follow the group’s creative progress/process right from the beginning all the way up until their current incarnation.

TRESPASSER – יְהִי אוֹר

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Feb 252026

(Andy Synn prepares to burn it all down again with the new album from Black Metal anarchists Trespasser)

Despite what you might think, I don’t necessarily have to agree with a band’s beliefs in order to enjoy and appreciate their music (the sheer number of Christian, Satanic, or otherwise religious bands I’ve written about and recommended over the years is testament to that).

Don’t get me wrong, there are certain ideologies, etc, I choose not to engage with or support – and that is very much my personal line to draw – but, for the most part, there’s just something about a band who truly believes in what they’re singing/screaming about which makes them far more engaging to me.

And, make no mistake about it, Swedish anarcho-philosophers Trespasser have never been afraid to wear their beliefs and ideals right out on their sleeves.

ROSA FAENSKAP – INGENTING FORBLIR

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Feb 242026

(Andy Synn recommends the new album from one of the most vital new voices in the underground)

If you’ve been in this game for a while, like I have, chances are you’ll have come across quite a few sites/zines/writers who only really cover “big” name bands (usually signed to well-known labels) in the hope of receiving some reciprocal attention and/or access in return.

And while we’ll occasionally cover some “bigger” (relatively speaking) names here at NCS – no-one’s going to be accusing Kreator of being “underground” any time soon, after all – that’s never been our primary focus.

I’ll grant you, in the past we’ve occasionally had a guest writer or two who’ve crossed the line from honest advocacy into outright sycophancy, but when it comes to the core cadre – myself, Islander, and DGR – we at least try to provide some context and justification for our recommendations, rather than just regurgitating the provided press-release materials and calling it a day.

But, let me tell you, as hard as we may try to maintain this self-imposed sense of pseudo-objectivity, it’s not always easy to do so, especially when it comes to an album like Ingenting Forblir… but I’ll try my best.

BEST OF BRITISH: CRYPTIC SHIFT / GOOD TIGER / SIDIOUS

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Feb 232026

(Andy Synn serves up three more examples of high-quality British beef for your ears)

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating all the same… the UK Metal scene is as vital and as vibrant and as varied right now as it’s ever been.

And one of the reasons this particular column exists is to help highlight that variety – and today’s post is particularly diverse in its stylistic scope – beyond the borders of this green and pleasant (though currently quite wet) land.

Obviously I can’t cover everything that issues from these shores every year – for one thing, there’s some albums that I just don’t want or feel the need to cover – but hopefully I can help out at least a few of my fellows by exposing their music to a more international audience.

So, without further ado, let’s get to it… shall we?

INGRINA – NÅVÆRENDE LYSS

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Feb 192026

(Andy Synn is here to encourage you to lose yourselves in the new album from French Post-Metal collective Ingrina)

Here’s a funny story for you.

Recently, quite out of the blue, we received an email asking us – and I swear I’m not making this up – to stop using so many words in our reviews and to just boil things down to a score out of 10 at the end of each article so that they were more “useful”.

And while you almost have to admire the sheer gall it takes to contact us directly and ask us to change who we are and what we do purely for someone else’s convenience – as if that was ever going to elicit a positive response – it got me thinking about the power of expectations (particularly the wrong expectations) and how important it is to approach things on their own terms.

Which brings us, nice and neatly, to the new album from Ingrina.

KILLING PACE – HCPM

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Feb 182026

(Andy Synn burns down genre boundaries with the new album from Killing Pace)

Did you know that I did my disseration on the concept of “categorical perception”?

In particular I was looking at the ways in which your (for want of a better term) perspective – dictated by your social, cultural, and even geographical, influences – affects your perception of things like language (specifically speech sounds), colour, and more.

Why am I mentioning this? Well, it’s because the way we categorise sub-genres also seems to follow a lot of the rules of “categorical perception”

Let’s face it, Death Metal that becomes increasingly more “blackened” until turns into “Blackened Death Metal” can easily just tip over into straight up Black Metal (and vice versa)… Hardcore combined with Metal becomes “Metallic Hardcore”, which in turn, at some point, becomes “Metalcore” (a term which itself means different things to different people, depending on their background and history), and so on…- to the point where even if the sonic spectrum appears pretty continuous we generally choose to draw some pretty hard lines and separate it into discrete little areas, if only to help us more easily manage the sheer wealth of music we’re exposed to.

But what’s really interesting about all that – to me, anyway – is the fact that while these sub-genre categories can be a useful tool, sometimes how you choose to categorise a band says more about you than them.

Which, of course, brings us to the new album from self-declared “Hardcore Punk Metal” crew Killing Pace.

SHORT BUT SWEET: GLASSBONE / KANONENFIEBER / MUDTOOTH

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Feb 172026

(Andy Synn has three more bite-sized blasts of brutality to share with you today)

As we all know, short-form releases (splits, EPs, and the like) tend to get the… ahem… short end of the stick when it comes to coverage (especially amongst the larger and/or more mainstream publications, who tend to prioritise full length albums, for obvious reasons).

Last year, however, I managed to reverse this trend a little, covering more EPs than I did the year before that… and in 2026 I’m hoping to continue expanding our coverage of releases best described as “short but sweet”.

BEST OF BRITISH: 1986 / MOLOCH / UNMOTHER

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Feb 122026

(Andy Synn compiles three more albums from his “local” scene that he’d like you to check out)

As the resident Brit here at NCS, I’ve made it my mission to highlight as many bands from these green and (un)pleasant lands as I possibly can each year (with last year in particular being a big one in that regard).

And while this process hasn’t always gone smoothly – there have been at least a handful of bands over the years who haven’t taken kindly to my coverage, even though it always skews positive, because they didn’t think I praised them enough – generally speaking I’m proud of the fact that I’ve helped spread the word about our vibrant, versatile “scene”… even if that “scene” hasn’t always been kind to me in return.

Today’s triptych of recent and/or upcoming albums features a promising, if imperfect, debut (1986), an extremely ambitious second album that serves as something of a creative reboot/rebirth (Unmother), and the latest release in a long-running, uncompromising career of unrepentant ugliness (Moloch), all of which come with my personal recommendation.

PONTE DEL DIAVOLO – DE VENOM NATURA

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Feb 112026

(Andy Synn crosses the devil’s bridge once more)

It was almost exactly two years ago that Italian diabolists Ponte Del Diavolo released their debut album, Fire Blades From the Tomb, and although I didn’t catch up to it immediately I did manage to pen a review as part of that month’s “Things You May Have Missed“.

This time around, however, I’m (just) ahead of the game, as their new album, De Venom Natura, is set to come out this Friday, meaning I get the chance to help set your expectations ever so slightly in advance.

So, without further ado… let’s see where this bridge takes us, shall we?

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