Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

CRYPT SERMON -THE STYGIAN ROSE

Jun 172024

(Andy Synn goes on an epic journey with the new album from Crypt Sermon, out now)

I know what some of you are thinking – “but there’s clean singing in this!”

I know this because, without fail, someone will make some version of this comment on our social media without thinking, a) perhaps they’re fully aware of that, or b) maybe this suggests that the site’s name shouldn’t be taken entirely seriously?

Sure, we’re partly to blame (actually, it’s Islander who’s mostly to blame, as he’s the one who came up with the damn name as a response to the early 2000s trend of bands shoehorning in big clean-sung choruses in a desperate attempt to appeal to the mainstream) but… c’mon folks, if you’ve spent more than five minutes with us here at NCS you must have noticed that we cover a lot of bands who don’t just use harsh vocals.

And one of those bands, whom we’ve covered numerous times, is Crypt Sermon, who just released what might be the best album of their career so far.

KVAEN – THE FORMLESS FIRES

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Jun 132024

(Does the fire still burn, or have Kvaen started cooling off? Our own Andy Synn finds out)

Success, or so they say, can be a double-edged sword. And they’re not necessarily wrong.

It’s something you see even in our beloved Metal scene (where what counts as “success” tends to vary depending on who you ask) – from bands who suddenly get a taste of mainstream acclaim and end up having to simplify and sanitise their sound to satisfy their new audience, to artists whose debut album set such a high bar that everything else they subsequently produce is inevitably judged (and often found wanting) in comparison.

And while Kvaen (aka the solo project of multi-instrumental marvel Jacob Björnfot) haven’t encountered the former issue just yet, there’s definitely an argument to be made that the arc of their career thus far has erred more towards the latter – in the sense that, as good as 2022’s The Great Below was (I even said so myself) it ultimately didn’t quite reach the same heights, or possess the same staying power, as their outstanding debut.

But just because success can cut both ways doesn’t mean that lightning can’t strike twice… so maybe the third time will be the charm?

COWARDICE – ATAVIST

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Jun 122024

(Andy Synn recommends making time to immerse yourself in the bleak beauty of Atavist, out now)

Damn, there were a lot of good albums released last week, huh? And I mean a lot.

Just off the top of my head (and not including Oubliette, who I’ve already written about) there’s Umbra Vitae, Terminal Function, Houle, Swelling Repulsion, Lascar, Brazen Tongue, Thanatotherion, Fractal Generator… the list goes on… only some of whom I’m likely to get to writing about before the month is over.

But the reason I picked Cowardice, out of all the aforementioned possibilities (and all the unmentioned ones), is because – in defiance of their chosen moniker – they’re clearly not afraid to take risks.

Why else would they choose to make their new album (their second overall, and their first full-length release in eight years) an absolutely massive double-disc affair, clocking in at just under eighty five minutes of sorrowful, yet spellbinding, Sludge/Doom?

OUBLIETTE – ETERNITY WHISPERS

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Jun 102024

(Andy Synn finds that the new album from Oubliette, out now, is far from torturous)

There are a lot of bands out there that I happen to think are over-hyped and overrated.

But this isn’t about them.

This is about a band who’ve yet to receive anywhere near the attention and acclaim for their music – a stunning blend of scorching intensity, soaring melody, and scintillating technicality which bridges the gap between Panopticon and Insomnium while still adding its own distinctive flair and flavour – which they so richly deserve.

And, I’ll cop to it, some of that is our fault, as although we’ve featured the band here a few times over the years, this is the first time any of us has actually managed to find time to sit down and give them a full write-up.

So let’s make it count, shall we?

HIPPOTRAKTOR – STASIS

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Jun 062024

(Andy Synn is far from indifferent to the new album from Hippotraktor, out tomorrow on Pelagic Records)

Contrary to popular belief, there is at least some method to our madness here at NCS.

I’ll grant you, said method mostly just amounts to us messaging each other back and forth going “do you want this… I can do it if you don’t have time… ok, you do that one instead…” but it’s a method that mostly/sort of/kinda works.

Case in point, my man DGR originally had Hippotraktor‘s new one pencilled in on his review queue but eventually yielded it to me when he realised that, with everything else going on, he just wouldn’t have time to give it the attention it deserved.

And since it was me who originally wrote about the band here, way back in 2021 when I reviewed their first album, it only made sense that I be the one to pick up the slack.

So let’s see how much the band have changed in the last three years, or whether they’ve just remained… in stasis.

ÆTHĔRĬA CONSCĬENTĬA – THE BLOSSOMING

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Jun 052024

(Andy Synn continues to enjoy the blooming of Æthĕrĭa Conscĭentĭa‘s sound on their new album)

If there’s one thing I can say about NCS, it’s that we are loyal to the bands we choose to cover (sometimes to a fault) and… wait, that’s how I started my last review for this band.

Let’s try this again.

If there’s one thing we love here at NCS it’s discovering new, underground bands and then following them as they grow and change and evolve over the years.

And considering this is the third time I’m going to be writing about French Progronauts Æthĕrĭa Conscĭentĭa I think it’s safe to say that we’re in this for the long haul.

So let’s see what strange delights they have for us this time, shall we?

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Jun 042024

(Andy Synn catches up with four albums from a mammoth May that you might have overlooked)

It was my immense good fortune to spend a good chunk of May travelling and seeing bands, first with a trip to Seattle for another excellent edition of North West Terrorfest, and then a jaunt to Baltimore to sample the delights of another Maryland Deathfest.

And since my travels gave me an opportunity to read and listen to music, I decided to make the most of it by re-immersing myself in a few of my favourite albums from the last few decades, with the result being that I probably ended up listening to fewer new releases last month than you might have come to expect.

That doesn’t mean I’ve been completely out of the loop, by any means (just give that handy “Andy Synn” tag a quick click and you’ll see that I still wrote a bunch of reviews, including several designed to cover our down-time during both the above festivals), it’s just that there’s probably going to be a few more “catching up” pieces to come after this one as well (most notably a review of the new Árstíðir Lífsins, whenever I get around to it).

As always, however, I’d like to begin a new month with four favourites from last month which I think deserve a bit more attention and acclaim, so let’s not waste any more time and just get right down to it, shall we?

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 171): DEMANDE À LA POUSSIÈRE

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Jun 012024

Recommended for fans of: LLNN, Amenra, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber

French quartet Demande à la poussière, having formed in 2017 and released their first album in 2018, have spent the last several years defining and refining a sound for themselves which combines the doom-laden density of Sludge and the haunting atmospheric heaviness of Post-Metal with a substantial Black Metal edge.

And with the recent release of their third album, Kintsugi, at the beginning of last month, now felt like the perfect time to take a comprehensive look at their already impressive back-catalogue.

VÁSTÍGR – THE PATH OF PERDITION

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May 302024

(Andy Synn walks the path of perdition with Vástígr, whose new album is out now)

Let me begin things today with a short aside, if I may?

The subject of this particular review is one of several excellent bands playing Ascension Festival in Iceland in July, which various members of the NCS extended family will be attending again this year.

Unfortunately, the festival is currently struggling with higher-than-usual costs and lower-than-average ticket sales, the combination of which have put the future of the event in serious doubt.

So if you’re still going back-and-forth about whether to pick up a ticket this year, now is the time to do so… and, to help encourage you even more, here’s some fantastic music you can expect to hear from Vástígr at this year’s festival.

COBRA THE IMPALER – KARMA COLLISION

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May 282024

(Andy Synn collides with the new album from Cobra the Impaler, out Friday on Listenable Records)

Greetings all!

Today I’m writing to you from the airport lounge at the Baltimore/Washington International airport, having just spent the last few days enjoying the sights and sounds (well, mostly the sounds) of another fantastic edition of Maryland Deathfest.

This has nothing to do with the subject of today’s review, however, it just felt like something worth mentioning as I/we get back into the regular swing of things here at NCS this week.

Anyway… last time we checked in with Belgian Prog-Metal types Cobra the Impaler I was lavishing praise upon their debut album, Colossal Gods, and describing it as a strikingly melodic, multifaceted mix of Mastodon, Alice in Chains, and Byzantine.

But, as DGR recently pointed out to me – and which their upcoming new album, Karma Collision, has only reinforced – it turns out I was ever so slightly off-base with one of those comparisons.

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