Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

ACATHEXIS – IMMERSE

Mar 212024

(Today Andy Synn submerges himself in the new album from Acathexis, out now)

In the intro to my review ~~yesterday~~ two days ago (sorry, it was meant to run on Wednesday, but we ended up not having space for it) I wrote about how, at its heart, music is all about communicating something – an idea, an emotion, a sensation – that cannot be expressed any other way.

And, yet, the artist has no control about how their work will be received or interpreted, as what each listener hears and gets out of their work will be – to some extent – entirely unique.

Which got me thinking a little about what we do here at NCS – namely, trying to process our own thoughts, reactions, and emotional responses to music into words in the hope that they resonate with people (or, at least, provide them with some useful context) despite the fact that the essence, the qualia, of our experiences(s) can never be fully transmitted to another person (and, even if they were… how would we ever know?).

But still we try, because we want to share our experience with others and because we want others to have that experience for themselves… and while no two listeners are ever likely to respond in the exact same way to Immerse, the new album from borderless Black Metal collective Acathexis, we have no doubt that those with ears to hear it will come to love it as we have.

HADIT – METAPHYSICAL ENGINES APPROACHING THE EVENT HORIZON

Album Reviews No Responses »

Mar 192024

(Andy Synn can’t resist the pull of the new album from Hadit, out now on I, Voidhanger)

I recently stumbled across some online… let’s call it “discourse”, to be polite… about how the Metal scene is dying (it isn’t, obviously) because no-one values innovation any more.

Digging deeper, the gist of the argument appeared to be that Metal fans hate anything new and that only the originators of any particular style have anything worthwhile to offer.

Now, glossing over the inherent contradiction in this (as well as the fact that it ignores the iterative nature of musical evolution) what really saddened me about this attitude – in addition to its shamelessly self-righteous nature – was that, despite pretending to be more “enlightened”, it basically ignores the central idea that art is, primarily, a means of expression and communication, through melody, tone, and rhythm, in favour of a view that seems to see music as little more than an extension of the capitalist growth machine, one which must always be “innovating” to provide fresh “product”… regardless of whether it actually has anything meaningful to say.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that bands shouldn’t grow and evolve, it’s just that it should only be done on their own terms and in their own time – as Hadit so clearly demonstrate on their recently-released second album.

DÖDSRIT – NOCTURNAL WILL

Album Reviews No Responses »

Mar 182024

(Andy Synn kicks off his week with the new album from Dödsrit, out Friday)

There’s a certain type of person – trust me, I’ve encountered them a fair few times – who becomes inordinately angry if you try to talk about Dödsrit as being a “Black Metal” band.

But, of course, I highly doubt that Dödsrit themselves are all that fussed about the ongoing “he said, she said” of whether or not they’re “Black Metal enough” for the purists (surely that would be antithetical to the whole ethos of the genre anyway?) since they’ve been far too busy building an impressive career for themselves, on their own terms, to care about such petty concerns.

However – and here’s where things get interesting – the question of whether or not Dödsrit are still a Black Metal band, or how much of one they are, is actually very relevant when it comes to the release of their new album… though, perhaps, not quite in the way you might expect.

BEST OF BRITISH: MASTIFF / MIDAS FALL / SLIMELORD

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Mar 132024

(Andy Synn highlights three more home-grown heroes)

Some of you may have noticed (or maybe you haven’t, I don’t know how much attention you all pay to what we do around here) that my “Best of British” articles rarely feature any of the “bigger” names (relatively speaking) from the UK scene.

Partially that’s because, obviously, the site’s general ethos is to dedicate more of our time and energy to the less-exposed, less “mainstream-friendly” bands out there, but it’s also because, to be honest, a lot of the bigger names and famous faces just… don’t really do it for me.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s lots of bands whose “mainstream-friendly” sound still appeals to me – bands who play and perform with just as much conviction and creativity as any of their more self-consciously “underground” cousins – but there’s a certain formula for success, carefully curated and algorithmically adjusted for maximum appeal, that some groups follow which simply sounds hollow to my ears.

But I think it’s safe to say that none of these three bands – one we’ve covered here before, one we’ve clearly overlooked for far too long, and one making their highly anticipated (and already highly praised) full-length debut this year – are what you would call “formulaic”.

JUDAS PRIEST – INVINCIBLE SHIELD

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Mar 122024

(Andy Synn has a lot of love for the new album from a little band called Judas Priest)

It’s been well-documented by now, I’m sure, but it’s worth reiterating that – despite our slowly growing profile (and, as an aside, let me say thank you to all of you for continuing to read, and recommend, our various well-intentioned witterings) – our focus here at NCS is more on covering and critiquing (positively, for the most part) less well-known and more underground/under-exposed acts, rather than the big names and famous faces.

So when a little bird told me about a new album from a bunch of up-and-coming young whippersnappers by the name of Judas Priest – great name by the way guys, I’m surprised it wasn’t already taken – I decided to take a chance and give Invincible Shield a listen, since it’s always cool to be able to say you were into a band right before they blew up, right?

ECCLESIA – ECCLESIA MILITANS

Album Reviews No Responses »

Mar 112024

(Andy Synn steps up to take communion with the new album from Ecclesia, out now)

While our site’s name may be a little tongue-in-cheek (even if some people seem to take it way too seriously) it’s true that we don’t write about the clean-sung variants of Metal – Trad, Power, “classic” Doom, etc – very often.

But there are certainly exceptions to this “rule”, and today’s exception goes by the name Ecclesia Militans.

HECATONCHEIR – NIGHTMARE UTOPIA

Album Reviews No Responses »

Mar 072024

(Nightmare Utopia, the debut album from Hecatoncheir, is out now on Total Dissonance Worship)

As we’ve said several times, one of the reasons we keep doing this is because we love discovering new music, and we love sharing our discoveries with people.

Hell, if we didn’t have this blog we’d probably just be running up to people in the streets and screaming at them about how good the latest Blackened Post-Progressive Doom-core release is… and, according to the authorities, we’re not supposed to do that any more.

So when I first stumbled across Nightmare Utopia, the debut album from talented Slovakian Dissonant Death Metal trio Hecatoncheir, last week I knew immediately that I wanted to write about it and spread the word.

And while it took me a little longer than I’d hoped to find space in my schedule, I’m hoping you’ll agree that the wait was more than worth it, as this is one of the most promising debuts I’ve heard so far this year.

ABORTED – VAULT OF HORRORS

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Mar 062024

(Andy Synn plays armchair casting director with the new Aborted, set for release on March 15)

In the almost twenty-five(!) years since their first album, Aborted have proven themselves – on multiple occasions – to be one of the most relentlessly reliable purveyors of sonic shock and awe in the business.

But, as with any long-running franchise, audience-fatigue is always a constant concern, and while the group’s sound (and membership, with frontman Sven de Caluwé being the only original cast member left) has generally proven to be mutable and malleable enough to differentiate different entries in the series from one another, for the most part – for better or worse – you kind of know what you’re going to get with a new Aborted record.

On album number twelve, however, the band have opted to get some extra buzz – and maybe even a bit of a box office boost – by drafting in a plethora of guest stars, and while this isn’t exactly a new strategy by any means, the sheer number of famous names making an appearance this time around (one on each of the album’s ten tracks – none of whom are me, I’m sorry to say) can’t help but make me wonder whether this a case of shallow stunt-casting or a proper creative cross-over (although there’s no reason it can’t be both, I suppose).

So, with that in mind, instead of simply telling you whether it’s a good album or not (it is, don’t worry) or even how good it is (very, as it happens, due to an extra dash of “blackened” melody and brutish ‘core influences), I’ve decided – mostly for my own amusement, but hopefully for yours too – to take a slightly different approach with this review and focus my attention on how effective these guest features are and what they add (or don’t).

So let’s see who has chemistry and who’s been miscast, shall we?

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Mar 042024

(Andy Synn presents four artists/albums from February that may have flown under your radar)

While I obviously love putting together these “Things You May Have Missed” columns and using them as an opportunity to highlight a handful of bands that you (and we) might otherwise have overlooked, one thing I don’t love is having to compromise and make hard choice about who to include, and who to leave out.

Sure, keeping it to just four entries is a lot easier on my typing fingers (and a lot less demanding of my time) but I absolutely hate the fact that I have to leave so many deserving releases off the list.

So, please, as well as listening to the quartet of releases I’ve selected to highlight this month, try and make some time to check out the latest records from Fange, Pyra, Stiriah, Devine Defilement, Vanta, Terramorta, Theophonos… and, well, I could go on!

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 168): BLACK KNIFE

THE SYNN REPORT 2 Responses »

Feb 292024

Recommended for fans of: Midnight, Hellripper, Goatwhore

Let me tell you a story about why it’s important to strike while the iron (or knife) is hot.

Having first discovered self-described “Heavy Metal Punx from Hell” Black Knife back at the end of 2021, and then enjoying their third (and, sadly, final) album, Baby Eater Witch, last year, I decided that I’d pick up the band’s entire back-catalogue on cd for #BandcampFriday at the start of February

But no, it was not to be, since – due to their decision to break-up (which I hadn’t even heard about) – they’d recently sold out of every single copy of both their debut album, Spell Caster and it’s fantastic follow-up, Murder Season, so I ended up missing out on the chance to add both to my collection.

So, with that in mind, I hereby encourage you all to check out what brimstone snortin’, bullet-belt wearin’, d-beat lovin’ devil-worshippers Black Knife have to offer in this latest edition of The Synn Report, because while the band may now have been laid to rest, their music is still very much alive and kicking.

Older Entries Newer Entries