Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

DGR’s… HELL I DON’T KNOW, HERE’S SOME MUSIC FROM 2023: 30-21

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Jan 102024

(We’re half-way through the week and half-way through DGR‘s round-up of his favourites from 2023)

Part three is where this list starts to journey up its own ass a little bit [Starts? – Andy].

In between my penchant for Death and Grind truly starting to show itself here, you’ll notice a lot of the critical favorites that’ve been going around maybe poking their heads up.

I don’t consider myself truly in touch with “the scene” as a whole – I’ve happily ensconced myself in a comfortably corner here – yet occasionally one or two do land on these far shores and get noticed.

This one has a couple of odd blocks to it – you’ll see them right about the time I call them out – there’s multiple forms of insanely dumb on here as well as insanely smart, and if you like some high peaks and some low, guttural valleys, I think I’ve got a pretty even spread on this part of the list.

Thirty or so is where things start to harden a little more when it comes to exact number placement so now you can start your arguing as if what’s written here is written in stone. Just remember that stone can be blown up too.

DGR’s… HELL I DON’T KNOW, HERE’S SOME MUSIC FROM 2023: 40-31

LISTMANIA 2023 5 Responses »

Jan 092024

(DGR continues his run-down of his favourite releases of 2023)

This segment is an intriguing one for me because you start to see a few of the EPs I enjoyed throughout the year popping up.

I’ll go deeper into why I didn’t split them out as I come across them but alongside all of that noise there’s a bunch of the weirder and more challenging works of my year.

There’s hooks and power-choruses to be found for sure but some these groups are going to make you work to get there.

This is also where a lot of my old favorites find themselves – its like how I have a fondness for Mountain Dew, I know what one tastes like and I know that I still whole heartedly enjoy a particularly good one – since they’re known factors and did very good versions of their sound.

They deserve to be highlighted and rewarded for that even as I explored elsewhere for much of 2023 as I think I did hit a bit of a breaking point when it came to having simply good additions to a group’s overall discography.

The next edition should be equally exciting if I ever get up to fighting my way through it as I think there’ll be a lot of interesting names there – though I assure you its none of your favorites, so stop asking.

DGR’s… HELL I DON’T KNOW, HERE’S SOME MUSIC FROM 2023: 50-41

LISTMANIA 2023 1 Response »

Jan 082024

(DGR is doing his own mini-takeover of the site this week, counting down his top 50 albums of 2023)

To put things exceptionally bluntly I didn’t know if I was going to do a year end roundup this time.

Things have been exceptionally tough at home in regards to personal family matters and it’s been difficult to try to build up the will to do much of anything.

It’s an ongoing process that will likely be that way for a long fucking time.

However, I think that my reason for doing these remains the same because it does allow me to send the year off in a funeral pyre – though it’s not the only one I’m lighting this time.

ENGULF – THE DYING PLANET WEEPS

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Jan 042024

(Andy Synn turns his attention to the highly-anticipated debut album from Engulf, out 12 January)

There are two well-known truisms which spring to mind when listening to The Dying Planet Weeps.

The first is that “good artists borrow, great artists steal” – which states that while good artists borrow ideas from their influences, while still owing them a debt, the great ones simply take what they need and make it their own.

The other is that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (or, more accurately, “the whole is something besides the parts”, in its more accurate translation) – which is to suggest that defining the essence of something is about more than just describing the individual elements it’s made of.

And, make no mistake about it, while Engulf (aka New Jersey native Hal Microutsicos) assuredly steal from some of the very best here – you’ll find bits and pieces purloined from the likes of Morbid Angel, Immolation, Pestilence and Gorguts, and more besides, woven throughout The Dying Planet Weeps – the final product is certainly more than just the sum of these iconic inspirations.

RESIN TOMB – CEREBRAL PURGATORY

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Jan 022024

(Andy Synn kicks off the new year in style with down-under death-dealers Resin Tomb)

Almost exactly twelve months ago my first review of 2023 was for the debut album by an Australian band (whose previous EP had already impressed me) which I declared the first truly great Death Metal record of the year.

And while they say (quite incorrectly, as it turns out) that lightning never strikes twice and that history never repeats… here we are again in precisely the same situation.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 166): TORPOR

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Dec 292023

Recommended for fans of: Neurosis, LLNN, Cult of Occult

Traditionally the last post from me every month is a new edition of The Synn Report, and since it’s December that makes this one my last post of the entire year.

The group I’ve selected this time around straddle the nexus point between Sludge, Post-Metal, and Doom and have, over the course of three albums (the most recent of which, released in September of this year, was so close to making it onto my “Critical Top Ten” that leaving it off the list actually caused me physical pain) built themselves up a reputation as one of the heaviest, and best, bands in the UK.

So please, allow me to introduce you to UK trio Torpor.

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Dec 282023

(Andy Synn delivers one final retrospective on albums from 2023 you may have overlooked)

Hey everyone, I’m back, feeling fully refreshed and ready to rumble after my week (and a bit) hiatus.

Before I get fully stuck into 2024’s upcoming slate of releases I’ve got two more pieces for 2023 for you all to enjoy – namely my last Synn Report of the year (coming on Friday) and this extra-big edition of “Things You May Have Missed”.

Now unlike previous editions, this one won’t just be focussing on albums from the last month (though there’s seven – I think – albums from December featured here) but will also take a look back at certain albums from the past year that I either didn’t get the chance to cover at the time, didn’t discover until much later, or just wanted to highlight one more time for people to check out.

Of course, even so there’s more artists and albums I wanted to include than I had space or time for – so I’d urge you, if you have any extra time, to check out the new Moonreich (which almost made my “Personal Top Ten“, Rosa Faenskap (which did) and Witch Ripper (which I know was on my “Critical Top Ten“, but still seems to have flown under a few radars) – but first, feel free to go through everything I’ve featured here (which I’ve broken up into separate sub-categories) and check out a few things you may have missed!

2023 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE PERSONAL TOP TEN

LISTMANIA 2023 25 Responses »

Dec 152023

(Andy Synn finishes off “List Week” with his ten favourite albums of the year)

For whatever reason, this time around much of my “personal” list – which features the ten albums which I’m not claiming to be the “best” of the year, but are definitely amongst my favourites – is made up of new albums by new discoveries, either because the band themselves are fresh onto the scene or because this is simply my first time encountering them.

On the one hand this perhaps reflects my general dissatisfaction with a lot of the more hyped up and/or famous names (not that they were bad, just that they really didn’t do anything for me this year), but I prefer to see it as a good thing, because it means that I am (hopefully) guaranteed even more great stuff from a bunch of fresh new faces with a bright future ahead of them!

Slimming this list down to just 10 albums wasn’t an easy task by any means, but while some well-deserved “honourable mentions” should go to the likes of Downfall of Gaia, Dying Wish, Morokh, Mercenary, and Returning (all of whom were in strong contention), in the end… well, there can be only ten!

2023 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE CRITICAL TOP TEN

LISTMANIA 2023 15 Responses »

Dec 142023

(Andy Synn attempts to capture the venom, vitality, and variety of the year in just ten albums)

Of everything I’ve published so far during this year’s List Week this one is the closest so far to what you might call your “typical” end of year list. Although, even then, it’s still a little different than what you might expect.

Case in point, although I’ve limited it to just ten albums (which, let me be clear, is never, ever enough, as there’s at least one more album… cough, Torpor, cough… I really wanted to include here) it’s pointedly not a ranked list like most of the others you’ll probably have seen.

No, the key idea here is – because it’s impossible for any one writer to craft a truly definitive list of the “Best” albums of the year – is to present ten releases from the last twelve months to serve as prime examples of the best the year had to offer, while attempting to represent as wide a cross-section of styles and sub-genres as possible (sometimes within the same album).

It’s a subtle distinction, true, but an important one all the same, and it’s my hope that in five years, ten years, fifteen, I’ll be able to look back on the selections I’ve made here and appreciate just how good 2023 was.

So, without further ado, here’s the ten albums, many of which I don’t think have received anywhere near the amount of attention and acclaim they deserve – plus a bonus entry for each, just in case you’re already familiar with my main choice – which I have chosen for my “Critical Top Ten”.

2023 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE GREAT

LISTMANIA 2023 26 Responses »

Dec 132023

(Andy Synn skims off the cream of the crop for your delectation)

So here we are, the top-tier of 2023 (in my opinion, at least, whatever that’s worth).

Now I need to stress, again, that these lists, while certainly extensive (there were well over 200 entries on yesterday’s “Good” list, and another 100-ish here) are in no way comprehensive, and there’s lots of stuff I will have missed out on or just wasn’t feeling enough to want to write about.

But while this means, obviously, that there’s going to be some notable omissions, wouldn’t you prefer it if I continued to use my limited time to focus more on stuff that I really liked and/or stuff that I think deserved more exposure, rather than just covering the exact same artists and albums who just happen to receive lots of attention and coverage elsewhere?

One thing you’ll possibly notice going through this article is an overarching “proggy” vibe running through a lot of the albums I’ve selected for my “Great” list. For whatever reason, 2023 just felt like a year where the more “progressive” side of the genre (and related sub-genres) really came to the fore.

That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t just some straightforward killers, crushers, and straight-up face-melters here too. After all, “greatness” comes in many forms, after all, and you don’t need to to try and reinvent the wheel or push the envelope in order to make something great!

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