Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Aug 022022

(Andy Synn takes a look at four albums from last month you may have missed)

Due to stress and pressure from my work/life outside of the site (yes, it’s true, I do have a life beyond NCS) I’ve not been able to write as much as I wanted to in July.

Hell, to be quite honest with you I’ve been on the cusp of burnout for the last couple of months, so trying to collect my thoughts together into something resembling a cohesive article has been much more difficult than usual.

Music, however, remains both a passion and a panacea for the pain, and without it I think I’d be in a much worse place.

So let’s celebrate the healing power of music – and the fact that, hopefully, things look like they’re starting to settle down for me – with four albums which you may have overlooked last month.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 148): BEHOLD! THE MONOLITH

THE SYNN REPORT 1 Response »

Jul 292022

Recommended for fans of: High On Fire, Conan, Mastodon

The story of California riffmongers Behold! The Monolith is one of both tragedy and triumph

Tragedy… because, after releasing two well-received and well-rounded albums of increasingly proggy, doom-laden, sludgery, the band’s long-time bassist/vocalist Kevin McDade was killed in a car accident in 2013.

Triumph… because, after making the decision to carry on, the band roared back with another two fantastic records, the most recent of which was released just a few weeks ago.

BEST OF BRITISH: ASHENSPIRE / THE EVER LIVING / ITHACA

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Jul 212022

(Andy Synn provides another insight into the rich diversity and vitality of the UK scene)

Living in the UK, but being very much on the fringes of the UK “scene” – I’d say we were the black sheep but that presupposes we were ever part of the flock in the first place! – is an odd situation to be in.

On the one hand it feels like, no matter how many of these columns I write, and no matter how many shows we play, I’m always going to be an outsider.

On the other, however, it’s oddly freeing… I don’t have to worry about upsetting people (and, trust me on this, some people can’t take even the mildest criticism) and can write about who and what I want, from big names to relative unknowns, without anyone accusing me of having any sort of hidden agenda or ulterior motive.

So when I tell you that all three of these albums – one from last week, one from this week, and one scheduled for next week – are all worth your time you should be confident that I’m not just blowing smoke… I really mean it.

PANZERFAUST – THE SUNS OF PERDITION, CHAPTER III: THE ASTRAL DRAIN

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Jul 192022

(Andy Synn presents some thoughts on the new album from Canada’s Panzerfaust, which premiered in full here today.)

There comes a time, in every band’s career (ok, not every band’s career) where they produce an album which seems purposefully designed to piss off large sections of their fanbase.

Sometimes it’s because that album is a ridiculous misfire that would have been better off released under a different name entirely (or, even better, not at all).

Other times it’s a misunderstood masterpiece whose true value will only be appreciated in the years to come.

The Astral Drain is destined to become one of these albums.

But which will it be?

IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT – SPIRIT OF ECSTASY

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jul 182022

(Andy Synn says… grab your laudanum and snuff, it’s time for some glorious musical depravity)

All that glitters is not golden… or so they say. And Imperial Triumphant have spent the last several years peeling back the gilded veneer of New York city to reveal the rotten apple beneath.

Along the way they’ve continued to push the boundaries of Black Metal – both sonically and structurally – to the point where it’s debatable if the term even applies to their music any more.

Of course, the issue with constantly pushing boundaries like this is that you rarely have time to stop and take stock of who and where you are, with the result being that the idea of external progress often trumps the possibility of internal growth.

Which brings us to Spirit of Ecstasy, an album which – unexpectedly – finds Imperial Triumphant looking more inwards than forwards, seemingly more at home, more at ease, more comfortable, in their own shining skin then ever before.

But “comfortable” doesn’t mean “complacent” by any means. Because a band with nothing left to prove is also a band with nothing left to lose…

WAKE – THOUGHT FORM DESCENT

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Jul 142022

(Andy Synn reviews Thought Form Descent, the upcoming sixth album from Canada’s Wake)

They say that the only constant in life is change – and Wake‘s discography is a prime example of this.

Casting an eye/ear over their back-catalogue you can observe their sound evolving, little by little, with each and every release, but 2020’s Devouring Ruin was such a quantum-leap that I think even the band themselves must have been surprised by what they had created.

Perhaps that’s why their new album, Thought Form Descent (scheduled for release next Friday) feels more reflective – though still blisteringly intense – than anything they’ve ever done before… because they’ve finally taken the time to take stock of who they are, where they’ve come from, and what they might become.

MANTAR – PAIN IS FOREVER AND THIS IS THE END

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jul 072022

(Andy Synn hopes that this is not the end for Mantar)

I discovered something this weekend. Something which shook me to my very core.

Did you know there are some people out there who don’t like Mantar?!

I mean, to be clear, I don’t expect every person to like every band – that would be madness – but before this weekend I’d never encountered anyone who actively disliked Mantar before.

Honestly, I’m still shaken by this particular revelation… but maybe the band’s new album will be able to change a few hearts and minds?

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 147): KATHAROS XIII

THE SYNN REPORT 2 Responses »

Jul 012022

Recommended for fans of: Black Metal, Dark Jazz, Neo-Noir soundscapes

Romania’s Katharos XIII are a band I’ve been wanting to cover here for quite a while.

But, as you might have guessed already (especially if you’ve glanced at the “Recommended for fans of…” section above) they’re not the easiest band to write about, as their diverse yet distinctive sound is hard to compare to other bands.

Sure, I’d say fans of White Ward‘s sax-infused savagery or Deadspace‘s anguished extremity will most likely find a lot to appreciate here, and the doomy ambience and dramatic clean vocals prevalent in their most recent work will surely appeal to fans of bands like Sinistro and SubRosa, but the fact is that Katharos XIII aren’t easy to put into a box… and that’s a big part of what makes them so good.

BEST OF BRITISH: CONJURER / GOZER / HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Jun 232022

(Andy Synn presents three more succulent slabs of metallic vim ‘n’ vigour from his home country)

Really good Sludge/Post-Metal albums from the UK are a bit like buses… you wait patiently for ages and then three come along at once!

Thankfully all three of these bands, each of whom are at a different stage in their career – Conjurer aiming to prove that all the hype around them is firmly, and fervently, justified with their major-label debut, Gozer establishing themselves as “ones to watch” with their highly-anticipated first album, and Hundred Year Old Man reaffirming their status, in the wake of tragedy, as one of the best bands in the British underground – together represent some of the very best Sludge/Post-Metal that you’re likely to hear this year.

Don’t believe me? Well, allow me a chance to convince you.

KRALLICE – PSYCHAGOGUE

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Jun 212022

(Andy Synn continues his on again, off again, love affair with Krallice with their new album, Psychagogue)

I like Krallice, I really do.

But that doesn’t mean I like every single thing they put out… or, at least, it doesn’t mean I like everything they put out to the same level.

And that’s ok. Because being a fan of a band doesn’t mean you have to like absolutely everything they do, especially when the band in question are so disgustingly prolific, and cover so much musical ground, that simply trying to keep up with them is enough of a task in itself.

So when I say that I like the band’s new album, Psychagogue, you should know that I really like it… in fact, it may just be my favourite thing they’ve released since 2016’s Prelapsarian.

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