Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

CALLIGRAM / MASTIFF / HIDDEN MOTHERS – LIVE IN NOTTINGHAM 30/10/21

Nov 012021

(Andy Synn reports back from a recent show – remember those? – he was lucky enough to attend)

I was going to start out this article with a comment on how it feels like things are finally getting back to “normal”… but, to be honest, that’s not really true.

Of course, this is neither the time nor the place to discuss all the ways in which the world is still in an incredibly weird and uncertain place, so instead I’d just like to say how lucky I feel to have been able to enjoy a gig like this, when so many others can’t, and that I hope you guys get the chance to do so yourselves soon too.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 139): 1914

THE SYNN REPORT 2 Responses »

Oct 292021

Recommended for fans of: God Dethroned, Bolt Thrower, Sulphur Aeon

Let’s not beat around the bush, eh? Where Fear and Weapons Meet, the third album from Ukranian Blackened Death-dealers 1914 is one of the best albums of the year.

Maybe you’ve already heard it (after all, it came out last Friday) or maybe this article will be your first encounter with the band – either way, whether you’re a grizzled old veteran or a fresh-faced rookie, what you’re about to read will hopefully give you a good feel for the group’s distinct blend of blackened fury, deathly intensity, and doomy melody, as well as a greater appreciation for their dedication to, and dramatisation of, the many different faces and facets of “the war to end all wars”.

FIRST FRAGMENT – GLOIRE ÉTERNELLE

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Oct 272021

(Andy Synn continues today’s torrent of technicality with a review of the astonishing new album by First Fragment)

Let’s face it, 2021 has been a ridiculous year for the Tech Death scene.

Of course, last year’s lockdown probably played a big part in that, forcing bands to sit at home and practice until their fingers bled, but we’ve also seen many of these artists demonstrating a major improvement not just in their shredding abilities but in their songwriting skills too.

Sure, the sheer glut of bands showing off their technical talents means that, inevitably, some them are a little interchangeable (especially vocally, but that’s a discussion for another day), but I’ve really been struck by the variety of different approaches – from a laser-like focus on supersonic speed to lethal injections of stupefying slam or flickering flirtations with angular dissonance – adopted by many of the genre’s leading lights as a way of differentiating them from their peers.

And while First Fragment have always been distinguished by their almost symphonic virtuosity, Gloire Éternelle makes it more clear than ever that the band’s music is designed, if not solely for musicians, then at the very least for those with a real appreciation of musicianship, first and foremost.

GRAVPEL – POWER TO THE FILTHY MASSES

Album Reviews No Responses »

Oct 262021

(Andy Synn has thoughts about the debut album from Anarcho-Punk Black Metal crew Gravpel)

So much for the “tolerant” left, am I right?

In all seriousness, I’ve always found it pretty ridiculous that bands who espouse so-called “left wing” views are assumed to be soft, sensitive snowflakes… since not only is that patently false, but it also ignores the fact that Heavy Metal, from its very outset, has always been rooted in this end of the political spectrum, hence its rich history of anti-fascist, anti-authoritarian, and even anti-capitalist sentiment.

Of course, Metal as a genre hasn’t always had the most nuanced grasp of politics, I’ll give you that, especially when you consider that most bands tend to define themselves by opposition – being against something, rather than for something – in a rather reactionary, and often self-defeating, kind of way.

But while Swiss Black Metal quintet Gravpel most definitely aren’t afraid to let you know exactly what they stand for – which is taking Black Metal back to its Punk roots and giving an almighty “fuck you” to all the Nazis, bigots, and fascist sympathisers attempting to use the genre to spread their fucked-up world view.

THE BEST OF BRITISH – GOD COMPLEX / GREEN LUNG / STILL

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 212021

(Andy Synn brings forth another terrific trio of releases from his green and (un)pleasant homeland)

It’s pretty appropriate that I’m doing another “Best of British” column this week, as I just got back from playing a festival in Manchester featuring a wealth of good/great/excellent bands from the UK underground scene.

Of course, since we were there as performers rather than just punters we weren’t able to catch as many bands as we’d have liked, but I encourage you all to keep an eye out (and at least one ear open) for more from up-and-coming Thrash-core whippersnappers Tortured Demon, groove-driven and harmony-laden Post-Grunge metallers Scare Tactics, and cinematic Symphonic Death-dealers Ghosts of Atlantis (whose latest album was covered by our own DGR not long ago), as what we caught from each of them proved very promising indeed.

However, today isn’t about those bands, today is about God Complex, Green Lung, and Still.
Continue reading »

ARCHSPIRE – BLEED THE FUTURE

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 182021

(Andy Synn takes up the challenge of reviewing the new album from Archspire, out 29 October )

I don’t know about you, but it seems more and more evident to me with each passing year that the current Tech Death scene has gotten itself caught up in a perpetual arms race of velocity and virtuosity.

And, sure, it can be a real thrill to witness bands continually pushing themselves, and pushing the envelope, in terms of how many notes per second and beats per minute they can crank out, but you know what happens when an arms race reaches its inevitable conclusion, right?

Mutually assured destruction.

Thankfully, this particular scenario may not be quite as inevitable as it appears, as several of the genre’s leading lights seem to have realised that this constant competition over who can be the fastest, techiest, or shreddiest isn’t necessarily the healthiest way to live, and have already begun taking steps to ensure that when the bubble finally bursts – and it will – there will at least be a few bands left standing.

And I’d put money on Archspire being one of them.

HIPPOTRAKTOR – MERIDIAN

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule 5 Responses »

Oct 142021

(Andy Synn would like to introduce you to the debut album from Hippotraktor, out tomorrow on Pelagic Records, and invites you to leave your prejudices and preconceptions at the door)

I know that the post-Meshuggah breed of Metal bands can provoke some pretty divisive reactions around these parts. And I understand why.

After all, what initially seemed to be fresh and fertile soil for creativity and experimentation quickly became over-saturated with copycats and soundalikes whose music only seemed to grow increasingly sanitised, simplified, and mass-produced for mass-appeal with each successive generation.

But, let’s be honest, that’s the case for most, if not all, styles of music, to one extent or another, and just because the veritable deluge of Djent, Post-Djent, Proto-Djent, and Pseudo-Djent bands reached its saturation point in practically record time doesn’t mean you should dismiss any and all groups who elect to take inspiration from the works of Thordendal, Haake, et al.

I mean, it’s entirely up to you if you want to do that, sure, but you’re potentially robbing yourself of the chance to discover and enjoy a whole plethora of bands whose love of polyrhythmic groove and atmospheric melody transcends the trite tricks and tropes of their more djeneric peers.

Which brings us nicely to Meridian, the debut album from Belgium’s Hippotraktor.

GRAVENCHALICE – SAMAEL

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 2 Responses »

Oct 132021

(Andy Synn steps up once more to recommend the brand new album from Gravenchalice)

It is a simple and well-known truth that the House of Black Metal has many rooms, many hallways.

And which path you choose to follow, which doors you choose to open, will dictate whether or not you end up going deeper into the dark, or coming out the other side.

It is also true that many, if not most, of these pathways have been well-worn by the passing of countless feet over the years, such that, whichever way you choose to turn, it is difficult not to find yourself walking in the footsteps of those who have gone before you.

This was clear enough on last year’s Apparition, the short-but-striking debut from Florida’s Gravenchalice, whose blend of hypnotic riffs and pulse-raising rhythms was reminiscent – in the best possible way – of some of the best work of Mgla, Misþyrming, and their ilk.

But with Samael, the group’s second album in just over a year, Gravenchalice have clearly – whether by accident or design – stepped away from the route they were following on their first record and have found themselves walking a much darker, and less-trodden, path.

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 2 Responses »

Oct 072021

(Andy Synn encourages you to check out four albums from last month which you might have missed)

Well then… how exactly do you try and address a month like September, which was, arguably, the biggest and busiest month of the year for new releases yet?

Hell, my initial shortlist (sorry, “short” list) for this column was a good eight or nine albums long, an even though I successfully spun one of them off as part of last month’s edition of The Synn Report, that still left me with more options than I could possibly fit into one article.

So what I ended up doing, to be frank, was just picking not-entirely-at-random and going with my gut for this latest edition of “Things You May Have Missed”, which ultimately ended up covering an intriguing array of artists/albums from across the (Extreme) Metal spectrum.

ATRÆ BILIS – APEXAPIEN

Album Reviews No Responses »

Oct 052021

(Apexapien, the highly anticipated debut album from Canada’s Atræ Bilis is out this Friday via 20 Buck Spin, and Andy Synn would like to tell you exactly why that should be so exciting)

It really is a pleasure to see/hear a band living up to their potential, isn’t it? Especially a young band who seemingly have the world at their feet and a bright future laid out before them.

Case in point, when I wrote about Divinihility, the debut EP from up-and-coming Canadian death-dealers Atræ Bilis, last year I noted that while the band clearly owed a great debt to some of the biggest and best names in the genre – describing their sound, at one point, as “a combination of beefy, Blood Red Throne inspired riffs, chunky, Suffocation-style slam parts, and unexpectedly Ulcerate-esque moments of eerie dissonance” – they still, even at this early stage of their career, managed to pull it all together in a way that implied greater ambitions, and possibilities, for the group than just being one of the crowd.

As you might imagine, then, I predicted (and expected) big things for the band’s next release, and now, finally, we get to see/hear whether that prediction was in any way accurate.

Spoiler alert: it was.

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