Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

MOANHAND – PRESENT SERPENT

Jul 152021

(Andy Synn travels to Russia once more and returns with one of his favourite albums of the year)

I know I’ve said it before, but it probably needs reiterating – June was so packed with releases that I feel like it’s going to take me all of July just to catch up with everything I/we missed.

Of course, that means that I’ll have to spend August catching up on July, and September catching up on August, so… maybe some hard decisions are going to have to be made regarding what does and what doesn’t get written about just so I don’t fall even further behind.

But there was absolutely zero chance that I wasn’t going to write about this one, as Present Serpent – the debut album from one-man “Blackened Dream Sludge” outfit Moanhand (aka Moscow-based multi-instrumentalist Roman Filatov) – has swiftly become, for me at least, one of the defining albums of 2021.

A TRIPTYCH OF TECHNICAL TALENT – ALUSTRIUM / COGNITIVE / OPHIDIAN I

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Jul 132021

(Andy Synn goes fishing in the Tech Death scene and comes back with a hell of a catch)

If there’s one common theme which unites these three albums – you know, apart from the fact that they’re all brand new additions to the ever-expanding Tech Death canon – it’s that each of them finds the band in question working hard, struggling some might say (though certainly not in vain), to carve out a space, a niche, an identity, for themselves in an already saturated scene.

Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of super-speed shredmasters out there all vying to be the fastest, the most complex, the most ridiculous, and this year alone has already delivered a bumper crop of both killer and filler releases running the gamut from the heaviest to the most histrionic (and everything in between).

One thing that I think we can all agree on though – and which, to a greater or lesser extent, all of today’s selections clearly demonstrate – is that technical talent is nothing without the songwriting skill to match it, because once the initial dopamine rush of being bombarded with a thousand notes a second wears off it’s the structural hooks, the infectious melodies, the subtle repetitions, that trigger the brain’s innate pattern recognition algorithms and ensure that what you’ve just heard gets filed away in your long-term memory, rather than just flying in one ear and out the other.

So let’s see if this particular trio have what it takes to make a lasting impression, shall we?

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Jul 092021

(Andy Synn offers us a chance to catch up with a quartet of albums you may have overlooked)

Is it just me, or was June an insanely busy period for music?

Honestly, despite doing my best to cover as many new releases as possible, and despite the best efforts of my NCS cohorts to do the same, it feels like we missed out on a lot of records this month.

This, of course, made it pretty difficult to pick just 4 artists/albums for this article, and at one point there was a version of this column that was all Death Metal (including Diabolizer, Noctambulant, and Cathexis, if memory serves) until I realised that maybe, just maybe, that didn’t give the broadest picture of the last 30 days (but you should still check out all three of those bands/albums if you haven’t already).

Don’t worry, there’s still some serious brutality on offer, but I’ve managed to widen the scope a little since then so that today’s article – which features four, count ‘em, four debut albums – should have the potential to appeal to a slightly broader cross-section of our readers than just those who like to have their eardrums perforated by the musical equivalent of a turbo-charged jackhammer.

And, speaking of…

SALLOW MOTH – STASIS COCOON

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Jul 062021

(Andy Synn gazes once more into the void… and finds the new album from Sallow Moth gazing back!)

I know I’ve said this before, but it still bears repeating – one of the (many, many) great things about writing for NCS is that we don’t have to stick to anyone’s schedule but our own.

Oh, sure, if we agree to host a premiere or some such then we’re bound by our word to stick to that date/time, but the fact that we don’t have any print deadlines to meet, no advertisers to placate, and no pressure from above to produce a certain number of articles or reviews every day/week/month means that we can be a lot more flexible with what we write about, and when we write about it.

Case in point, when lepidopterous Death Metal dreamer Sallow Moth surprise-released their new album, Stasis Cocoon, at the end of last week, I was able to quickly pivot and switch up my writing/reviewing schedule in response, ensuring that – hopefully – this succulent little slab of metallic sci-fi mayhem receives at least some of the attention it deserves.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 135): THE DAY OF THE BEAST

THE SYNN REPORT No Responses »

Jul 012021

Recommended for fans of: Witchery, Goatwhore, The Crown

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… and again… and again… choosing the right, or wrong, genre tag(s) can make or break a review.

After all, we Metal folk can be a touchy, tribalist bunch at times, prone to writing off artists if/when they start to drift into sounds/styles we don’t approve of, and frequently guilty of pre-judging a band simply because they’re associated with the “wrong” kind of genre(s).

The thing about Virginia’s The Day of the Beast, however, is that no matter what you call them – deathly Black Thrash, thrashy Blackened Death, blackened Death Thrash – it’s difficult, borderline impossible, not to love them… they’re simply so ridiculously fun.

Don’t take that to mean “frivolous” though, as TDotB are no joke, as each of their four albums (the most recent of which was released just a few weeks ago) goes well out of their way to prove by way of a veritable orgy of ravaging riffs, galloping grooves, and vicious, venom-spitting vocals.

BEST OF BRITISH – AXECATCHER / BOSSK / URNE

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Jun 292021

(Andy Synn once again graces us with reviews of three more bands from his beloved homeland)

So I should probably begin this article with a quick mea culpa.

After making such a big deal about how the last edition of “The Best of British” was the first one in a worryingly long time, I had originally intended for the follow-up to hit the site within a week. Two at the most.

But, as you can guess, life got in the way, and my best laid plans went “aglay”, as the great poet once said.

Still, better late than never, right?

After all, I’m of the opinion that each of these albums – warts and all – fully deserves some coverage here at NCS, and since it’s unlikely that anyone else from the crew is going to be able to fit them in, it looks like it once more falls to me to tell you why you should check out the new albums from Axecatcher, Bossk, and Urne.

AMENRA – DE DOORN

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Jun 232021

(Andy Synn continues his long-running love affair with Amenra by delving into their unusual new album, which is set for release this Friday on Relapse Records)

There’s a certain type of person, and I might be one of them, who seems to think that Amenra can do no wrong.

And, truth be told, a quick glimpse at the band’s history would seem to prove them/me/us right.

But just because the band have yet to disappoint doesn’t mean you should think you know exactly what to expect from them, especially when it comes to their new album, De Doorn. Continue reading »

THE BEST OF BRITISH – ATVM / BOSS KELOID / CODE

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Jun 172021

(Andy Synn sticks his head above the parapet once more to let you all know about three of the best British albums of the last few months)

I honestly can’t remember the last time I did one of these “Best of British” articles. In fact, this might very well be the first one of 2021 (or, at least, the first one dedicated to full-length albums).

That’s not because these fair and fertile isles have suddenly gone barren – the new Osiah, for example, is a brutal, if not exactly boundary-pushing, slab of uber-aggressive Deathcore, while the debut record from Epiphanic Truth was/is a welcome shot of strangeness – but, for whatever reason, I’ve been finding myself more drawn towards artists and albums from beyond the borders of these green and “pleasant” lands.

Rest assured, however, I’ve still been keeping my ear to the ground, so to speak, and finally found the time (and the impetus) to write about three truly excellent examples of “The Best of British” in the form of the new albums from Atvm, Boss Keloid, and Code.

VORVAŇ – AWAKENED

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jun 152021

(Andy Synn returns to his roots with the new album from Russian Metallic Hardcore crew Vorvaň)

To quote a hoary old cliché… the only constant in life is change.

That’s true for pretty much everything, especially people (and what are bands if not the extension of the people in them?),

Let’s face it, I’m not the same person I was five, ten, twenty years ago. My life, my circumstances, my tastes, have all changed and evolved.

But, at the same time, you know what they say… the more things change, the more they stay the same… and one thing that hasn’t changed is my love and appreciation for a good bit of merciless Metallic Hardcore, and today’s particular slab of undisputed attitude comes straight from Russia (though definitely not with love).

BLACKER THAN THE BLACKEST BLACK – ANGRRSTH / GENUNE / SORDIDE

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Jun 102021

(Andy Synn is here again to celebrate three fascinating recent releases you may have missed)

Maybe it’s the contrarian in me, but I’m finding that even as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer (much, much warmer, in point of fact, if this week is any indicator) I’m actually listening to even more Black Metal than usual.

Oh, sure, I know the genre is traditionally associated with ice and snow and northern darkness, but I’ve definitely found that some bands – some, not all – also serve as the perfect soundtrack to burning days of blazing skies and blistering heat.

There’s just something about the seething buzz of the guitars, the ringing melodic arpeggios, the windswept howl of the vocals – something primal and elemental – that so often fits my mood during the searing summer months, which is why I’ve decided to dedicate today’s column to three artists and albums who’ve found themselves in regular rotation for me in recent weeks.

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