Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

GENUNE – INFINITE PRESENCE

May 152025

(Andy Synn returns to the site with praise for the new album from Romania’s Genune)

As you may be aware (or maybe not, it depends on how much attention you’ve been paying to the site recently) I’m currently over in the USA enjoying the post-festival relaxation period after this year’s edition of Northwest Terror Fest before then heading over to Baltimore to attend Maryland Deathfest.

As a result I haven’t been doing much in the way of writing/reviewing… heck, I haven’t been online all that much at all… and have just been focussing on hanging out with some friends and listening to music purely for the enjoyment of doing so.

That being said, I do have a few things in mind for the next couple of weeks (including one highly-anticipated new release that’s guaranteed to be one of the best albums of the year), with the following review for the upcoming third album from Genune (out this Friday on Consouling Sounds) marking the end to my short (but necessary) hiatus.

SHORT BUT SWEET: ANCST / CAPITALIST / MELTING / OSTRACA

SHORT BUT SWEET 1 Response »

May 082025

(Andy Synn highlights four recent EPs he thinks you need to hear)

Today’s collection of “short but sweet” reviews features four ripping releases from across the ‘core spectrum – from blazing Blackened Metalcore and filthy, fire-breathing Crust to monstrous, Death Metal-influenced Metallic Hardcore and visceral Post-Screamo violence – which serve to remind us all that this sort of music truly lives in the moment, delivering a short, sharp (but also sweet) shock to the system devoid of pretense or pretention, each of them possessing an immediacy and intensity, as well as a sense of individuality, which makes them impossible to ignore.

Well, that’s how I feel anyway. Let’s see if you do too.

BEST OF BRITISH: ACCEPTANCE / EMPLOYED TO SERVE / KNIVES

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May 072025

(Andy Synn is hoping for even bigger things for all three of these bands)

If everything has gone to plan, while you’re reading this I’m going to be in Seattle getting ready to attend another edition of Northwest Terror Fest.

And if something goes wrong?

Well, at least you’ll have this edition of “The Best of British” to remember me by.

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews 1 Response »

May 052025

(Andy Synn highlights four album from April which may have flown under your radar)

Look, I don’t have time to talk about everything I/we missed last month, so once you’re done reading about the four bands featured here today I recommend you go check out the latest releases from Felgrave, Supreme Void, Tigerleech, and Zeicrydeus… all of whom I wanted to write about, but couldn’t find time/space for (I could easily have done a second article on them, and maybe even a third for everyone I still haven’t mentioned).

But before then… enjoy this collection of four devastatingly dark and hellishly heavy albums from last month. You might just discover your new favourite!

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 182): INOCULATION

THE SYNN REPORT 1 Response »

May 012025

Recommended for fans of: Ulthar, Mithras, Cryptopsy

It honestly amazes me that we’ve never written about Inoculation before, outside of a few passing mentions here and there.

But with the recent release of their third album, Actuality, a few weeks ago now seems like the perfect time to address this terrible injustice.

You see, while the majority of the US Death Metal scene is currently (and, perhaps understandably) obsessed with the “New Wave of American Death Metal” (the most prominent names of which I’m sure you’re all aware) that updates and upgrades the classic OSDM sound for more modern ears, this crushing Cleveland trio – who firmed up and finalised their line-up in 2016, and released their first full-length in 2018 – draw just as much (if not more) influence from the late 90s/early 00s explosion of Brutal/Technical Death Metal bands.

That’s not to say that keen ears won’t be able to detect the influence of the likes of Death and Deicide here and there, but I’d argue that its bands like Demilich and Deeds of Flesh whose DNA has the most dominant impact on the band’s ultimate sound (especially after they shook off those early growing pains after their debut).

But don’t just take my word for it… give the band’s collective output a listen below and hear for yourselves (and, if you’re of a mind to, check out what else I’ve written too).

POINT MORT – LE POINT DE NON-RETOUR

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Apr 302025

(Andy Synn decides to shake things up a little with the genre-blending new album from Point Mort)

Whenever you’re writing about a band like Parisian “post-genre” provocateurs Point Mort – whose sound combines elements and influences from (Post) Metal, (Post) Hardcore, Alt-Pop, Rap, Electronica, and more – it’s often hard to know quite where to begin.

After all, while comparisons and references to the likes of The Ocean and Oathbreaker, Leprous and Latitudes, Rolo Tomassi and Refused are certainly valid (though by no means exhaustive) they’re never going to really capture just how defiantly – and potentially divisively – the French quartet resist easy categorisation.

But, much as an expert chef is capable of taking a concoction of ingredients that wouldn’t normally work together and turning them into a Michelin-starred meal, so too have Point Mort taken an array of sounds and styles and combined them into a delicious seven song smorgasbord named Le point de non-retour.

ZMARŁYM – WIELKIE ZANIKANIE

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Apr 242025

(Find out why the new album from Zmarłym is one of Andy Synn‘s favourites of the year so far)

I may catch a little bit of flack for this… but… from my perspective the first third (since we’re almost a third of the way through the year now) of 2025 has been kind of slow, musically speaking.

I’m not saying it’s been a bad year, by any means, and if it’s been working for you then that’s not a bad thing either, but for me 2025 so far feels like a bit of a step down from 2024 (and 2023, and so on), with a lot of the “big” names or highly hyped new releases just coming across as “ok”.

That being said, there have definitely been a few notable stand-outs (some of which I’ve been able to write about and review here), and a lot more potential highlights to look forward to, so I wouldn’t exactly say we should be ready to write off the whole year just yet.

Especially when we’ve got bands like Zmarłym putting out such a distinct, dynamic, and deviously unorthodox take on Black Metal with their recently-released second album, Wielkie Zanikanie.

AORTES – CARRION

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Apr 232025

(Andy Synn encourages you to really immerse yourselves in the crushing depths of Carrion)

It’s a familiar enough refrain by now that, due to the vast amount of new music released each week/month/year, we seem to spend a lot of our time just playing catch-up here at NCS.

That being said, we do still try and sneak in a few advance reviews whenever possible… although in this particular case our best laid plans were scuppered by the fact that the band’s new album ended up being released early this last weekend.

It doesn’t really matter all that much, however – after all, it’s sometimes better to be fashionably late to the party, right?

ESKRÖTA – BLASFÊMEA

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Apr 212025

(Andy Synn has a lot of love for the new album from Brazilian blasphemers Eskröta)

Look, let’s cut to the chase shall we?

Sometimes all you really need in life is a cavalcade of righteous riffs and hefty, headbangable hooks to help get you through the day.

And if they come with a side-helping of “stick it to the man” ideology, and a welcome sense of social conscience?

Well, that’s all the better.

And, lo and behold, Thrashcore/Crust Punk crossover crew Eskröta deliver all that and more on Blasfêmea.

CAVE SERMON – FRAGILE WINGS

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Apr 172025

(Andy Synn provides his first impressions of the brand new Cave Sermon album)

Well, well, well… isn’t this a surprise!

And not an unpleasant one, let me make that crystal clear, as Divine Laughter, the second album from Post-Metal prodigy Charlie Park (aka Cave Sermon) was absolutely one of the best albums of 2024 (and only narrowly missed out on a place in my “Critical Top Ten”).

That being said, it’s entirely normal to be a little bit wary and/or sceptical whenever an artist is this prolific – after all, you can have too much of a good thing, and it’d be all too easy for them to accidentally end up repeating themselves, to increasingly diminishing returns, if they haven’t allowed themselves the necessary creative space between releases.

Thankfully, however, despite the truncated timescale between releases, I’m happy to say that Fragile Wings cleverly complements its fantastic predecessor – while also providing some welcome creative contrast – without simply attempting to copy what made it such a success.

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