THE SYNN REPORT: AN UPDATE (No. 2)

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Jun 082012
 

(Here’s a bit of news from Andy Synn about two bands we’ve praised at NCS in the past.)

While I am beavering away on another full edition of The Synn Report (and also endeavouring to tweak the format a bit to find a balance between the original form and what it has become since it was started) I thought I’d drop you all another update on 2 bands, one a former Synn Report alumnus, the other a proto-Synn Report band whose write-up on NCS not only inspired me to start the column, but is also partially responsible for getting me the gig in the first place.

BENEA REACH

Norway’s Benea Reach, a band of whom I expect huge things in the upcoming years, have a new album (Possession) all but ready to be released and have put together a track sampler over on their Soundcloud page. Consecrated disciples of the Cult of Luna, their new album promises to be a collection of proggy atmospherics, oceanic post-Meshuggah dynamics, and raging, hardcore-derived belligerence. Just what the doctor ordered.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/48099557″ iframe=”true” /]
Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT: AN UPDATE

 Metal News, THE SYNN REPORT  4 Responses »
May 032012
 

(Andy Synn provides this update about two bands he previously featured in his SYNN REPORT series.)

Today saw the release of two pieces of news regarding two former Synn Report luminaries, both of whom happen to be amongst my all-time favourite bands. One piece of news is very bad, whilst the other one is potentially very good.

First and foremost:

AVERSE SEFIRA

“As we write the names, the stars go out…”

Sadly, the US black metal titans have officially disbanded. An official press release has been issued by Clawhammer PR stating:

“American black metal titans Averse Sefira has officially disbanded. The band formed in 1996, and went on to make their mark through Europe and the Americas, performing with other notable black metal groups like Dark Funeral, Gorgoroth, Watain, Marduk, 1349, Absu, Antaeus, and Secrets of the Moon.

“The band gained a respectable following despite a fiercely independent stance that garnered them a complex reputation in the underground. They achieved wider exposure with their signing to Candlelight Records in 2007 and the release of their highly-rated fourth LP, Advent Parallax, the following year. Over the last decade, they also appeared in multiple documentaries and books examining metal culture. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 22: VESANIA

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May 022012
 

(In this latest edition of THE SYNN REPORT, Andy Synn reviews the discography of Polish supergroup Vesania, with musical accompaniment, of course.)

Recommended for fans of: Emperor, Zyklon, Behemoth

Supergroups are an odd thing. Mostly you’ll find them being trumpeted about in the mainstream press when an aging rock/pop star collaborates with a younger group in a desperate attempt to retain their relevance, or when ‘a’ from indie band ‘b’ forms a new group with ‘x’, ‘y’, and ‘z’, the questionable quality of their output inevitably outweighed by the extravagant hype played out in the media.

Supergroups in metal largely don’t get the excessive, fawning praise others do, for more reasons than just their lesser exposure. Generally, unless at least one of the members is of almost Portnoyan levels of media exposure, this interest in the quirks of celebrity and name value will quickly dwindle to an actual interest in whether the music is any good.

Another contributing factor is that the very nature of bands as a conglomeration of individuals, all with their own baggage, means many of them are a ‘supergroup’ in their own right. Look at the current Chimaira/Daath crossover, or the stellar line-up of modern day Borknagar. Or even The Gathering-era Testament, which existed essentially as a supergroup under the already established name.

Even supergroup side-projects often take on a fully-fledged life of their own. Mikael Akerfeldt recently announced his departure from death metal legends Bloodbath due to their intent to step up their touring and recording schedule, while the terror-thrash superpower Witchery have recently snagged yet another well-known figure and have been raising their profile ever since. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 21: BENEA REACH

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Mar 072012
 

(Andy Synn provides this review of the albums-to-date released by Norway’s Benea Reach.)

Recommended for fans of: Meshuggah, Extol, Isis

With the Second (well, eighth) Coming approaching, it seems fitting to return to The Synn Report with an edition focusing on one of the few bands to do post-Meshuggah metal right, deftly side-stepping the trends and tribulations of the “djent” scene and managing to create something distinctive and brimming with character. Indeed, this could be because although Meshuggah might be the obvious comparison, it’s also a limiting one,  which barely even scratches the surface of the various influences that combine to give birth to Benea Reach’s roiling, storm-tossed sound.

I’ve heard a variety of words used to describe Benea Reach’s nervous, energised sound. “Sludgey”, “doomy”, “melodic”, “atmospheric”, and more, have all been thrown around at various times, attempting to capture the band’s mutant, amalgamated noise. Genre descriptions such as “metalcore”, “progressive metal”, “math metal” and “post-sludge” all apply in certain respects, making the Meshuggah comparisons perhaps more misleading than your initial assumptions might lead you to expect. The post-sludge, bruising metallic-hardcore aesthetic of the much-missed Burst is as fitting a comparison as Sweden’s poly-rhythmic metal messiah’s, as is the light-and-shade, life-and-death dynamic of the now-departed Isis.

What these bands all have in common is a massive, Richter-scale-bothering rhythmic foundation on which can be built towering monuments of ageless, terrible glory. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT: OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

 THE SYNN REPORT  15 Responses »
Dec 292011
 

(Andy Synn provides an unexpected SYNN REPORT, seizing upon the imminent calendar change to discuss the re-recording of 12 songs by 12 tremendous bands — and of course we’re including the music, which means 24 tracks. Fuck, this would be a mixtape that KILLS.)

So here it is, a surprise Synn Report to finish off the year. Arbitrary though the distinction may well be, the end of the year provides a perfect excuse to attend to a similar theme, the transition from the old to the new – re-workings and re-recordings.

Are they better? That’s an argument for the ages? Are they necessary? Hell, that’s probably an even worse argument to start up…

Primarily, re-recordings serve a twofold purpose – 1. to reinvigorate songs that might otherwise not be getting the set-time they deserve, and 2. – to royally piss off a band’s fan-base. Although there’s a chance that the second isn’t entirely intentional. Still, the re-recorded album courts controversy like almost no other, whether it’s a varied collection of songs that are chosen to receive the treatment, or a full re-recording of an entire album.

The full re-recording of an entire album is clearly the most contentious option, while single track re-recordings are often a much more successful and welcome proposition, most often appearing as b-sides and bonus tracks for the avid collector. The full-album re-recording, however, remains exceptionally and unequivocally divisive, alienating as many old fans as it attracts new ones.

So here’s a list of some of those renewed tracks that I think definitely have something to offer the listener, both old and new. I’m sure I’ll have to turn in my kvlt card after this, for promoting something so new and shiny, but ah well… Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 20: AVERSE SEFIRA

 THE SYNN REPORT  6 Responses »
Dec 072011
 

(In this latest edition of THE SYNN REPORT, Andy Synn reviews the discography of Austin, Texas-based black metal band Averse Sefira, with musical accompaniment, of course.)

Recommended for fans of: Belphegor, Secrets Of The Moon, 1349

So here it is, my final Synn Report of 2011. This year’s epitaph belongs to the anti-cosmic chaos legion Averse Sefira.

Agents of corruption and occult warfare, Averse Sefira formed many moons ago in order to create something antithetical to the soulless and vapid musical landscape around them. Casting themselves as fallen angels, rejecting the questionable graces of an unthinking order, they exist as agents of change, sounding the battle hymn of a war against creation. Each album chronicles their bloody and abhorrent rebirth, the womb of abomination spewing forth a black winged angel which spreads its pinions with ominous intent, flexing its claws and baring its teeth in a display of vampiric hunger.

Channelling the forces of elemental chaos through the sacramental nature of their music, they bring forth fire and brimstone through their instruments, twisting and hammering upon tormented strings and tortured skins with savage abandon and merciless precision. Drawing upon the collaborative efforts of their blackened cabal, the band are graced by the presence of “The Lady Of The Evening Faces”, who utilises her arcane knowledge to craft a series of unsettling atmospheric interludes and to layer each track with a haunting, inhuman ambience. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 19: WAR OF AGES

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Nov 162011
 

(Andy Synn returns with another SYNN REPORT, comprehensively reviewing the discography of Pennsylvania’s War of Ages.)

Recommended For Fans Of: Unearth, Nightrage, Protest The Hero

Metalcore really has become a dirty word in these uncertain times. Although we’ve seen a whole host of new pseudo-sub-genres appear out of the woodwork to take the (often well deserved) hatred of the metal people, there are those who continue to use the word “metalcore” as an insult. So what exactly is it that War Of Ages, undeniably a metalcore band in style if not always in substance, have to offer that makes it worth giving them a shot?

Well, primarily the sheer love of excessive fret-board twisting guitar work is the primary argument for their continued relevance and for my own continued enjoyment of their well-refined formula. Indeed, the group seem keen on raising the art of the impromptu and improbably epic solo to new heights of excess and emotion.

However, the self-belief and honest expression of this band also shines out like a beacon of integrity in a sea of populist, lowest-common-denominator swill, striking a chord with their direct and passionate approach. It does help, though, that the group can also all play their instruments to an impressive level, particularly the band’s two guitarists, who peel off an array of stunning riffs and shining solos with recognisable passion and fury. In addition, for all their metalcore fire and fury, the group remain pleasingly trend-free, continuing to play a stripped-down and aggressive form of the style in which the focus is clearly on the guitarists and their fleet-fingered playing, rather than attention-grabbing gimmicks or pseudo-brutality. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 18: EMETH

 THE SYNN REPORT  5 Responses »
Aug 312011
 

(I fancy myself a death-metal aficionado, and yet I am learning something new today, thanks to Andy Synn’s report on the discography of Emeth. Allow me to say, FUCK YEAH!)

This Belgian death machine will most likely be new to a lot of you, having spent most of the dark years since it first burst from its cadaverous womb subjugating the scum and villainy of Belgium’s metal underbelly beneath its heel.

Though Belgium does seem to possess an untapped hotbed of bands from all across the genre spectrum, the butchers of Emeth deal solely in a violent trade of brutal death metal that shifts back and forth between incisive hooks and nigh unlistenable, raging mania.

The group’s name means “truth” in Hebrew – a fitting epithet indeed, for a band whose aim is to plumb the depths of the human condition and expose these dark, often disgusting, truths about our fragile existence.

Yet far from being simple death-obsessed goreophiles, the men of Emeth choose to follow a more enigmatic path, delving into themes of insidious terror and shadowy mental torment, as brutal and horrific as any nightmarish concoction of their cannibalistic brethren.

Each album deals with its own terrible truth, the tormented facts and elusive fictions of the physical, the mental and the existential, whose faceless vehemence and formless horror weigh heavily upon our lives. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 17: LIGHT THIS CITY

 THE SYNN REPORT  4 Responses »
Aug 112011
 

(Andy Synn returns with his 17th edition of THE SYNN REPORT and a look-back at the discography of the late, lamented Light This City. Of course, we’re streaming songs from the albums, too.)

Now sadly deceased, Light This City were shaping up to be prime movers and shakers in America’s metal scene before their unfortunate dissolution. With a back-catalogue of four albums of thrashing, raging, melodic death metal, the 5-piece, fronted by human whirlwind Laura Nichol, took the Gothenburg sound and moulded it into something distinctively American, without falling into the rut of metalcore imitation, becoming darlings of the underground scene in their short time together.

One of the strongest comparisons that can be made of the Californian quintet, in the most positive sense, is of a less dark, more thrashy variant of The Black Dahlia Murder’s specifically American brand of melodic death metal, with the latter’s scalpel-sharp Dissection influence replaced with a stronger focus on flowing At The Gates melodicism and chunky Bay Area guitar rhythms, accented by forays into explosive blast beats, soaring Maiden-esque leads and heroic displays of guitar pyrotechnics.

Frontwoman Laura Nichol possesses a powerful voice that shifts organically from a blackened, wounded screech to a rumbling, guttural growl redolent with primal ferocity and sheer, overwhelming presence. The guitars, primarily stemming from the mind and fingers of band co-founder (and drummer) Ben Murray – who switched purely to drums after the band’s second album, allowing new-found guitar wunderkind Brian Forbes to step forward – thrash out a hurricane of molten, distorted riffs and blazing guitar leads, matching their soaring melodies and shredding solos with a crushing delivery of down-tuned devastation.

Although the band are unfortunately no more, they left behind them an enviable legacy of instrumental talent and impressive compositional skill. With a laser sharp focus and a tightly co-ordinated line-up, the group were able to take their influences, many of which have since become standard fare for today’s less-inspired metal groups, and meld them into something wholly individual, using their influences to achieve something greater for themselves; re-interpretation, rather than rote imitation.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 16: COMMUNIC

 THE SYNN REPORT  2 Responses »
Aug 052011
 

(Time for another SYNN REPORT. Today, Andy looks back at the discography of Norway’s Communic, and on Monday we’ll have his review of the band’s brand new album, “The Bottom Deep”.)

Hailing from Kristiansand, Norway, yet bucking the common trends one associates with Norwegian music – no rotten, corpse-painted fury or leather-clad, aggressive sleaze to be found here – prog-metal 3-piece Communic pursue a huge, multi-faceted sound that takes in recognisable elements from a multiplicity of metal sub-genres, swallowing up thrashy rhythms, soaring vocals, labyrinthine song structures, adaptable string-work and elaborate, eloquent drumming, melting them down to their constituents in order to re-forge them anew into a whole far greater than the mere sum of the parts.

Each of the three members is a vital component in crafting the complex and convoluted mini-epics which make up Communic’s various records; Tor Atle Andersen’s drums are a sheer delight to experience, over and over again playing subtle rhythmic shifts off against pounding artillery fire, Erik Mortensen’s flowing, liquid bass lines adding both depth and power in equal measure, while frontman Oddleif Stensland draws from a seemingly bottomless well of scything riffs and piercing, emotional solos. The way these three individuals play off one another is mesmerising, creating a vast soundscape of progressive instrumentalism one second, locking into a devastating metallic groove the next. The breadth of their sound and the sheer array of sonic textures they are able to conjure is a testament both to their striking individual personalities and to their collective focus and the musical identity they have built.

For all their soaring, epic compositions, the band are careful to maintain a strong foundation of armour-plated riffs which make their layered, expansive sound a legitimately heavy concern. At times soft and soothing, at others hard and pounding, these Norwegian progsters have perfected a precise balance between melancholy clarity and crushing power that serves as a perfect foil to their dark, often wilfully complex, subject matter. (more after the jump, including tracks to stream from each album . . .) Continue reading »

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