Andy Synn Archives - NO CLEAN SINGING

CORRUPTION PACT – UNANSWERED CRIES

Jun 082026

(Andy Synn kicks off another week here at NCS with a brutish blast of Hardcore/Death/Grind)

Last week was a big week for Hardcore/Metalcore (the good kind, obviously) with the release of new albums from both Converge and 100 Demons (as well as a whole host of other, equally abrasive acts from across the ‘core spectrum).

And while I’m hoping to write a little something about them later on this month (I’ve already got Embrace the Black Light pencilled in for the next edition of “Things You May Have Missed”) I thought that my time and energy might be better expended covering something that probably needs the exposure a little more.

Which is why today we’re taking a look at the recently-released debut album from France’s Corruption Pact, which delivers a short, sharp burst of stripped-down, straight-to-your-face Hardcore – blended with a lethal dose of razor-edged, Death Metal influenced riffing and pissed-off, Grind-inspired politics – that gives absolutely zero fucks and takes no prisoners!

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Jun 042026

(Andy Synn offers another four killer examples of albums you may have overlooked last month)

This particular edition of “Things You May Have Missed” is definitely less diverse than yesterday’s article (which you can, and should, read here if you haven’t already), but that doesn’t mean it’s totally lacking in variety, as while there’s definitely a focus on the more “blackened” side of the spectrum – not by conscious decision, I might add, that’s just what ended up making the cut this time around – there’s also a wealth of twisted dissonance, grinding fury, sludgy groove, and depressive angst on display across these four albums.

So, without further ado, let’s see what else you may have missed… but shouldn’t… last month.

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Jun 032026

(Andy Synn presents four fascinating releases from May that are well worth checking out)

May was an odd month… obviously we were quieter than usual here at NCS due to our annual NWTF/MDF break, but it also felt like there were fewer releases during that time that I really wanted to check out.

Of course, that all changed in the last week or so, as it seemed like every band/label out there decided to back-load their releases, meaning that there’s a lot for me to get through in this article in order to feel like I’ve at least semi-caught up with what I missed.

Hell, I’ll probably end up doing a second one of these “Things You May Have Missed” pieces later this week… and even then I’ll have to leave a few things on the cutting room floor (such as my wider thoughts on the new Devin Townsend, which some have called “a masterpiece” but which feels to me like yet another attempt to sum up his entire career in one “definitive” form that, as a result, simply iterates on existing elements and ideas rather than actually adding to his artistic palette).

Until then, however, enjoy some (hopefully) new music that you may otherwise have missed!

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 195): ERDVE

THE SYNN REPORT 3 Responses »

Jun 012026

Recommended for fans of: Celeste, This Gift Is A Curse, LLNN

Call them what you will… Sludge, Post-Metal, “Negative Hardcore”… there’s no question that this band, by any other name, would still sound just as dark and heavy.

That name, by the way, is Erdve, and the band in question hail from the balmy Baltic shores of Lithuania, a country which – despite its relatively small stature on the global metal stage – has also given us the likes of Sisyphean, Aortes, Juodvarnis, Luctus, Awakening Sun, and many more.

And with the recent release of their thrilling third album, Epigrama, last week now seemed like the perfect time to take a deep dive into their discography courtesy of The Synn Report!

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND REVIEW): GALVANIST – THE SILENCE BETWEEN STARS

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May 252026

(Andy Synn, who spent the whole weekend at MDF, still found time to handle today’s premiere)

In my opinion, the job of an article like this – one that’s simultaneously both a premiere and a review (you might even call it a preview) – is not so much to tell you what to think as it is to shape your expectations, so that those thoughts can proceed and develop free of any incorrect assumptions or misconceptions about the music.

This is particularly relevant in this case, as while Montana-based quartet Galvanist are often billed as “Experimental Doom/Death Metal” I feel that this has the potential to be misleading, even counterproductive, going into their upcoming new album, The Silence Between Stars, which has more in common – to my ears at least – with the more progressively structured, esoterically atmospheric end of the Black Metal spectrum.

That’s not to say there aren’t some deliciously doomy moments to be found – elements like the sundered atmospheric synthscapes underpinning “Dreich” and the gloom-laden, grand guignol climax of “Spiorad” recall the bleakest (albeit still “blackened”) moments of Mizmor and Bethlehem (especially the former) – but there’s also a clear debt owed here to the likes of Leviathan and Blut Aus Nord (particularly the latter’s more cosmically-inclined compositions), and it’s in this context that the album is best approached.

BEST OF BRITISH: RELIQUIA / SILO / TYRANNUS

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May 192026

(Andy Synn returns to his homeland, in spirit at least, for another edition of the Best of British)

I’m still over in the good ol’ US of A at the moment, gearing up for this year’s edition of Maryland Deathfest, and while I’ve loved my time here – as always – I’ll admit that I’ve been feeling the occasional pang of homesickness every now and then.

So to help quell my longing for the green and pleasant lands of my birth I thought I’d put together another carefully-curated collection of British bands, from a variety of styles and sub-genres, to remind us all of what’s waiting for me when I get home.

WE FOLLOW THE EARTH – FOAMDRINKER

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May 142026

(Andy Synn dedicates his first post-NWTF review to the Post/Sludge/Doom stylings of We Follow the Earth)

Right now, in case you didn’t know. we’re in what’s called the “post Northwest Terror Fest slump”… which is where we’re largely reliant on DGR’s forethought in producing a bunch of reviews to cover for the fact that he and I are visiting Seattle and spending more of our time (which includes spending some much-needed face-to-face time with Islander) drinking and hanging out and explicitly not writing for the site.

That being said, I’m going to try and fit in a few reviews – starting with this one – between now and the end of our trip (which also involves a trip to Baltimore for Maryland Deathfest), so let’s cut to the chase, shall we, and get into it with the new album from North Carolina Sludge-slingers We Follow the Earth.

BEYOND THE STYX – DIVID

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May 072026

(Andy Synn is in Seattle right now… which makes it the perfect time to talk about ferocious French furies Beyond the Styx, righr?)

If you’re reading this… and you must be, because you’re seeing these words… then I’ll be in Seattle attending this year’s edition of Northwest Terror Fest, which means I won’t be online as much or available to respond to your queries and comments as quickly.

That being said, I don’t expect too much in the way of controvery or complaints with regards to the upcoming new album from French Metallic Hardcore firebrands Beyond the Styx (set for release this Friday via Innerstrength Records), as if you were a fan of their previous album (which you can read more about here), then you’ll be happy to learn that DIVID is all about giving you more of what you love… even if it’s tough love.

PANOPTICON – DET HJEMSØKTE HJERTET

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May 062026

(Andy Synn steps again into the light with the new album from Panopticon, out this Friday)

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that there are no bad Panopticon albums.

This doesn’t mean, however, that all Panopticon albums are created equal – indeed, Austin Lunn’s willingness to explore different facets of his musical identity on different albums has always been one of the project’s most laudable features – and different listeners will definitely have different favourites.

For myself …And Again Into the Light remains the album I most listen to and most connect with, although both the seminal strains of Kentucky and the ambitious double-album The Scars of Man… are also held in the highest of esteem.

Which, as it turns out, bodes very well indeed for Det Hjemsøkte Hjertet (aka The Haunted Heart), which not only completes the “Laurentian Trilogy” of …Into the Light and The Rime of Memory but was also – by Lunn’s own admittance – inspired by, and expands upon, themes espoused on both the former (specifically the song “A Snowless Winter”) and Part 1 of The Scars of Man…, thus bringing things full circle and closing the book on this particular era of the band.

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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May 052026

(Andy Synn has six stellar recommendations for albums from last month to share with you)

It’s always difficult to pick what bands I’m going to include in these monthly catch-up articles – I only have so much time, and so much space, I can give them, after all – but I’m pretty pleased with the variety of different styles on display across the six entries which make up today’s column.

That being said, if you’re still craving more new music from last month that you may have missed, I’d encourage you to also check out Astraya, Atlantic Ridge, Carrion Spring, Heiden, Maranatha, Sewer Altar, and The Saddest Landscape.

But first…

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