A DIALOGUE ON THE “DEATH OF GENRES”

 Mosh Pit  15 Responses »
Oct 042018
 

 

Two days ago Metal Hammer published an essay entitled “I witnessed the death of genres“, in which the author raved about the live performance he’d recently witnessed by a band named  Scarlxrd, praising the artist’s hybridizing of musical styles from different genres, including metal. The article ended with these words:

“Where else will you find a night of music so indebted to aggressive metal and hip-hop, but unafraid to introduce AC/DC and Oasis into the mix? This is the future of music. Just music. Nobody cares about your arcane genre tags or inexplicably niche sub-genres that only two bands fit into, it’s all just sound, we’re in a genre fluid world and you should embrace it. Music is beautiful and narrow-mindedness is ugly.

“Be part of something, be part of everything.”

This provoked a Facebook status by my NCS colleague Andy Synn. By the time I saw it, it had drawn a large number of comments and exchanges, and one of those dialogues was with our mutual friend and former NCS scribe Joseph Schafer (who now writes for such publications and sites as DECIBEL and Noisey, after a stint as Invisible Oranges‘ editor). Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 101): VALDUR

 THE SYNN REPORT  5 Responses »
Oct 012018
 

(In this edition of THE SYNN REPORT for September 2018, Andy Synn reviews all the albums released so far by the Californian black/death band Valdur, as well as their new full-length scheduled for detonation on October 19th.)

Recommended for fans of: Teitanblood, Tchornobog, Incantation

By sheer coincidence the last several editions of The Synn Report have covered bands who tend towards the more melodic, the more ambient, or the more accessible end of the metallic spectrum.

Which makes it high time we delved into something a little harder, and a lot nastier, doesn’t it?

Hailing (aptly enough) from Mammoth Lakes in California, Valdur’s fluctuating line-up has often been veiled in a shroud of obfuscation, with several of the band’s members operating either unacknowledged, unnamed, or under a carefully crafted pseudonym, over the years.

But while the group’s roster may have changed, their core-line-up, and their commitment to their uncompromising and unrelenting brand of grim and gritty Black/Death Metal, has remained remarkably – even rabidly – consistent, over the course of five (soon to be six) savagely Satanic, ravenously riff-heavy, albums.

And with their newest release, Goat of Iniquity, set for release on the 19th of October, now seemed like the perfect time to go for a deep dive into the filth and fury of the band’s back-catalogue. Continue reading »

ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE: “PALM READER”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Sep 282018
 

 

(Andy Synn brings us this review of the crushing new EP by California’s Armed For Apocalypse on the day of its release.)

While I’m still slaving away on this month’s edition of The Synn Report (it’s a big one, and I think you’ll all be very pleased with how it turns out) I’ve realised that, in all likelihood, I’m probably not going to get it done in time for posting today.

It will probably make an appearance early next week, however, so don’t worry.

As a result of this realisation I decided to take a quick look around the ol’ interweb and see what else I might be able to write about in the meantime, so as to tide you all over until Monday.

And, wouldn’t you know it, but the long-awaited comeback EP from Californian Sludgecore quarter Armed For Apocalypse drops today! Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH: CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX / FAMYNE / SPIRES

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  1 Response »
Sep 272018
 

 

(In this new edition of Andy Synn‘s occasional series, he reviews new releases by three UK bands — Crippled Black Phoenix, Famyne, and Spires.)

Despite my well-documented griping about how frequently certain sections of the UK scene seem to embrace mediocrity, there’s still a hefty amount of quality music and quality bands coming out of these green and pleasant lands these days, and today’s edition of “The Best of British” rounds up three of them for your aural delectation.

Fair warning, however, the following three albums contain a lot of clean singing so… you’ve been warned! Continue reading »

DÖDSRIT: “SPIRIT CRUSHER”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Sep 252018
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the Swedish one-man project Dödsrit, which will be released on September 28th by Prosthetic Records.)

Dödsrit’s self-titled debut album (though, at only 4 tracks and just 29 minutes in length, I tend to think of it more as a long EP myself) made a lot of waves and a lot of noise when it was released in October of last year.

And with good reason.

Rich in both aggression and atmosphere, and practically overflowing with gleaming melody and gritty riffery, the band’s sound (actually the product of a single individual, Christoffer Öster) was a brilliantly realised, blisteringly visceral, blend of Black Metal and Crust Punk, that was equally capable of appealing to fans of Wiegedood and Wolves In The Throne Room as it was fans of Ancst and Martyrdöd… and even, dare I say it, fans of everyone from Deafheaven to Darkest Hour.

And, wouldn’t you know it, the follow-up is even better! Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: “HADAL MAW”

 WAXING LYRICAL  1 Response »
Sep 222018
 

 

(This week the Australian band Hadal Maw answers Andy Synn‘s questions about lyrics.)

How is everyone enjoying the “Waxing Lyrical” series so far? Hopefully you’re all finding it as interesting and enlightening as I am, and hopefully you’re all still curious as to which artists I might have lined up for future editions.

Today we’re lucky to be receiving a message all the way from Down Under, as Sam Dillon, vocalist/lyricist of Technical Groove titans Hadal Maw, joins us with some intriguing thoughts about his tenure with the band, and what their music, and lyrics, mean to him.. Continue reading »

BEHEMOTH: “I LOVED YOU AT YOUR DARKEST”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Sep 212018
 

 

(Andy Synn provides these early and unfiltered impressions of the new album from Behemoth, which will be released by Nuclear Blast on October 5th.)

Over the years I’ve discovered that the term “too big to fail” is one that doesn’t just apply to the banking industry, it can also refer to certain bands who, for various reasons, have reached a certain level of fame and success which makes them essentially “immune” to criticism – no matter what they do, enough of their fans will buy whatever they put out, shout down any disapproving comments, and make excuses for their actions, to guarantee they stay on top.

This isn’t helped by the fact that certain publications, both physical and digital, tend to reserve their big scores for the big names, and lavish the most coverage on the bands with the most exposure.

Essentially, once you’ve reached this level, your success becomes something of a self-perpetuating cycle (as long as you don’t %$&! it up).

Now, like it or not, I’m sure very few people would disagree that Behemoth have long-since passed this point (most likely with the massive success of Evangelion, though I’m sure there are those who would argue that this happened even earlier), and that the release of the career-defining The Satanist simply helped cement their status as one of the Metal scene’s biggest names.

The main question which needs answering now, therefore, is… does their latest effort actually deserve to be praised entirely on its own merits, or is it likely to be one of those albums celebrated more for who it is, rather than what it actually sounds like? Continue reading »

BLODWAR: “DESIGN TO DESTROY”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Sep 192018
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Minnesota’s Blodwar, released on September 7th and now available through Bandcamp.)

I’d like to begin this review by taking a little trip all the way back to the heady days of… the early 1990s.

It might seem odd to think about it now, but “back in the day” a hungry young band called Machine Head were hotly tipped to be the sound of the underground in the lead-up to the release of their debut album, Burn My Eyes.

Not only would this record prove to be one uncompromisingly aggressive (not to mention bastard-heavy) amalgam of Thrash, Hardcore, and Death Metal, quite unlike anything else being put out at the time, but it would also go on to become (arguably) the band’s crowning achievement and remains to this day their defining statement in the eyes of many of their fans (and even some of their detractors).

Of course we all know what happened next, with Flynn and co. jumping on the Nu-Metal bandwagon, only to fall off (and fall hard) come the turn of the new millennium, followed by an unexpected return to form in the shape of their “comeback” album, Through the Ashes of Empires… and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now whether you love or loathe the band’s increasingly barefaced attempts to court the mainstream and become “the next Metallica” in recent years, you can’t deny that it’s been a remarkably successful strategy, and paid off handsomely for them in terms of increased exposure and ever-increasing record and ticket sales.

But there will always be those left wondering what might have happened had they stuck to their guns (and their heavier roots) after the release of The More Things Change…, and it looks like Minnesota metallers Blodwar might just have the answer. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: PHANTOM WINTER

 WAXING LYRICAL  3 Responses »
Sep 152018
 

 

(In this week’s edition of Andy Synn’s WAXING LYRICAL the focus is the lyricism of the German band Phantom Winter, as discussed by vocalist/guitarist Andreas Schmittfull.)

The name Phantom Winter should be familiar to most readers of our site as we’ve written about the German quintet several times, heaping a large amount of praise on their visceral brand of Blackened Sludge Metal over the years, as well as engaging in numerous discussions about their rigorously shaped and savagely delivered philosophical and socio-political lyrics.

It should be no surprise to learn then that the band’s vocalist/guitarist (and primary lyricist) Andreas Schmittfull had a lot to say and a lot of interesting insight to offer when I (finally) managed to pin him down for this edition of Waxing Lyrical.

So, without further ado… take it away Andreas! Continue reading »

VOID OF SILENCE: “THE SKY OVER”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Sep 142018
 

 

(We present Andy Synn‘s review of the latest album by the Italian band Void of Silence, which was released earlier this year by Avantgarde Music.)

I’ve had Italian Post/Doom Metallers Void of Silence lined up for an edition of The Synn Report for quite a while now, as it’s long felt to me like their signature combination of titanic riffs, symphonic keys, riveting vocal melodies, and ambient industrial embellishments, has the potential to really speak to a significant segment of our readership.

However a few different factors have all combined to the point where it simply made more sense to (finally) review their new album (their first after a lengthy, eight-year-long, hiatus) in isolation, particularly since, in my humble opinion at least, it’s one of the very best records of 2018. Continue reading »

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