SHOW REVIEW: EMPLOYED TO SERVE (AND SVALBARD) – NOTTINGHAM, NOVEMBER 9, 2017

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Nov 102017
 


Employed To Serve

 

(Andy Synn prepared this review of the performances by Employed To Serve and Svalbard in Nottingham, England, on November 9, 2017.)

I’m not sure whether it’s due to my increasing age, or the regular quantities of alcohol which I consume, but for some reason I was certain – 110% certain – that we’d already covered Employed to Serve and their flabbergastingly good second album, The Warmth of a Dying Sun, here at NCS earlier this year.

So you can imagine my surprise when, as I was gearing up for this show, I discovered that we haven’t written a single word about the band all year!

For shame.

Still, at least I have a chance now to redress the balance somewhat. Continue reading »

NORDIC GIANTS

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News  No Responses »
Nov 102017
 

 

(Andy Synn wrote this feature about the masked UK duo Nordic Giants.)

The following article is less of a review and more of a… recommendation that you check out the band Nordic Giants, whom I recently discovered at this year’s edition of Damnation Festival (yes, I realise I’m late to the party on this, but that’s the joy of festivals, you can stumble upon something entirely new and wonderful completely by accident).

Now, a word of warning – though the majority of their songs are instrumental, the duo also make use of guest vocalists now and then, so there is some (utterly sublime) clean singing involved in a number of their tracks.

As a matter of fact, the band in general are a walking (but not talking) exception to our general rule, in that they’re not actually a Metal band at all, but I can definitely see their particular brand of dynamic, cinematic Post Rock appealing to fans of everyone from Junius and Sólstafir to Sigur Ros and latter-day Ulver. Continue reading »

DAMNATION FESTIVAL 2017

 Concert Reviews  6 Responses »
Nov 072017
 

 

(Andy Synn was fortunate to witness the 2017 edition of Damnation Festival in Leeds, UK, on November 4, and prepared this report on the performances, along with many videos.)

One of the things I love most about Damnation Festival is that, because it always sells out, the organisers are free to keep things as underground and as intimate as possible, and to resist the pressure to book some of the more popular (and more predictable) marquee names which you’ll see play other festivals year in and year out.

That doesn’t mean that Damnation is an “elitist” event by any means – in fact the atmosphere and camaraderie on display every year is another one of the big draws for me, as it always warms my heart to see a mingling of Metal fans, of all ages, races, colours, and creeds, in an environment dedicated purely to the love of live music – but this focus in quality over quantity, on providing a unique experience, both for the fans and for the bands who play, is something that sets it apart from its peers and rivals. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: CLARET ASH — “THE GREAT ADJUDICATION: FRAGMENT ONE”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Nov 022017
 

 

(We present Andy Synn’s review of the new EP by the Australian black metal band Claret Ash, released yesterday via Bandcamp.)

Do you feel that? That faint, but growing, tingling on the back of your neck? That slowly developing sense of dread?

If you’re a writer/reviewer like me, you’ll recognise it almost immediately. That’s the sensation that time is running out, that the year is almost over, and yet there’s still so much left unsaid and unwritten.

And while I’m slowly starting to put together my usual yearly round-up to be published next month, I’m also still trying my hardest to award some coverage (and criticism) to as many albums and EPs as possible before the inevitable completion of the current solar cycle.

So, without further ado… here’s some rambling thoughts on the new EP by Aussie Black Metallers Claret Ash. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: ZAO — “PYRRHIC VICTORY”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Oct 312017
 

 

(We present Andy Synn’s review of the new EP by Pennsylvania-based Zao, which will be released this coming Friday and is streaming in full as of today.)

Zao’s fantastic comeback album, The Well-Intentioned Virus, was easily one of the best and brightest releases of last year, even if its December release date kept it from appearing on most end of year lists.

Regardless of this, the band are clearly keen on capitalising on the momentum of their return, and are already working on their next full-length… while also set to drop a brand new EP, the five-track Pyrrhic Victory this Friday.

Well, you know what they say about striking while the iron is hot, right? Continue reading »

WITH GREAT POWER…

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Oct 282017
 

 

(Andy Synn wrote this piece, reflecting on the passage of roughly seven years after the publication of his first piece at NCS — this one.)

…yada, yada, yada, you know the rest, right?

Seriously though, I recently passed the seventh anniversary of my coming onboard to write for NCS, and it’s caused me to reflect on my time here, and how lucky I am to have a platform where what I think and what I write can make a difference – if only a small one – to so many bands. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 90: DESOLATE SHRINE

 THE SYNN REPORT  5 Responses »
Oct 272017
 

 

(We present the glorious 90th edition of THE SYNN REPORT, and on this milestone occasion Andy Synn reviews the collected discography of Desolate Shrine, including their brand new album Deliverance From the Godless Void, which will be released by Dark Descent on November 10.)

Recommended for fans of: Incantation, Bloodbath, Enthroned

I’m sure, like me, a lot of you have bands in your collection who you absolutely love… but whom you got into surprisingly late. Desolate Shrine are one of those bands for me.

Heavier than granite, nastier than gangrene, and grimmer than the reaper himself, the Finnish three-piece (mainman L.L. handling all writing and instruments, with vocal duties shared by R.S. and M.T.) were always a band on my radar, but it wasn’t until the release of their third album, The Heart of the Netherworld, that I really took a vested interest in them… and then started kicking myself for waiting so long.

Thankfully I was quick to correct my error, snapping up a copy of both …Netherworld and its predecessor The Sanctum of Human Darkness soon after, and eventually grabbing hold of their debut, Tenebrous Towers, not long after that.

Now, with the band’s fourth album, Deliverance from the Godless Void, set for release on November 10th, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to spread the word about the band’s brutal, black-hearted brand of Blackened Death Metal. Continue reading »

A DIRTY (HALF) DOZEN: ALTARAGE, BELL WITCH, LENG TCH’E, NE OBLIVISCARIS, PROGENIE TERRESTRE PURA, SPECTRAL VOICE

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Oct 232017
 


Altarage

 

(Andy Synn brings us this compilation of six reviews.)

I’ve said it a few times already… but it bears repeating here… there’s just SO much music to listen to that even I can’t keep up with it properly.

But hey, trying is half the battle, right? So here’s my attempt to make some sort of dent in the ever-growing pile of albums which we have yet to review here at NCS… some of which are several months old, some of which are very new indeed! Continue reading »

HALLATAR: “NO STARS UPON THE BRIDGE”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Oct 202017
 

 

(Andy Synn prepared this review of the new album by the Finnish band Hallatar.)

Perhaps more than most, it’s important to understand a little bit about this album’s background and the context surrounding its creation.

In April 2016, several months before the eventual release of their debut album, Trees of Eternity vocalist Aleah Stanbridge (also a frequent collaborator with Swallow the Sun and Amorphis) sadly passed away.

Earlier this year her long-time partner Juha Raivio (also of Swallow the Sun) took some personal time away from his main band in order to immerse himself in the writing process for what would, eventually, become No Stars Upon the Bridge and, over the course of a single week, composed the majority of the material which you’ll find here as both a form of much-needed catharsis and as a eulogy to his lost love, whose lyrics and poems provided the basis for much of the album’s lyrical content. Continue reading »

PLANET EATER: “BLACKNESS FROM THE STARS”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Oct 182017
 

 

(Last summer we premiered a song from the new album by Planet Eater from Regina in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, and now we present Andy Synn’s review of the album.)

As much as we enjoy a lot of fancy progressive, forward-thinking, paradigm-evolving bands here at NCS… sometimes we all just want something that rips.

Enter Western Canada’s (fantastically named) Planet Eater and their debut album, Blackness from the Stars. Continue reading »

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