VACIVUS: “TEMPLE OF THE ABYSS”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Aug 162017
 

 

(We present Andy Synn’s review of the debut album by the UK death metal band Vacivus, set for release by Profound Lore on September 22nd.)

Here’s a seemingly simple, but actually incredibly complex, question – why are some bands good and other bands… less so?

Or, to be more specific, what makes some bands capable of spinning fresh gold out of a well-worn sound, while others are doomed to wallow in their own mediocrity?

This is something I’ve been wondering about quite a bit recently, after I came across a pair of Death Metal bands from the UK, both of whom have been receiving a fair bit of hype and attention online, whose albums couldn’t have more clearly represented the opposite ends of this spectrum.

You see, whereas one of these albums (whose name has been withheld out of respect to the victims) turned out to be one of the most painfully unoriginal and uninspired records I’ve heard all year, the other captured a certain freshness, a viciousness, a certain sense of drive and urgency, which made it an absolute joy to listen to.

So whatever this particular attribute, this special x-factor is, it’s clear that Vacivus definitely have it. Continue reading »

A HILL TO DIE UPON: “VIA ARTIS VIA MORTIS”

 Album Reviews  19 Responses »
Aug 142017
 

 

(On September 15, Luxor Records will release a new album by A Hill To Die Upon, and here we present Andy Synn’s review of the album plus a stream of its first single.)

There are certain artists who have, for whatever reason, become very special to us here at NCS.

Artists with whom we’ve built up a certain relationship, a certain rapport, over the years, to the point where they become essentially one of our “house bands”.

Illinois iconoclasts A Hill To Die Upon are one of them.

Having been fans of the group – now comprising original members Adam and Michael Cook alongside the newly-indentured Brent Dossett and Nolan Osmond – ever since their debut, following them through all the ups and downs, calamities and controversies, it’s been our privilege to watch them grow and evolve from plucky contenders into the veritable Blackened Death Metal powerhouse they are today.

It should therefore come as no surprise, if you’ve been paying attention, that the band’s fourth full-length album sees them continuing to develop and mature, stepping outside of the shadow cast by their forebears by, paradoxically, more fully embracing the blackened roots of their sound.

So hold onto your hats, it’s about to get biblical in here. Continue reading »

ENFOLD DARKNESS: “ADVERSARY OMNIPOTENT”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Aug 112017
 

 

(In this post Andy Synn reviews the new album by Nashville’s Enfold Darkness, released on July 14 by The Artisan Era.)

Audacious, ostentatious, and more than a little ridiculous… the long-awaited (and much delayed) second album from Nashville metallers Enfold Darkness is either going to have you grinning from ear to ear, or wrinkling your nose up in distaste, depending on your tolerance for outrageous metallic bombast.

And although we’re not quite talking full-on Fleshgod Apocalpyse levels of OTT excess, the band’s kitchen-sink approach to blending elements from different metallic sub-genres – resulting in a sound which can, to the disgust of genre purists, probably be best summed up as “Symphonic Blackened Technical Melodic Death Metal” – definitely falls into the “love it or loathe it” camp.

So the question is… are you going to love it, or… not? Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ATRIARCH — “DEAD AS TRUTH”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 102017
 

 

(Atriarch’s new album Dead As Truth will be released by Relapse Records tomorrow — August 11 — and today we present the debut of a full music stream, preceded by an introductory review from our Andy Synn.)

Here’s a fun story for you.

Not long ago, for whatever reason, I found myself attending a Goth club night, which afforded me an opportunity to observe some of our most unfairly maligned brothers and sisters strutting their funky stuff in their natural habitat.

What surprised me, however, was that, in amongst the expected medley of Fields of the Nephilim and Sisters of Mercy, I heard an awful lot of generic chart fodder as well.

Could it be that our infamously black-dyed brethren (and sistren) are actually just pop fans with a very specific taste in wardrobe?

Maybe so. Maybe not. What’s clear is that I’ll never fully understand what it means to be a Goth (not a judgement by the way, just a statement of fact).

But when it comes to music that inclines towards the darker side of things?

That’s something I can definitely get into. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CORMORANT

 Album Reviews, Premieres  4 Responses »
Aug 092017
 

 

On August 11, Cormorant will release their new album Disapora. We are fortunate to bring you the premiere of a full album stream today, preceded by a review of the album by Andy Synn.

 

Let’s begin this review with a quick history lesson, shall we?

Back in 2012, shortly after the release of the band’s stunning second album, Dwellings, long-time Cormorant bassist/vocalist Arthur von Nagel elected to leave the band to pursue a career in video-game design.

Although this parting of ways was entirely amicable, many fans were understandably concerned that the loss of von Nagel’s distinctive voice and signature bass sound would undercut the band’s growing momentum and still-burgeoning creative potential.

Thankfully, 2014’s Earth Diver – which saw the debut of new frontman Marcus Luscombe – quickly put to rest any lingering doubts and fears about the band’s future, repositioning the group as a much more overtly “blackened” affair, and proving that change doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.

Now, three years later, it seems the quartet are set to raise the bar even further with what is, quite possibly, their most extravagant and ambitious album yet. Continue reading »

DVNE: “ASHERAN”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  7 Responses »
Aug 042017
 

 

(We present Andy Synn’s review of the new album by the Scottish band DVNE, released on July 28 by Wasted State Records.)

You know what really grinds my gears?

Seeing/hearing people bleat on about how “there’s just no good new music out there anymore”, when, in truth, it’s never been simpler or easier to find something that caters to your specific tastes.

It’s a particularly frustrating attitude when you consider that the discovery of new music, whether on purpose or by accident, can be one of life’s great joys, and seeing people make such sweeping, and ill-informed statements – blithely dismissing, through their own ignorance/arrogance the absolute wealth of impressive, imaginative, and downright inspiring artists and albums out there – just pisses me off no end.

Of course I can kind of understand it if you’re used to simply passively consuming whatever you’re spoonfed by tv or radio – there’s only so much of the same shit that you can swallow after all, and only so many times you can regurgitate the same pre-chewed “opinions” before you actually make yourself sick – but the fact remains that it only takes about five minutes these days to find something new and exciting online.

Heck, sometimes it’s not even that hard. Sometimes you just stumble upon something that blows you away entirely by accident. Like I did a few months ago when I came across DVNE. Continue reading »

THE BEST OF BRITISH, 2017 (PART 7): ABHORRENT DECIMATION / DYSCARNATE / SUBSERVIENCE

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 022017
 

 

(Here’s the latest installment in Andy Synn’s 2017 series focusing on outstanding releases from Albion.)

For this latest edition of “The Best of British” I’ve picked out three fantastic examples of UK Death Metal at its absolute finest – one a cleverly composed concept album which may well prove to be the band’s “big break”, another a long-awaited and highly-anticipated return from one of the most underappreciated and unfuckwithable acts on the scene, and the third a shockingly good debut that should open a lot of doors and (hopefully) put the band on all the right radars. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 87: EXECRATION

 THE SYNN REPORT  3 Responses »
Jul 312017
 


Photo by Carsten Aniksdal

 

(In this July 2017 edition of THE SYNN REPORT, Andy reviews all the albums of the Norwegian band Execration, including their recently released 2017 album, Return To the Void.)

 

Recommended for fans of: Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Blood Incantation

 

With a sound that blends together the most fundamental elements of classic Death and Black Metal – yet which, for various reasons, you’d never describe as “Blackened Death Metal” or “retro” – Norwegian quartet Execration are a hard band to fully pin down.

The fact that their music also incorporates numerous strains of Prog, Doom, Punk, and Thrash only makes this task even harder.

Still, there’s a good chance that anyone who’s a fan of grim, grimy, guttural Death Metal, with a penchant for weird, acid-fuelled atmospherics and moments of spasming dissonance, will find a lot to love here. Continue reading »

NECK OF THE WOODS: “THE PASSENGER”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Jul 262017
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Vancouver’s Neck of the Woods, which is set for a September 15 release by Basick Records.)

As a writer/reviewer/opinionated asshole, I’m very aware of the effect that using the wrong words – particularly when it comes to genre terms – can have in a review.

Let’s face it, if I refer to something as “Black Metal” there’s always going to be someone ready to jump down my throat because the band in question isn’t “true”. If I call something “Death Metal”, there’s bound to be someone who’ll assert that the band in question aren’t “real Death Metal”. And if I even mention the whole “Post-“ thing… well, you know the rest by now.

So I’m seriously wondering how best to refer to the music of Vancouver virtuosos Neck of the Woods so as to alienate the least amount of people?

Progressive Death Metal-core maybe?

Wait, come back… Continue reading »

UNSUNG HEROES OF 2016: ZAO

 Interviews  3 Responses »
Jul 212017
 

 

(In the fifth and final part of a week-long series of interviews by Andy Synn, he talks with Scott Mellinger of the Pittsburgh band Zao, whose late-2016 album The Well-Intentioned Virus was reviewed by Andy here.)

Last, but by no means least, in my retrospective on some of 2016’s unsung heroes we have a band who are probably the most well-known out of all five, though still nowhere near enough in my estimation!

After a seven year break Zao returned in 2016 with The Well-Intentioned Virus, their tenth/eleventh full-length album (depending on whether or not you count the 2003 re-recording of All Else Failed), which proved to be one of the finest slabs of music the band had ever produced.

Now, a little over half a year later, I wanted to catch up with the band and welcome them back to the land of the living, as well as grill them on their time away, and what it took to produce an album which may well go down as their magnum opus. Continue reading »

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