Andy Synn Archives - Page 147 of 160

2015 – A YEAR IN EPs

Dec 112015

(So far, our year-end LISTMANIA series has mostly been devoted to year-end lists from other sites and print zines, but today we begin rolling out our own lists, and we start with the first of six that Andy Synn is preparing. Every day next week we’ll post his remaining five.)

Such is the chaos that is my life at the moment (in between trying to get my End of Year List/s done, I’ve also been putting together a PhD proposal/application, booking a photo shoot for Beyond Grace, TRYING to book shows for next year for us, and helping some good friends move house) that I almost forgot about my annual semi-traditional round-up of all the great EPs I’ve heard this year!

Yes, yes, I know there are several bloggers and/or sites out there who argue that EPs should be considered right alongside full-length albums when it comes to summing up matters at the end of the year… but I’m not one of them.

No, I think EPs deserve their own category, and their own specific focus, and so I’ve written this little round-up to give some of the year’s shortest, sharpest, releases their due. Continue reading »

MARTRIDEN: “COLD AND THE SILENCE”

Album Reviews 25 Responses »

Dec 032015

(Andy Synn reviews the first album by Martriden in almost six years, which unexpectedly appeared on Bandcamp earlier this week.)

So formerly Montana-based and now Denver-based Progressive Black Metallers Martriden decided to go the Krallice route with the release of their latest album, and drop it onto Bandcamp earlier this week with little to no fanfare preceding its appearance. Thankfully for all of you, I’m a huge (borderline obese) fan of this band, so the second I spotted the message about its release I dived on it as if it were a live grenade/puppy and have been listening to it almost non-stop ever since.

What I’ve found, however, is that, for whatever reason, this is actually a pretty hard album to review. For me, anyway. I’ve written, deleted, and rewritten so many paragraphs about each track and then scrapped them totally so many times now that the version you’re currently reading bears little to no resemblance to what I originally intended when I first set out to form my thoughts into (semi)coherent sentences. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 66: “OBSCURE SPHINX”

Exceptions to the Rule, THE SYNN REPORT 5 Responses »

Nov 302015

(In this edition of THE SYNN REPORT, Andy Synn reviews the discography of Poland’s Obscure Sphinx.)

Recommended for fans of: Cult of Luna, Tool, Triptykon

Polish Post-Prog-Doomsters Obscure Sphynx are one of those bands who you just can’t believe aren’t so much bigger than they are. Both their albums (particularly 2013’s utterly phenomenal Void Mother, which is easily up there with my all-time favourite albums) could serve as a masterclass in how to craft songs melding mood and emotion, rage and clarity, captivating song-writing and focused metallic heaviness – and both have similarly been underrated and underappreciated by the metal-loving public at large.

Well no more! It’s time to sit up and take notice, it’s time to give the devil his due… it’s time… for this band to reap the just rewards for the brilliant music that they’ve sown! Continue reading »

SECRETS OF THE MOON: “SUN”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Nov 272015

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Germany’s Secrets of the Moon.)

Change is a funny thing. Particularly in a genre both as Progressive and as Conservative as Metal can be. We so often crave the thrill of the new, whilst clinging to the comfort and security of the familiar. Sometimes simultaneously. And this isn’t just confined to Metal either. It’s something you can see across listeners of all different genres.

I am painting with something of a wide brush there, though, as Metal fans are a diverse lot, when all is said and done. Some of them love to watch bands grow and develop and change. Others prefer them to stay the same (as long as they keep the quality high). Some even prefer bands to practically regress back to what they consider the “Golden Age” of the genre. But I’d conjecture that most of us (at least here at NCS) tend to take things on a band-by-band basis. After all, some bands can get away with hitting that same sweet spot over and over again, when others quickly fall victim to the law of diminishing returns. And, similarly, some bands can change and transform into monsters (in a good way), while others simply grow too big for their boots.

So the important question here is… how do you handle change?… since the issue of whether you’re open, or averse, to change is going to have a big influence on how you receive this album.

Because, make no mistake about it, Sun showcases a wholly different Secrets of the Moon than the one you’re used to. Continue reading »

SANZU: “HEAVY OVER THE HOME”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Nov 202015

(Andy Synn reviews the debut album by Australia’s Sanzu.)

Stepping out of the shadow of your influences can be a tricky thing. Particularly when one of your major influences happens to have a fairly distinct and instantly recognisable sound of their own. Trying to put a fresh spin on things, to stamp it with your own identity whilst also maintaining a sense of continuity with your own vision of how you want things to sound… that’s hard.

One option, of course, is to simply say “fuck it” and just leave it all behind. You can see this in the host of ex-Deathcore and ex-Djent bands who, some by accident but many by design, quickly ended up straying pretty far from their roots, with their development and attempt to establish their own particular idiom pushing them outside the boundaries of their home-genre and leading them further and further away from their initial influences.

Of course… there’s another way. One that, like the method I’ve just described, comes with its own fair share of risks, but also offers up some tantalising rewards. And that’s to seize the sound of your influences with both hands, to grip it, and hold it, and crush it in your grasp and bellow “this is mine now”.

I’ll let you guess which one Sanzu have gone for on Heavy Over The Home. Continue reading »

ANNIHILIST — “VOL. 1”

Album Reviews, Eye-Catchers 5 Responses »

Nov 192015

(Andy Synn reviews the debut EP of Australia’s Annihilist.)

Never underestimate the value of good album art. After all, first impressions DO count.

For every cheesy cgi monstrosity, for every uninspired and multi-hued “cosmic” abortion, for every generic “war is bad” post-apocalypse or totally brutal “I’ve never been consensually touched by a woman” guts-n-gore album cover, there’s something far more interesting and eye-catching out there, something that stands out from the pack and practically yells “check this out!”

Such is the case with Australian metallurgists Annihilist and their debut EP Vol. 1. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: STEVE DICKSON (MAMMOTHFEST)

Interviews 2 Responses »

Nov 132015

(In this post Andy Synn interviews Steve Dickson, the main man behind Mammothfest, whose 2015 edition took place last month in Brighton, England.)

Hello Steve. For the unenlightened amongst our readers, would you care to provide an outline of what Mammothfest is, how long it’s been going, etc?

No. I would rather shit the bed and roll in it for a week…ah shit sorry, wrong interview, yes it would be my absolute pleasure to enlighten all.

Mammothfest has been going since 2009 and our main objectives are to have a “Mammoth” outdoor metal festival in Brighton, bring the biggest bands in the world to our lovely seaside town, and support the underground bands by giving them the platforms they deserve/need to grow to become our future headliners because the big boys will not be around to play forever! Continue reading »

DAMNATION FESTIVAL 2015

Concert Reviews 6 Responses »

Nov 132015

(Andy Synn provides this report on the 2015 edition of Damnation Festival in the UK.)

It’s been a few years now since I last attended Damnation Festival, the annual celebration of all things dark and metallic hosted (as always) at Leeds University Student’s Union. But this year I knew I simply couldn’t miss it, as not only were a number of my favourite bands playing (hello Sólstafir, hi there Primordial) but also two bands I’ve been a fan of since their very first albums, but whom I’d never actually managed to see live before (The Ocean, Altar of Plagues).

Oh, and some band named At The Gates. Who are apparently pretty famous or something. Continue reading »

WILDERNESSKING: “MYSTICAL FUTURE”

Album Reviews 5 Responses »

Nov 092015

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by South Africa’s Wildernessking.)

South Africa’s Wildernessking are a band we’ve been following closely here at NCS ever since we discovered them way back in the hallowed year two thousand and twelve, monitoring their steady growth and development with the ever-watchful eye of a proud father (or, at least, a creepy uncle).

From their humble beginnings (though I still contend that The Writing of Gods in the Sand is one of the finest debut albums I’ve heard in the last ten years or so) the quartet have demonstrated a frankly fearless and irresistible urge to progress, continually expanding their creative palette, whilst also showcasing an impressive ability to write songs that are as effortlessly memorable as they are cleverly unpredictable.

And although there will be those who refer to Mystical Future (the band’s second full-length following a series of intriguing, invigorating EPs and split-releases) as a “Post Black Metal” album – with all the associated baggage and braggadocio that entails – the idea of attributing this term to the band seems, to me at least, to be less about them adhering to the vague tenets of this still somewhat ill-defined sub-genre, and more of an acknowledgement that the band are entering a new phase of existence… their “Post” Black Metal years, if you will.
Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: STELLAR MASTER ELITE (D.F.)

Interviews 1 Response »

Nov 052015

(Andy Synn interviews D.F., master of guitars and synthesizers for Germany’s Stellar Master Elite. To read Andy’s reviews of all the band’s albums, including their new 2015 release, go here.)

So let’s start this interview off with a simple question… how are you, and what are you up to at this precise moment?

DF: Writing this interview with the damn flu while listening to Boards of Canada. Could be worse! Continue reading »

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