Andy Synn Archives - Page 151 of 160

CLARET ASH: “THE CLEANSING”

Aug 142015

(Andy Synn reviews the new second album by Australia’s Claret Ash.)

Oh, Australia, how/why you’re currently experiencing this upsurge in attention and exposure for your contribution to the world of the Metallic arts I don’t know… but I do know that it’s thoroughly deserved.

I mean, seriously, I don’t even have to think all that hard to come up with a frankly staggering array of all the great things that have come from Down Under in recent years… Be’Lakor, Ne Obliviscaris, Drowning the Light, Orpheus Omega, Whoretopsy, the highly underappreciated Okera, Dawn of Azazel, Stargazer, Innsmouth, my current personal favourites Sanzu, Rise of Avernus, Advent Sorrow, Watchtower, Hope Drone, Spire, Wardaemonic, The Schoenberg Automaton, Caligula’s Horse, Mad Max… the list goes on!

Well, not to be forgotten or outdone, the boys in Claret Ash have just unleashed their sophomore effort, and what a nasty little piece of high-quality sonic darkness it is! Continue reading »

SOILWORK: “THE RIDE MAJESTIC”

Album Reviews 15 Responses »

Aug 102015

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Sweden’s Soilwork.)

At one point if you’d asserted that, fifteen years into their career, Swedish shred-masters Soilwork would be undergoing a creative and commercial renaissance I’m pretty sure you’d have been laughed out of whatever building you were in. Or thrown out.

Though the twin-peaks of A Predator’s Portrait and Natural Born Chaos initially positioned the band as a force to be reckoned with, the relative disappointment (creatively, if not necessarily commercially) of Figure Number Five (an album I, personally, absolutely love), Stabbing The Drama, and Sworn to a Great Divide definitely had a lot of people wondering if the band had started on the long, slow slide into mass-marketable mediocrity.

Somehow, surprisingly, 2010’s The Panic Broadcast bucked this trend with gusto, with the returning Peter Wichers clearly bringing a renewed sense of vigour and vitality to the songwriting process, and the decision (consciously or otherwise) to allow uber-drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbeuren to finally cut-loose paying massive dividends.

This all led to the unexpected and unpredictable success of 2013’s The Living Infinite – a massive double-album undertaking which somehow sustained an impressive 85-90% hit rate across its twenty-song track-listing, re-establishing the band as contenders while simultaneously raising the bar.

And there’s the rub. Because, try as I might, I can’t help but feel like The Ride Majestic falls a little short of the mark the band have set themselves. Continue reading »

FATHER SYNN’S METAL CONFESSIONAL (PART 10)

Uncategorized 26 Responses »

Aug 092015

(It is time once again for you to purge yourselves of your metal transgressions. Father Synn is waiting. He does not like to be kept waiting. And as always, he leads by example.)

Today’s sermon is a very special one, my children, as it deals with the thorny topic of… the replacement vocalist.

Yes, indeed, no matter how, or why, a band elects to replace their vocalist there’s always going to be a contingent of fans to whom the “new guy” will be anathema. A selection of listeners who cling to the past, regardless of what the future may hold (despite the fact that a new singer in no way invalidates what has gone before).

So today I choose to celebrate these poor, unloved souls… those whose succession to the throne of metaldom is fraught with controversy and complainers, yet who soldier on with heads (and mics) held high!

Now hear my confession, and take heed! Continue reading »

NE OBLIVISCARIS / XERATH / BRUTAI – BOSTON MUSIC ROOMS, LONDON, AUG 5, 2015

Concert Reviews 8 Responses »

Aug 072015

(Andy Synn reviews the performance in London on August 5 by Ne Obliviscaris, Xerath, and Brutai).

This weekend it’s Bloodstock Festival here in the UK, and this is the first year in a long time I’m not attending (not even for a day), simply because the overall line-up just hasn’t grabbed me this time around.

That’s no criticism against the festival mind you, but simply an acknowledgement that the chosen headliners this year just don’t really do anything for me (though, to be fair, following on from Immortal and Emperor in previous years would be difficult for any bands). And while the undercard does have a solid handful of bands I absolutely love — Enslaved, 1349, Agalloch, Ihsahn, Ne Obliviscaris – I’ve already seen the first two bands put on career-defining performances at Inferno Festival this year, and I don’t expect an 11 am outdoor slot to do the sound for Agalloch any favours either (particularly not in comparison to their own stunning performance at Inferno last year).

So really it’s only Ihsahn and Ne Obliviscaris I feel like I’m missing out on.

Except I’m not… because two nights ago I got the chance to see NeO put on an absolutely mindblowing performance in London. Continue reading »

WIEGEDOOD: “DE DODEN HEBBEN HET GOED”

Album Reviews 7 Responses »

Aug 032015

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by the Belgian band Wiegedood.)

Like an idiot I’ve been putting this review off for over a month now, shuffling it back into the pack again and again whenever something else comes along and jumps to the front of my mental queue. And that’s extremely unfair to the band and, perhaps just as much, unfair to our readers as well, as De Doden Hebben Het Goed is one fine-fettered slab of pitch-black savagery and anguish.

The Belgian three-piece, whose name is also the Dutch term for “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” (way to keep it morbid, guys), possess an enviable knack for pumping out a ferocious torrent of rage and fury, whilst maintaining a keen melodic edge, that’s neither weak, nor overbearing. That may not sound like much, but it’s a hard balance to get just right, and these guys make it look like child’s play. Pun intended. Continue reading »

COMPARATIVE METALLURGY: PART 3

Mosh Pit 2 Responses »

Jul 312015

(This concludes Andy Synn’s three-part post about the tendency of metal fans, critics, and bands to compare one band’s music to that of another and the ways in which it works… and doesn’t work.)

So, as I said, my writing process tends to be a little bit… free-form… so much so, in fact, that yesterday’s publication of Part 2 of Comparative Metallurgy was in fact quite different from how I’d originally envisioned it. One whole section was excised and replaced with the anecdotal part instead, which was originally intended to make up the bulk of Part 3, and the excised section put aside for a different feature sometime in the future.

But this raises a bit of a conundrum, as what I originally had planned for Part 3 has already been published, leaving me with no content for the promised column that you’re currently reading (and that I’m currently writing).

However, as always, our loyal readership comes to my rescue, with this comment from Gipson giving me a new idea for Part 3.

“Good piece! I look forward to parts 2, about egregious examples of misuse (should be fun), and 3, which I assume will be about times you really felt got it right.”

So, let it be written, and let it be done… these are the times when (I think) I didn’t get it wrong! Continue reading »

COMPARATIVE METALLURGY: PART 2

Mosh Pit 1 Response »

Jul 302015

(This is Part 2 of a three-part post in which Andy Synn discusses the tendency of fans, reviewers, and bands to compare and contrast the music of one band to that of others. Part 1 is here.)

Here’s a little peek at my writing “process” (scare quotes entirely necessary here…).

As I’ve said before, this was originally only a single column – at least in my head. But as it expanded and snowballed (no, not in that way… get your mind out of the gutter) into a longer and longer piece, it seemed prudent to split it up and rework each separate section slightly to give each one its own focus and theme.

So, as it currently stands, I’m actually still writing/rewriting the main body of Part 2 even as I type this introduction. That’s my process. A mix between stream-of-consciousness rambling and periodic bungee-cord recoils to retype or rework previous sections as and when something new occurs to me.

If I was feeling generous I’d call it “organic”. Although “haphazard” might be a better word for it.

Still, for Part 2 I’ve elected to focus on the ways in which the use of comparisons can be roundly abused and misused, whether consciously or unconsciously.

So let’s get on with it, shall we? Continue reading »

COMPARATIVE METALLURGY (PART 1)

Mosh Pit 10 Responses »

Jul 292015

(Here’s a thought piece by Andy Synn about a topic that we as reviewers have pondered more than once.)

Ok, so… originally this was just once piece. But, over the course of writing it, it began to snowball and expand beyond the original specifications. So it seemed only sensible to split it up, first into two, then into three, separate columns – that way you can pick and choose whatever parts most grab your fancy (and ignore the others).

Sound good?

Anyway, I’ve been kicking around some thoughts, feelings, and questions with various friends and compatriots recently, all to do with the idea of what it means to compare one band with another – when it’s appropriate, how frequently to do it, and how to do it right.

Because, and I’m pretty sure you’ll all be with me on this, over the years I’ve seen it done right, and I’ve seen it done very, very wrong…

Which leads us to Comparative Metallurgy, a three-part infosplurge of spurious factoids and absolutely bulletproof opinions about the use, abuse, and over-use, of comparisons between bands. Continue reading »

FATHER SYNN’S METAL CONFESSIONAL (PART 9)

Mosh Pit 49 Responses »

Jul 262015

(Father Synn has been shirking his ministerial duties lately. We trust he has duly administered chastisement to his flesh. And now he is again ready for your flesh. Share your metal confessions in the comments. This is not a request.)

Forgive me my children, for I have synned… it has been one whole month since our last confessional. Truly it is a poor shepherd who neglects his flock for so long. Woe be upon me if any of you have been led astray in the meantime.

My only excuse, the only caveat I can offer… is that I’ve been off enjoying myself and getting drunk quite a few times… so suck it.

As always, let my sins be the shining light leading you on the path to redemption! Continue reading »

HÆTHEN: “SHAPED BY AEOLIAN WINDS”

Album Reviews 6 Responses »

Jul 242015

(Andy Synn reviews the debut album by Philadelphia’s Hæthen.)

How strange… following on from the 60th edition of The Synn Report, which went up earlier this week [here], it seems like I’m sticking around in Philadelphia for another band – Black Metal misanthropists Hæthen, whose debut album Shaped by Aeolian Winds, was actually released wayyyyyy back in February of this year – however, to my endless shame, I’m only just discovering it now.

Still, what we have here, no more and no less, is a striking slab of evocative, highly atmospheric Black Metal – carefully crafted and refined by people who clearly know the genre like the back of their hands – and, while it may not be the most original or earth-shattering album ever produced, it remains a fine collection of deftly written, deeply impressive songs in its own right. Continue reading »

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