DJENT OR DJENRE

 Mosh Pit  23 Responses »
Jun 092015
 

 

(Andy Synn presents a rare thing — an actual calm, reasoned, fairly objective discussion of Djent, and (surprisingly) a defense of sorts.)

Oh the dreaded “DJ-word”. Never has a genre risen, seemingly from out of nowhere, to such prominence so quickly. And perhaps never before has a genre gotten so over-saturated and over-exposed in such quick succession.

And it’s because of this (and perhaps a few other issues that I may, or may not, touch on in this column) that the merest mention of the word can reduce even the sanest Metalhead to a frothing ball of apoplectic fury. “It’s all the same!”, “It’s just nu-metal with fancier gear!”, “It’s not even a real genre!” are all things I’ve heard multiple times, spilling from the mouths (and fingers) of everyone from the angriest internet troll to the most elitist critic.

But rather than just brush all these protests and allegations aside, I thought I might try to actually engage with them for once, and look at not just what’s being said, but why it’s being said in the first place. Continue reading »

PYRRHON: “GROWTH WITHOUT END”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Jun 022015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new EP by Pyrrhon.)

The veritable smorgasbord of styles and variants on the Death Metal template available today means that the genre offers the potential to satisfy seemingly every urge and craving.

Whether you’re looking for a quick snack of savagery, or a multi-course feast of diverse, Deathly dishes, there’s always going to be something in the recipe book – from Floridian flavourings to Blackened spice – to tantalise the taste-buds.

Case in point, Brooklyn-based Death Metal mixologists Pyrrhon have certainly come up with their own particular formula for sonic disorder, a foul and brackish brew of scalding fury and sickening intensity that practically compels the listener to gorge themselves senseless on the depraved delights it offers. Continue reading »

FATHER SYNN’S METAL CONFESSIONAL (PART 4)

 Mosh Pit  42 Responses »
May 242015
 

 

(It’s Sunday, and therefore Father Synn returns with another Metal Confessional, ready once again to hear your sins and mete out the penance.  I believe the enjoyment of meting out penance is the principal reason why Father Synn became a man of the cloth. )

Truly this is a momentous edition of Father Synn’s Metal Confessional, for many of our loyal congregation will surely have sinned their happy little hearts out at MDF over the past few days, and will surely have a burning need to confess their crimes.
So to them I say… step forward, and be absolved! (Disclaimer: absolution not guaranteed)

But first, as always, let me bare myself before you once again! Continue reading »

DANIEL CAVANAGH — “MEMORY AND MEANING”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Off Topic  4 Responses »
May 222015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the crowd-funded solo album of Daniel Cavanagh.)

As the old saying goes, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play”. And with both Islander and Badwolf currently semi-AWOL from the site due to attending MDF, it’s definitely time to play…

In that spirit, and as part of my continued quest to drag down the good name of this site, I hereby present to you the entirely clean-sung, all-acoustic, and almost completely un-metal, covers album by Anathema guitarist/co-vocalist Daniel Cavanagh.

Let the games begin! Continue reading »

UNSUNG HEROES

 Mosh Pit  5 Responses »
May 202015
 

 

(Andy Synn expresses gratitude to some people who don’t ask for it…)

Recently I went on a little rant about how the term “brotherhood of metal” is thrown around a lot these days… and it’s usually by people using the term in a calculated manner, invoking it as some form of protection against criticism and as a way of making themselves look good for supporting this so-called “brotherhood”.

It galls me, it really does, when I see people invoking “the brotherhood of metal” purely for their own selfish gain, while disguising it in the trappings of mutual support and love of the genre. It’s hypocritical and disingenuous , and to these people it’s a “brotherhood” only as long as it’s convenient, as long as it can be used for profit, and as long as it can be used for self-aggrandisement.

But as pissed off as it makes me, and as negative as this post may have started, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to bring praise to those people who really do make me proud to be a part of the Metal scene instead – not the ones who trumpet loudest about it being a “brotherhood”, whilst simultaneously only helping out their mates and those who suck up to them, but the ones who work tirelessly in the background, without making it all about themselves, without looking to have their arses kissed or their boots licked, without looking for anything more than a way to contribute to making the scene a better, and more vibrant place.

And no, I’m not talking about myself. Continue reading »

INCINERATION FEST 2015

 Concert Reviews  6 Responses »
May 162015
 

 

(Our man Andy Synn was lucky enough to attend the second annual Incineration Festival in the UK and turns in this report, with videos.)

Let me preface this review with a quick round of thanks to the people who made the festival, and my presence there, possible.

My main thanks go out to Daniel of London Metal Monthly (for whom I also write on a semi-regular basis these days) for arranging my press pass and feeding my ever-expanding ego (though at no point did I have to utter the immortal words “do you know who I am?”… which was a shame).

I also want to thank Steve and Stephen for dealing with the masses of people queuing for wristbands and for sorting my access on the day itself, as well as for all their work behind the scenes in booking the bands, venues, crew, and everything else that must have gone into a mammoth undertaking.

However, they, along with Nimai, are only the names I know of the people who were involved. For an undertaking this big – one that’s only in its second year no less – there must have been a host of other helpers and organisers working alongside them. And although I don’t know their names, I thank them as well. Continue reading »

NE OBLIVISCARIS: “HIRAETH” / “SARABANDE TO NIHIL”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  11 Responses »
May 142015
 


photo by Svartwerk

(Here, Andy Synn reviews two EPs by Australia’s Ne Obliviscaris that were distributed as limited-edition rewards for participation in the band’s successful crowd-funding campaign for financing of international tours.)

As much as I acknowledge that Citadel by Ne Obliviscaris is a fine-fettered beast of an album, one which rightly appeared on a lot of end-of-year lists, my personal feelings towards it are a bit more muted than some.

Oh, the instrumentation is certainly as flawless and inventive as anything you might care to mention, and the compositions impressively complex and creative, but to me the whole somehow seems less than the sum of its parts.

For one thing it’s clearly written to be almost self-consciously “progressive” in nature and this, combined with a few other things (the fact that there’s only three proper “songs”, the seeming disconnect between the clean vocals of Tim Charles and the rest of the material), means that it just doesn’t work for me in the same way their debut did.

And apparently I’m not alone in feeling that way. Continue reading »

FATHER SYNN’S METAL CONFESSIONAL (PART 2)

 Mosh Pit  80 Responses »
May 102015
 

 

(We received such an overwhelmingly positive response to Father Synn’s first Metal Confessional last Sunday that he has returned, ready once again to hear your sins and mete out the penance.)

Greetings once more my faithful congregation! Can it really have been a whole week since last we bared our souls (and, in some cases, a little more than that…) to one another? Oh, how the time flies when you’re wallowing in sin…

Surely in the last seven days some amongst you have committed yet more egregious crimes against the great name of Metal? Or perhaps you’ve simply garnered the courage to finally admit to your past mistakes?

Whatever the case, Father Synn is here once more to listen and pass judgement. Yet, as always, I will lead the way, by admitting to yet more of my own fallibilities and failings… Continue reading »

GORGOROTH: “INSTINCTUS BESTIALIS”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
May 082015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Gorgoroth.)

Somehow it’s been almost six whole years since the last proper album by Black Metal stalwarts Gorgoroth. And what a long six years they’ve been, filled with a multitude of ups and downs, highs and lows, one particularly ill-conceived re-recording, and a rather public spat with their (now ex) vocalist Pest.

So you can probably be forgiven for being a little wary about the group’s new album, their ninth (or tenth, depending on how you’re counting), and only their second with Tomas Asklund behind the kit, as well as their first with yet another new vocalist (Triumfall’s Atterigner) behind the mic.

But you needn’t be unduly concerned. Although Instinctus Bestialis may not be the masterpiece necessary to truly thrust the band back to the forefront of today’s Black Metal scene, when it all comes together it is in fact very, very, good indeed. Continue reading »

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