Andy Synn Archives - Page 2 of 149

ASTRONOID – STARGOD

Nov 102025

(Andy Synn continues our unexpected love affair with Astronoid on their new album, out now)

It’s funny to think about it – especially given the name of our site (which, again, should be taken with at least a pinch of salt and tongue firmly planted in cheek) but we’ve been supporters of whatever it is that Astronoid do (Post-Rock? Post-Metal? Prog-Pop?) for a long time now.

Heck, if you go all the way back to their time as Vattnet (formerly Vattnet Viskar) then our shared history goes back even further… and while that history hasn’t always been smooth sailing (I still stand by my opinion that their 2019 self-titled was a big let-down after their absolutely stunning first album) we’ve always tried to encourage our readers to give the band’s distinct, yet oddly divisive, sound a chance.

That being said, there’s a couple of things you need to bear in mind before giving Stargod a listen.

The first of which is that Stargod is not Air, and shouldn’t be judged as such (in fact one of the biggest mistakes you can make, whether as a reviewer or just as a listener, is to judge an album based entirely on what it’s not, rather than what it actually is… or, at the very least, what it’s trying to be).

And the second is that if you weren’t a fan of Astronoid prior to this, well, there’s a pretty good chance that Stargod won’t change your mind about that… in fact, if anything, the band’s decision to not only double-down on certain aspects of their sound (their self-appellated brand of “Dream Thrash” always been more Coheed and Cambria than Carcass and Coroner, and that’s even more apparent this time around) but to also give their early 80s Synth-Pop influences (think Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, A-Ha, etc) even more prominence will probably be a deal-breaker for anyone of a more musically “conservative” bent.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t give the album a try if you’re curious… I just want to make sure you’re in the right headspace to appreciate it, and aren’t caught by surprise by what you’re going to hear.

SHORT BUT SWEET: CELLAR VESSEL / MALADIE / SPLITJAW

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Nov 052025

(Andy Synn has three more EPs for you to check out today)

It might be controversial to say so, but I don’t think that 2025 has been quite as strong as 2024.

That’s not to say there haven’t been some truly excellent albums released this year (there’s only about a month or so until my regular annual round-up, where you’ll get to see the evidence for that statement) but I feel like there’s been fewer soaring highs, and a few more unexpected disappointments, compared to last year (don’t quote me on this though, as I still need to run a final analysis).

The exception here, of course, is in the realm of the short-but-sweet release (aka, the EP), as I’m constantly finding new bite-sized morsels of brilliance to sink my teeth into (for a while, anyway), with all three of today’s records being prime examples of what you can find if you just keep your ear to the ground.

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Nov 032025

(Andy Synn highlights six gems from October you may have overlooked)

I’m going to say something controversial here, but… if you see someone talking a big game about how they “listened to 500 albums this month” they’re probably lying.

Ok, maybe not lying (though some are probably doing it just for clout and clicks) but definitely stretching the truth a little, because there’s a big difference in my book between hearing an album and actually listening to it.

Don’t get me wrong, I really do wish I had time to listen to that many albums each month, and I’m sure there are other writers/reviewers out there who legitimately rack up bigger numbers than I do, but chances are that anyone making a hyperbolic claim like that isn’t giving the albums in question the time and attention they deserve… especially if they’re a writer/reviewer who is supposed to actually be offering some insight into the albums/artists in question (something which takes more than just a couple of cursory spins to do).

So while I can’t, at the moment, give a full-throated and whole-hearted recommendation to everything I heard last month – the ones I’ve chosen to feature here are the ones I feel most qualified to comment on, but there’s still many more I need to spend time with and process properly – I would encourage you, once you’re done with this article, to go check out the latest releases from Galge, Scorching Tomb, and Torture Machine (if you’re of a Death Metal-y persuasion), Haeresis, Scalding, and Sunken if you’re more into Black Metal, and Mriodom and Stonebirds if you’re looking for something on the groovy, Stoner-y side of things.

Before then, however, here’s some albums I definitely can recommend to you.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 188): GORYCZ

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Oct 312025

Recommended for fans of: Oranssi Pazuzu, White Ward, Grey Aura

It’s been a busy month, and time is short, so let’s dispense with the preamble, shall we?

Suffice it to say that if you’re looking for some richly textured, darkly evocative music that combines the best bits of “Blackened Post-Metal” and “Post-Black Metal” (of the more avant-garde kind, rather than the more populist one) into something that can best be described as “post-genre”… then Poland’s Gorycz might just be for you.

And with their third album, Zasypia, having just been released back at the beginning of the month now seemed like the perfect time to shine a spotlight on the band.

BEST OF BRITISH: DE PROFUNDIS / PLAGUE PIT / SOULFRACTURE

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Oct 292025

(Andy Synn recommends three short-but-sweet releases from the UK Metal underground)

Let me start off today with a little announcement of my own… sadly, for reasons beyond our control the third and final part of the Beyond Grace EP trilogy (which will also, Voltron-style, form our third album when all connected together) won’t be out this year.

I know, I know… I’m as disappointed as you are… but having lost most of September due to two different weddings (including my own) and their accompanying stag-dos/bachelor parties, and then struggling to book studio time for the drums, it really couldn’t be helped.

We’ll still be releasing another cover track, most likely at the start of January (and quite possibly as part of an awesome charity compilation), and then following that with another video prior to the EP/album release (where you’ll be able to get the digital version of the new EP and the collected CD/LP version, at the same time) but I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait a little longer for your next fix.

But don’t worry, because today I’m bringing you three other short-form releases from three other killer British bands – including one we’ve toured with before, plus another that we’re hoping to tour with next year – that I’m hoping will help ease your obvious disappointment!

AZELL – ASTRALIS

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 282025

(Andy Synn has some very nice words to say about the second album from Kentucky’s Azell)

I do love a good concept album, don’t you?

A lot of that I attribute to my dad’s influence, as he was (and is) a big Prog fan, which meant I grew up being viariously exposed to the likes of The Wall, Tales from Topographic Oceans, and Quadrophenia.

And while some of my turn to Punk and Hardcore (and then Metal) in my teenage years may have been a form of rebellion against the outlandish excess and indulgent extravagance of these sorts of records, over time I’ve come to appreciate them as an art form more and more.

Note, however, that I explicitly said good concept albums, because there’s also been a lot of bad ones – from self-indulgent fantasy fan-fiction to shamelessly generic sci-fi schlock to badly-plotted (and barely coherent) political allegories, and everything in between – and it’s important to draw a distinction between the two.

Thankfully, however, the new album from sludge-slinging husband-and-wife duo Azell falls firmly on the former side of the divide.

ERYN NON DAE – DISUNITED STATES OF ANIMA

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Oct 242025

(To mark its release, Andy Synn has the pleasure and the privilege of writing about the fourth, and final, album from Eryn Non Dae.)

There is no way of talking about the new album from NCS-approved post-genre provocateurs Eryn Non Dae. without addressing the unexpected passing of their long-time vocalist, Mathieu Nogues Boisgard, in 2023.

Something like that would devastate any band, and I’m sure we all would have understood if the group had chosen to call it a day then and there in order to spend time processing their grief and dealing with their loss.

But the one small mercy amidst this tragedy, however, was that Boisgard had not only already set a title, Disunited States of Anima, and completed the lyrics for the record, but had also demo’d his vocal parts in a way which meant they could – if necessary – be used to complete the album.

And that’s exactly what the band decided to do, honouring his memory by dedicating the last couple of years to slowly, and diligently, bringing his final work (and his final words) to life.

That, however, is also the last time I am going to mention this particular aspect of the record’s development, as while it is undoubtedly important context I’d like to think that Boisgard wouldn’t have wanted the album to be defined by the tragic circumstances surrounding its creation but rather judged solely on its own musical merit.

Which is exactly what I’m going to do.

TOMBS – FERAL DARKNESS

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Oct 222025

(Andy Synn isn’t shy about declaring himself a fan of the new album from Tombs, out now)

It’s funny, isn’t it, the ways in which we define ourselves? The ways in which “who we are” is so often bound up in the things we like (or don’t like).

It isn’t always healthy of course – toxic fan culture is a continuous blight, as we all know, and choosing to base your entire personality around your obsessive fandom of anything (or anyone) is a recipe for dysfunction and depression – but our likes and dislikes definitely form a distinct part of our self-image.

And yet it’s so easy for this image to become distorted or outdated.

Case in point, I’ve been a fan of Brooklyn-based Black Metal quartet Tombs for a very long time now – if you’d asked me I definitely wouldn’t have hesitated to describe myself as such – but it was only while working on my review of their new album that I realised that you’d have to go pretty far back (possibly even as far as 2017’s The Grand Annihilation) to find the last thing they did that I truly loved.

But, thankfully, with the release of Feral Darkness just last week, you no longer have to go very far at all to experience the band at their very best.

THE ACACIA STRAIN – YOU ARE SAFE FROM GOD HERE

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Oct 202025

(Andy Synn embraces both the horror, and the hope, of the new album from The Acacia Strain, out Friday)

From “high art” to “low art” (and I’m sure there’s at least a few people out there who would absolutely consider The Acacia Strain to be the latter, at best) the one thing which truly makes art… well… art, is the emotion and intention which goes into its creation.

And while this seems to confuse some people – especially those “death of the author” types, for whom the only important thing is their interpretation – to me it just makes sense that art is all about what you put into it… and not necessarily what others get out of it.

Which is why it was so interesting to me to read The Acacia Strain‘s long-time lyrical mouthpiece Vincent Bennett talk about how much more personal their new album was and how this is the first time that he’s truly worn his heart on his sleeve (or, more accurately, in his words).

Because at no point in their career have I felt that Bennett, or the band, have ever tried to hold themselves back or settle for simply going through the motions… their rage has always read as something raw and visceral and uncompromising in both intent and delivery.

But perhaps what he meant is that, despite describing You Are Safe From God Here as the band’s “dark fantasy era” (based on the perhaps-not-entirely-fantastical premise that the entity we call “god” is something to be feared and avoided at all costs), what he’s actually doing this time around is exploring the roots of this rage… the desperation, the desolation, and the despair which feeds it and fuels it, for better or worse.

SHORT BUT SWEET: HEAD OF THE BAPTIST / THEMATA / UNDERNEATH

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Oct 162025

(Andy Synn encourages you to check out three of his favourite EPs from the last month)

As always I’ve been a little lax in covering the various EPs and related short-form releases which have been put out over the last 10-ish months.

But I’ll hopefully be able to sneak a few more in before the end of the year (when, as always, I’ll be putting together a round-up of all the things I’ve listened to, including those I didn’t get to write about), beginning with today’s trifecta of auditory abuse from Head of the Baptist (Belgium), Themata (Finland), and Underneath (USA).

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