AMIENSUS – RECLAMATION, PART 1

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Apr 182024
 

(Andy Synn brings you part 1 of a 2 part review, with the second to follow… later this year)

To start things off I should probably let you know that I’m lucky enough to have heard both parts of the upcoming Amiensus double-album, Reclamation, and thus my perspective on it is – inevitably – going to be somewhat shaped by my experience of the whole thing, rather than just Part 1, which I’m reviewing here.

Hell, when I first got my hands on it I was under the impression I’d be writing about both Part 1 and Part 2 simultaneously, only to learn later that the band had decided to split the release in two.

That’s not a bad thing though – in fact there’s been several occasions where I’d have preferred other bands do the same (it’s something that I wish Mastodon had done, for example, with Hushed & Grim, albeit for somewhat different reasons that I don’t have time to go into here).

If nothing else, it actually makes my job a little easier, as I can fully concentrate on just one half of this epic (in multiple senses of the word) undertaking, while also sneaking in a few tantalising teasers about what to expect from Part 2 later this year.

So, without further ado, let’s begin, shall we?

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SELBST – DESPONDENCY CHORD PROGRESSIONS

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Apr 162024
 

(Andy Synn delves into the depths of the new album from Selbst, out this Friday)

I remember saying, way back in 2020 when Selbst released their second album, Relatos de angustia, that I wished the band could have received even half as much attention and acclaim as their Portuguese peers in Gaerea had gotten for their breakthrough release, Limbo, the month before.

To be clear, I didn’t say that to cast shade on Gaerea by any means – I’m looking forward to their new album immensely – it was more of a comment on how the media hype cycle for one artist/album can easily, and unintentionally, end up burying many equally deserving records.

Hopefully, however, that won’t happen this time (although there’s a new Blaze of Perdition album also coming out this week) as Despondency Chord Progressions thoroughly deserves not to have its thunder stolen by anyone or anything else.

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IN VAIN – SOLEMN

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Apr 112024
 

(In Vain‘s is out next week, and Andy Synn decided it deserved an advance review)

Scores, huh? What are they good for?

Absolutely nothing… well, most of the time anyway.

Let’s face it, when so many sites/zines are giving out nothing but 8s and 9s out of 10 (and don’t get me started on the ones who seem to think that adding a decimal point somehow makes them look better) the whole idea of assigning an arbitrary rating to things has been rendered even more meaningless than it already was.

I get it though, writers don’t want to lose access to promos and interviews, and a flashy score and an equally splashy feature quote (more often than not using the word “masterpiece” so as to even further dilute its meaning/value) is a great way to get yourself featured in PR emails and social media posts.

But is any of it actually good for the fans, let alone the bands themselves? Wouldn’t it be better to actually focus on providing some useful insight and analysis and, yes, even some actual criticism, so that the readers (and prospective listeners) actually take something away from what you’ve written beyond just the rating at the end?

Well, let’s find out, shall we?

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GVILLOTINE – HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE

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Apr 102024
 

(Andy Synn presents a wake-up call in the form of the new album from Gvillotine)

For whatever reason, I’ve been having trouble sleeping for the last few days. More specifically, I’ve been having trouble getting to sleep, because my brain just won’t switch off.

The knock-on effect of this, of course, is that it’s been getting more and more difficult to drag my tired, sleep-deprived carcass out of bed each morning, because both my brain and my body just don’t want to wake up.

But, let me tell you, Gvillotine‘s particular blend of blistering Blackened Grind contains more chemical energy than 1,000 cups of the blackest coffee – with none of the associated carcinogens – and a quick burst of it to start the day definitely helps blast (and I do mean blast) away the cobwebs.

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MINUALA – В А​Г​О​Н​И​И

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Apr 082024
 

(Andy Synn embraces the pain with the new album from Russian riffmongers Minuala)

One thing you may have noticed about us here at NCS is that we are loyal (sometimes to a fault).

Once we find a band we like (which, you may have noticed, happens a lot) we try to keep abreast of everything they do and, where possible, write at least a little something about whatever they release.

Of course, with so much music coming out all the time, and so much else going on in our lives, it’s still easy for us to miss stuff – for example, I only managed to give Minuala‘s previous album a passing mention in my year-end round-up (though you can read all about their first four full-lengths here) – but we try our best to stay on top of things, which is why I was so excited to see В Агонии suddenly pop up out of nowhere last week.

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THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT – THE DEMON WHO MAKES TROPHIES OF MEN

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Apr 042024
 

(We forced Andy Synn to listen to the new album from The Monolith Deathcult)

Our long-running relationship with Dutch deviants The Monolith Deathcult has been well-documented by now,

We’ve been friends, we’ve been enemies… and then there was that unfortunate incident where we all swapped brains… but our love for the band’s music has never waned.

The problem, of course, is that this means it’s impossible for us to be objective, or even pretend to be objective, about their new album – no matter what we say or do, whether we praise it or criticise it, someone is always going to find a way to dismiss what we say, regardless of whether it confirms or refutes their own biases.

But, as you may already have guessed, I still really wanted to write something about The Demon Who Makes Trophies of Men (which officially comes out tomorrow)… so what was I to do?

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THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Apr 032024
 

(Andy Synn presents four more handpicked morsels of metallic goodness from the last month)

I don’t think anyone is going to disagree with the following assertion, but… March was absolutely packed with new releases, any number of which could (and perhaps) should have been featured here.

Sadly, between the three of us (and our various (ir)regular contributors) we only have a limited number of hours in the day which we can dedicate to writing and reviewing… especially when you consider that we’d rather, wherever possible, provide some proper insight and analysis instead of just churning out a bunch of superficial – and largely interchangeable – puff-pieces just to get our numbers up.

With that in mind, here’s a short-list (ok, not that short) of artists I wish I’d written about… Apparition, Clarion Void, Convulsing, Horresque, Kollapse, Merrimack, Sacrificial Vein (absolutely love that one), Schattenfall, the flawed but fascinatingly ambitious debut from Waidelotte, Wounds… and which I hope you’ll still find time to check out.

Still, best not to focus on our regrets, eh? Especially since the four artists/albums I’ve selected for this edition of “Things You May Have Missed” – all of whom err on the more esoteric and/or unorthodox side, to a greater or lesser extent – represent some of the best that March had to offer.

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THE SYNN REPORT (PART 169): VERBERIS

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Apr 012024
 

Recommended for fans of: Svartidauði, Panzerfaust, Rites of Thy Degringolade

New Zealand’s Verberis have been one of those “if you know, you know” bands ever since the release of their debut album, Vexamen, back in 2016.

It was the addition of Ulcerate drummer Jamie Saint Merat during the writing and recording of their Vorant Gnosis EP in 2018, however, that really helped put the band on the map, and there’s no denying that his impressive abilities behind the kit certainly helped elevate them to a whole new level.

But to focus too much on JSM’s contributions would be to do a huge disservice to the rest of the band (who, while no longer totally anonymous, prefer to go by the initials NH, DA, and MP) as it’s their collective contributions – combining the face-melting fury of the Antipodean Disso-Death scene with the bone-chilling bleakness of Icelandic Black Metal – which gives Verberis their monstrous, multi-headed sound.

And with the group having just surprise-released their new album, The Apophatic Wilderness, last week now seemed like the perfect time to give these particular devils their due.

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