Andy Synn Archives - Page 35 of 151

OUTER HEAVEN – INFINITE PSYCHIC DEPTHS

Jul 192023

(Andy Synn delves into the depths of Outer Heaven‘s new album, set for release on Friday)

It’s no secret that I’ve found a lot of Death Metal albums this year to be both overhyped and underwhelming.

Sure, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with giving people what they want – I mean, The O’Jays wrote a whole song about it – but sometimes it often feels as though large swathes of the Death Metal scene (especially those of the “Old School” persuasion) are more concerned with preaching to the choir than with finding their own voice.

But what I love about Outer Heaven (and, if you remember, I really loved their first album) is that they don’t just play to the cheap seats.

Heck, on Infinite Psychic Depths it feels like they aren’t all that bothered about playing to the crowd at all, with the result being an album that’s a little bit uglier, and a little bit more unorthodox, than both its predecessor and the majority of its peers.

AGRICULTURE – AGRICULTURE

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Jul 172023

(Andy Synn digs deep into Agriculture‘s highly-anticipated debut album, out this Friday)

The Circle Chant, the debut EP from self-described “ecstatic Black Metal” band Agriculture, received a lot of hype – in certain circles, at least – when it was released last year.

And while I, perhaps unsurprisingly, felt that some of these reactions were a little overblown – two really good tracks and two bits of filler content does not make for a great release overall, in my book – the best moments of the EP (most specifically the opening title-track, which is basically five minutes of raw emotional energy in musical form) convinced me to keep an eye and an ear open for whatever the band did next.

Which is where their self-titled album comes in.

RANNOCH – CONFLAGRATIONS

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Jul 122023

(Andy Synn continues his impromptu “Best of British” week with his thoughts on the upcoming new album from Rannoch)

The word “masterpiece” has been roundly, and soundly, (over) used and abused so much over the years that it’s almost lost all meaning.

But, originally, a “masterpiece” wasn’t just something of exceptional quality – it specifically referred to that piece of work which first demonstrated an artist’s mastery of their craft and, in doing so, signified their acceptance into (or, at least, their eligibility for) the highest echelons of the artistic community.

Strictly speaking, then, no band should ever have more than one “masterpiece” to their name.

So if Rannoch‘s previous album, the masterful Reflections Upon Darkness, represented the moment when they stepped into the big leagues – in terms of both talent and ambition, at least, if not fame – then what does this mean for Conflagrations?

BEST OF BRITISH: BURNER / CALLIGRAM / COFFIN MULCH

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Jul 102023

(Andy Synn is back with three recent examples of “the best of British” for you to enjoy)

Despite my ongoing efforts to expose and highlight some of the “best” and/or up-and-coming examples of British Metal over the years, there’s still a fair few people who seem to think I don’t do enough to “support the scene”.

Of course, digging into this a little deeper, it inevitably transpires that this accusation stems either from the fact that I don’t cover everything that the UK scene has to offer – both because I simply don’t have the time to cover it all and because, to be honest, it’s not all worth covering – or is a consequence of my attempts to offer a more measured and balanced critique, which sometimes involves providing some constructive criticism, rather than just flying the hype flag simply because something is “home grown”.

The consequence of this is – or should be – that you know that when I write about something I do so because I think it stands out from the crowd a little (or a lot). And while I’ve definitely been guilty of underrating/overrating a few things here and there before now, I don’t think I’ve ever written about anything that isn’t at least interesting. And the three albums you’re about to read about are definitely that (and much more besides).

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

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Jul 062023

(Andy Synn presents four albums from the last month – or so – that you may have overlooked)

What is there to say about today’s selection of albums – which run the gamut from Hardcore to Black Metal to Death Metal to Doom – beyond the fact that you really should check them all out?

Well, hopefully a lot, because otherwise this is going to be a fairly short (and boring) article!

BLACKBRAID – BLACKBRAID II

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Jul 032023

(Andy Synn takes a second look at Blackbraid and their new album)

The thing about overhyping a band, or an album, is that it doesn’t really leave you much room to manoeuvre in the future.

After all, if [Record A] was so perfect how is it possible that [Record B] – which we all agree is an altogether superior and more mature piece of work – is somehow better?

Case in point, while Blackbraid II undoubtedly improves upon its predecessor in a myriad of subtle ways it’s also not without its flaws, which I’d imagine presents certain writers/reviewers with a difficult decision to make.

Because either they acknowledge that II is the better album despite its imperfections – in which case they have to admit that they went a little overboard with praising I – or they have to continue to pretend that the band can do no wrong… in which case, how is it possible to improve on perfection?

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 160): GENEVIEVE

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Jul 012023

Recommended for fans of: Akercocke, Imperial Triumphant, Abyssal

With another month having now come and gone it is – inevitably – time for another edition of The Synn Report.

And with Baltimore-based blast-beatniks Genevieve having just dropped their long-awaited new album last week… well, there was simply no question that this month was going to be all about them and their ambitious brand of unpredictable, avant-garde extremity.

EKOSA – EYE FOR I

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Jun 292023

(Andy Synn travels back to early May to heap praise upon the debut album from Australia’s Ekosa)

Although I do sometimes miss writing for print (despite everything that happened I did genuinely enjoy my time writing for Terrorizer back in the day) I must admit… the sheer freedom afforded to me here at NCS is something I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

Case in point, the debut album from Progressive/”Post-” Death Metal quintet Ekosa was released at the beginning of May, but I only discovered it a week or so ago.

Anywhere else, anywhere that focusses more on hard deadlines and keeping on top of the endless release schedule, and we’d probably have missed out on writing about it – but while we do love getting a good scoop now and then, there’s no insistence that we only write about up-and-coming albums, which means I’m free to tell you how much I enjoy Eye for I even though I’m coming late to the party.

KRIGSGRAV – FIRES IN THE FALL

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Jun 262023

(Andy Synn would like to recommend this gourmet feast from long-time NCS favourites Krigsgrav)

Recipe for success:

Start with a base of moody, atmospheric Black Metal – ideally with overtones of Agalloch and undertones of Enslaved
Add a dash (and a half) of doomy darkness of the post-Paradise Lost or Daylight Dies variety (other, equivalent substitutes are acceptable)
Top it off with liberal layers of majestic (ideally Finnish-flavoured) Melodic Death Metal melancholy

And then, if you’re very lucky, you might just end up with something half as good as Fires in the Fall.

RANĂ – RICHTFEUER

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Jun 202023

(Andy Synn would like to call your attention to the fiery new album from Rană)

A while back – way back when I actually had time to write articles and opinion pieces as well as reviews (weren’t those heady days?) – I wrote a piece interrogating what it was which made Metal my genre of choice.

At the time I chose to focus on the feeling of “power” inherent in the music, that sense of energy and electricity which – even at its darkest and doomiest – Metal possesses that I just can’t seem to find in other genres (which isn’t to say I’m not a fan of other styles of music, it’s just that I have different reasons for loving them).

But there’s more to it than that. Indeed, these days at least, it’s as much, if not even more so, about the passion behind the performance… something which no “AI” generated facsimile or written-by-committee cash-grab can ever capture or replicate… and, in that regard, I’ve yet to encounter (m)any other releases so far this year that are as passionate as Richtfeuer.

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