Andy Synn Archives - Page 42 of 160

OBSIDIAN TIDE – THE GRAND CRESCENDO

Sep 202023

(Andy Synn rides the waves of Prog-Metal magic with the upcoming new album from Obsidian Tide)

Earlier this year – and several times since – I’ve stated that 2023 has been, for me at least, a very Prog-heavy year. And that’s before I was even aware that Obsidian Tide had a new album coming!

If you’re not familiar with the band you might want to start by checking out our review of their debut album, as not only is it well worth listening to in its own right it also helps provide some extra insight and added context into how much they’ve developed – both instrumentally and artistically – since then.

There’s little to no question, of course, that The Grand Crescendo is even better than its predecessor (which itself was one of the most pleasant, and praiseworthy, surprises of 2019) but just saying that isn’t really enough to count as a proper review, so I should probably wrap up this increasingly-rambling intro and get stuck into what the album actually sounds like!

TOMB MOLD – THE ENDURING SPIRIT

Album Reviews 8 Responses »

Sep 182023

(Andy Synn steps into the fray to try and uncover the truth about the new Tomb Mold album)

If there’s one thing I think we can all agree on it’s that the amount of excessive “hype” that goes on in the more metallic ends of the media spectrum – from professionally written puff-pieces to overly-effusive amateur tweet-fests – has gotten pretty silly.

Every new album is “album of the year”. Every new band is “the saviour of Metal”. And so on, and so forth.

It sometimes seems like there’s just no room anymore for the sort of nuanced, constructively critical analysis that would actually add something to the conversation. Everyone’s just out to be the first to market with the hottest take or the most fawning regurgitation of the provided press materials, which makes it difficult to get a clear or honest picture of things.

And when the buzz around an album is as deafening as it was about The Enduring Spirit it can be even harder to know what, or who, to trust.

BEST OF BRITISH: GEIST / HAAR / THE SALT PALE COLLECTIVE

Album Reviews No Responses »

Sep 142023

(Andy Synn offers up another triple-taste of British steel)

Let me tell you something, the last quarter of this year is absolutely packed with awesome (and potentially awesome) new releases.

And that’s just as true when you take a look at the UK scene too, with a bunch of big names and new contenders scheduled to drop their proverbial bombs over the next couple of months.

As a primer for all that, I’ve selected three albums – two from last month, one set for release next week – that I can practically guarantee are going to end up on several end-of-year lists.

They really are that good, embodying the best of the best of merciless Metallic Hardcore, audaciously unorthodox Black Metal, and dynamcally doomy, drone-inflected Post-Metal, respectively.

LIMBS – EVERYTHING UNDER HEAVEN

Album Reviews No Responses »

Sep 132023

(Andy Synn sets out once more to explore the post-genre hybrid of Limbs)

The bitter truth is that, no matter how dedicated and conscientious you are about trying to keep up with new releases, you’re always going to miss stuff.

Heck, there are albums which have gone on to become all-time favourites of mine that I didn’t get around to hearing until months, sometimes years, after their original release, and bands I’ve been fans of ever since they started who I didn’t realise had something new out until they announced they were working on their next record.

Thankfully, however, I’m only a little late to the party when it comes to Everything Under Heaven, the recently-released third album from Manila-based trio Limbs.

MOROKH – INSOMNIA

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Sep 112023

(Andy Synn continues his ongoing love-affair with Morokh, whose new album was released just last week)

Having written about Morokh several times before, I probably don’t need to spend much time introducing them (if you’re looking for a primer then check out what I wrote about their two most recent releases here and here).

And the fact that I’m not wasting any time with some sort of long-winded intro is even more appropriate when you consider how quickly the band themselves cut to the chase on their new album, Insomnia.

ALKALOID – NUMEN

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Sep 062023

(Andy Synn has once again chosen to bite the bullet and attempt to analyse the new Alkaloid album)

Finding the right way to write about a band like Alkaloid isn’t easy.

After all, not only are the band’s collective technical talents are practically unparalleled, but their uniquely unorthodox songwriting style – which has become more and more dominated by the influence and input of legendary uber-drummer Hannes Grossmann over the years – has allowed them to venture into places that most “heavy” bands likely wouldn’t even dare, which makes all the usual methods and measures hard to apply.

At the same time, they’ve garnered a rather rabid fanbase over the last few years who tend not to take too kindly to any criticism – no matter how constructive or well-intentioned – of their Bavarian heroes.

But if the band themselves are able to thread the needle between the eccentric and the extreme as well as they are, then surely I can find a way to talk about what they’ve woven on their upcoming new album, Numen?

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews No Responses »

Sep 052023

(Andy Synn recommends four more albums from last month that he doesn’t want you to miss)

As has been well established by now, if it comes down to a choice between covering bigger names or lesser-known bands… we’ll almost always plump for the latter.

Sure, it decreases our potential reach a little, but it also increases the impact of what we do – one more positive review in a sea of hyperbole isn’t exactly going to “move the needle”, but a bit of praise (usually mixed with a bit of constructive criticism) from us can do wonders for a band with more limited exposure.

In that vein, then, today we’ve got some punky, d-beat loving Thrash (Colony Drop), some terrific “true” Black Metal (Cvinger), a genre-bending riff-odyssey (Hekser) and a shamelessly OTT slab of symphonic extremity (Sanguine Glacialis), all of which you may have overlooked during what was an extremely busy August.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 162): HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH

THE SYNN REPORT No Responses »

Aug 312023

Recommended for fans of: Black Tongue, Fit For An Autopsy, Nightmarer

While the term “Deathcore” is still a dirty word to some of our readers – they might not always be able to define it, but they know they hate it when they hear it – I think we’ve managed to make a pretty good case over the years as to why the real cream of the crop is just as worthy of your attention and acclaim as in any other genre.

And when it comes to the creme-de-la-creme of the Deathcore scene, the bands who have not only played a part in defining what the genre has become over the last ten years or so, but also helped push the boundaries of what it can be, no conversation is complete without Humanity’s Last Breath.

Sure, the group’s sound on their eponymous 2013 album seems almost quaint now when compared to the absolute monster they’ve developed into – with their recently-released new album taking their more progressive, dynamic, and atmospheric approach to new heights (and even more crushing depths) – but to understand how the band (originally more of a solo project of mastermind Buster Odeholm, but recently expanded into an eight-legged musical murder machine including vocalist Filip Danielsson, drummer Klas Blomgren, and guitarist Tuomas Kurikka) got to where they are now we need to go back to where they came from.

CRYPTOPSY – AS GOMORRAH BURNS

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 292023

(Andy Synn rekindles his long-standing love affair with Canada’s Cryptopsy)

It’s an unfortunate truism that life often forces us to make difficult choices.

Paper or plastic? Ketchup or mustard? Which one of your children would you save in a house fire…

Ok, so that last one is (thankfully) much more rare, but my point is that some decisions often seem impossible.

Case in point, next week sees the release of new albums from two of Death Metal’s heaviest hitters and techiest titans, aka Dying Fetus and Cryptopsy.

But chances are I’m only going to get chance to write about one of them prior to their shared release date.

Of course, the more perceptive amongst you may have already worked out which record I chose to cover, but I want you to know, all the same, that the decision wasn’t easy…

BLUT AUS NORD – DISHARMONIUM – NAHAB

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Aug 242023

(Andy Synn gazes into the abyss once more via the medium of the new album from Blut Aus Nord)

Why, you might ask, am I reviewing the new Blut Aus Nord album?

After all, you can already hear it for yourselves in full here, or simply wait until its official release tomorrow and form your own opinions.

Perhaps it’s because I just like to hear the (proverbial) sound of my own voice as I share my opinions online.

Perhaps it’s because I feel like I have something of interest to offer in my analysis that might help illuminate the album a little more.

Or perhaps it’s because, after listening to Disharmonium – Nahab so many times over the last few weeks this is the only way to purge these horrific visions from my mind.

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