Andy Synn Archives - Page 60 of 160

BROOD OF HATRED – THE GOLDEN AGE

Feb 232022

(Andy Synn opens his mind to the new album by one-man Prog-Death prodigy Brood of Hatred)

So, let me think, what do I know about Tunisia?

Well, I know it’s the Northern-most country in Africa, and predominantly Muslim, and I’m pretty sure I went on holiday there once with my parents when I was a kid… but other than that I don’t really know too much about it.

I know even less about its Metal scene, which appears to be extremely small and extremely underground, to the extent that the only two bands I’m really familiar with – Vielikan and Omination – are primarily written and recorded by the same individual!

As it turns out, Brood of Hatred main-man Mohamed Mêlki was also a member of Vielikan at one point, but has since branched out to craft his own particular brand of engagingly immersive Prog-Death, with The Golden Age (set for release this Friday) being by some margin his best work yet.

HATH – ALL THAT WAS PROMISED

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Feb 172022

(The highly-anticipated new album from Hath is scheduled for release on 04 March via Willowtip, and Andy Synn has the inside scoop on what you can expect from this rollercoaster of a record)

Hath‘s first album, Of Rot and Ruin, was one of the most hyped albums of 2019, to the extent that (if memory serves) a number of people were extremely keen to label it a “masterpiece” before they’d even heard it.

As much as I enjoyed the record, however, I couldn’t help noticing that much of the music was heavily indebted – a little too heavily indebted, if I’m going to be totally honest – to some of its more obvious influences and inspirations, especially the varied and viscous works of beloved UK Prog-Death duo Slugdge, something which most other reviews seemed to either massively downplay or totally disregard for fear of rocking the boat.

But despite the fact that I was, shall we say, somewhat more critical than most (though still, overall, pretty positive) about their debut, the band still actively reached out to us here at NCS asking if we’d be willing to give their new album a listen and share our honest opinion about it, whatever that might be.

Now, if nothing else, this tells me one of two things about Hath. Either they’re extremely confident about All That Was Promised… or they’re simply gluttons for punishment.

Let’s find out which, shall we?

ACRANIUS – MERCY DENIED

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Feb 162022

(Andy Synn lays down the gauntlet with the new album from Germany’s Acranius)

Sometimes, to really understand how a band got to where they are, you have to take a close look back at where they came from.

In the case of Germanic brutes Acranius this is particularly revealing, as in hindsight it’s clear that 2017’s Reign of Terror marked a major turning point away from their more Slam-influenced early work towards what’s best described as more of a “Brutal Deathcore” sound.

Sure, there were still several recognisable elements still hanging over from their first two albums – especially the slamtastic snare and the largely unintelligible gurgling monotone of the vocals – but it was clear even then that the band were in the process of becoming something else… something which has finally achieved its final, fearsome form on Mercy Denied.

LIFESICK – MISANTHROPY

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Feb 142022

(Andy Synn gets bruised and bloody with the new album from Denmark’s Lifesick)

Here’s a question for you – are Danish misanthropes Lifesick a Death Metal band playing Hardcore, or a Hardcore band playing Death Metal?

It’s ok, you don’t have to answer straight away. Just give their new album (which was released last Friday) a listen and let me know once you’re done picking your teeth up off the floor.

CULT OF LUNA – THE LONG ROAD NORTH

Album Reviews 6 Responses »

Feb 092022

(Andy Synn takes a journey with Cult of Luna on The Long Road North, out Friday on Metal Blade)

Like I said in my review of the new Immolation album yesterday, writing about a band with a long and much-loved career comes with several inherent complications.

In the case of Cult of Luna, the band are so beloved by their fanbase that it’s hard to get people to admit that they’re not infallible, as I found out when I suggested that both their last two releases, 2019’s A Dawn to Fear and last year’s The Raging River EP, had some significant (although not insurmountable) flaws.

The thing is, I’ve always tried to be as honest and objective as I can be with all my reviews – while acknowledging, of course, that true objectivity is an impossible goal – which means providing as clear and as complete an impression of the music, its highs and its lows, its good points and its bad points, and it seems to me like it would be doing the band a disservice to treat them any differently than anyone else.

So let me state this clearly – The Long Road North is not a perfect album. Nor is is “the best album of the band’s career”, as I’ve seen it described elsewhere (in some cases seemingly before they’d even heard it). But it is still, for all that it occasionally loses its way, a road well worth taking.

IMMOLATION – ACTS OF GOD

Album Reviews 5 Responses »

Feb 082022

(Andy Synn passes judgement on the new album from Immolation, out Feb 18 on Nuclear Blast)

If there’s one thing we’re known for here at NCS it’s our focus on celebrating and supporting the underdogs.

So when the promo for Acts of God, by up-and-coming New York death-dealers Immolation dropped into our inbox I quickly snatched it up, as I’m all about giving struggling young bands a helping hand.

What’s that?

Eleven albums, you say?

Over thirty years as a band?

Well, that changes everything…

BEST OF BRITISH: KUROKUMA / TORCHBEARER / VENOM PRISON

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 3 Responses »

Feb 022022

(Andy Synn once again turns his attention to a trilogy of new albums from the UK)

It’s kind of weird being part of the UK Metal scene… but also somewhat apart from the UK Metal scene.

On the one hand, it means I don’t always get to know what’s going on, who’s popular, or which artists/albums I should be covering.

On the other… it’s also kind of freeing precisely because means there’s no one telling me who or what I should be writing about (for whatever reason) and no pressure to try and fit in with the crowd.

So while today’s edition of “The Best of British” covers a good mix of styles – Sludge, Hardcore, Death Metal – and runs the gamut from the relatively unknown to “the next big thing”, the truth is that, as much as I like to think I have a positive impact, these articles aren’t really written for “the scene”. Or even for the bands themselves.

No, they’re written for our readers, first and foremost. Because there’s a lot of really good Metal coming out of the UK these days, and I don’t want them to miss it!

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 142): PLEBEIAN GRANDSTAND

THE SYNN REPORT 3 Responses »

Jan 312022

Recommended for fans of: Celeste, Dodecahedron, Imperial Triumphant

Let’s get this out of the way – Plebeian Grandstand‘s fourth album, Rien ne suffit was one of the best releases of last year, and the only reason it didn’t make an appearance in my “Critical Top Ten” was because… well, I only had so much space, and I’d already included several Black Metal (or Black Metal related) selections!

However, that raises an oft-contentious follow-up question – are Plebeian Grandstand a Black Metal band?

Quite a few people would say no – some because they believe that the band’s unique brand of enigmatic extremity lacks the “purity” of true Black Metal, others because they feel like calling them “Black Metal” is actually too restrictive, and fails to properly capture who the band are and what they do.

They’re both kind of right, to be honest, because while Black Metal is undeniably a massive part of their identity, their sound is also a wickedly harsh hybrid of Hardcore, Mathcore, Grindcore, and Sludge… along with an increasingly prominent electro-industrial undercurrent which has only added to the growing volatility of the band’s sound as they’ve mutated and evolved.

Luckily for you, you don’t just have to take my word for it, as this particular edition of The Synn Report gives you access to all four of the group’s albums, meaning you can make up your own minds!

SEEN AND HEARD: KANONENFIEBER, OCEAN OF ENTROPY, PYREXIA

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC No Responses »

Jan 272022

(Andy Synn takes over SEEN AND HEARD to present a trio of tracks you should pay attention to.)

Sadly Islander has, as is not uncommon, been swamped by the pressures of his day job (being a world-class rocket-sled racer is a high pressure career after all) so it has fallen to me to pull something together for the end of the day.

Thankfully I had two of these recommendations already waiting in the chamber, with the third making an appearance as I was writing it, so there’s still more than enough metallic goodness to go around, even if this particular edition of “Seen and Heard” is a little more abbreviated than normal.

So, without further ado…

CELESTE- ASSASSINE(S)

Album Reviews, Reviews 1 Response »

Jan 262022

(Andy Synn sharpens his knives for this incisive review of the new album from Celeste, out Friday on Nuclear Blast)

We have all long been fans of France’s Celeste here at NCS – myself in particular, as I’ve been an avid follower and collector of their music ever since their first album – and we’re clearly not alone in that, as the band’s profile has risen, slowly but surely, with each new release, culminating in this, their “major” label debut.

Of course, changing labels hasn’t actually changed the band themselves, and you’ll be pleased to know that Assassine(s) is just as aggressive, atmospheric, and addictively abrasive as the rest of their catalogue.

It does, however, raise a familiar quandary… how exactly does one categorise a band like Celeste?

Looking back over their career thus far you can see that they’ve been called a lot of different things over the years – Black Metal, Post Hardcore, Blackened Sludge, Post Metal, and so forth – none of which are necessarily wrong, even if they’re not totally right either.

But, a rose by any other name, right? After all, they’re still the same band, no matter how they’re tagged, and it seems to me that what you choose to call them says a lot more about you, the listener, than it does about them.

And, if that’s the case, then it’ll be interesting to see exactly what this review says about me once I’ve done writing it.

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