ANCST: “SUMMITS OF DESPONDENCY”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Sep 152020
 

 

(We present Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Berlin-based Ancst, which will be released on September 18th via Lifeforce Records and the band’s own label Yehonala tapes.)

Evolution is a strange thing. For the most part it’s such a glacially slow process that its effects are almost invisible, except in hindsight. Yet it’s also extremely unpredictable, sometimes progressing in random fits and starts, or even the occasional dramatic leap, in a manner that seems to defy understanding.

Musical evolution is no different. Different bands evolve at different rates, and in different ways, especially as new members – and new musical DNA – are introduced.

But, you know what they say, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”, because while Blackened Metallic Crust-Punk crew Ancst may have cycled through quite a few members over the years (with stalwart mainman Tom S. as the band’s constant linchpin) as well as a few different sounds (their alternate, drone-based material is also well worth a listen) their third album (which is something like their 20th release overall, not counting demos and compilations) finds their sound largely unchanged and their modus operandi – big riffs, big blastbeats, and even bigger vocals – still just as intense, and just as effective, as ever. Continue reading »

THINGS WE MISSED: AVERNAL / BAERUS / DEADWOOD TREE / DUMAL / ETHICIST / SWAMP LANTERN

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Sep 112020
 


Avernal

 

(Andy Synn wrote the following six brief reviews, and of course speaks solely for himself in the first sentence despite the breadth of the claim.)

I have a confession to make, on behalf of all of us here at NCS… we’re not perfect.

I know, I know, this admission has probably come as a serious shock to some of you, but it’s true. Sometimes, despite our general all-round awesomeness, we miss things.

But the silver lining to that, of course, is that it gives us a chance to play catch-up now and then and to bring you not one, not two, but six different bands/albums which you might otherwise have missed out on too! Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH: DECOHERENCE / THE INFERNAL SEA / ODOACER

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Sep 092020
 


The Infernal Sea

 

(Andy Synn again focuses on the music of bands from his homeland, this time leaning into black metal with reviews of three new albums.)

As the sole British member of the NCS crew (and therefore the only one who can actually write worth a damn… kidding!) it’s my responsibility, and my privilege, to use the platform afforded me here to highlight some of the best and brightest bands who hail from these green and pleasant lands.

Of course, that responsibility is kind of a double-edged sword.

If I’m too critical of a band or album there’s always someone more than happy to attack me for “not supporting the scene”.

But if I’m too positive about someone/something then I’ll inevitably get accused of being biased because I’m a part of the scene.

Hell, it’s actually a blade that cuts three ways when you think about it, because even when I don’t write anything at all about a band’s new record it inevitably leads to people to assume I have something against it/them… it’s a classic lose/lose/lose situation!

Still, as masochistic as it may seem, none of that’s going to stop me from continuing to separate the wheat from the chaff, and today’s column features a bountiful harvest of British Black Metal for your ears only. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: JESUS WEPT – “APARTHEID REDUX”

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Sep 042020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of an expanded EP by the Detroit band Jesus Wept, released by Redefining Darkness Records on August 21st.)

Let’s make one thing clear. Apartheid Redux is, as you might have guessed from its name, not a totally new release, even though this is the first time it’s being featured here.

As a matter of fact four of these six tracks (glossing over, for now, the fun but disposable WASP cover which appears on some editions) were first heard on Jesus Wept’s appropriately crush-tastic and catchy-as-hell debut EP, Crushing Apartheid.

But, thanks to Redefining Darkness Records, who recently decided they’d be the ones to pluck the group from relative obscurity, the music from that record, along with two additional (and similarly killer) tracks is finally getting a much-needed and well-deserved wider release. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PHANTOM WINTER – “CRUEL SUMMER (BANANARAMA COVER)”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 042020
 

 

(Andy Synn introduces our premiere of a new cover song by the German band Phantom Winter.)

This site’s history with German sludgemongers Phantom Winter goes back a number of years now.

In fact we’ve been fans of the band ever since their debut back in 2015, and just last year I selected their stunning second album, Sundown Pleasures as one of the best records of the entire decade.

So when the band got in touch to ask me to help them premiere their impressively ugly and abrasive take on Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer” – all in service of a good cause – I couldn’t say no! Continue reading »

METAL TO THE NTH POWER: NANSIS / NECROT / NÚLL

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Sep 032020
 


Necrot (photo by Chris Johnston)

 

(Andy Synn wrote the three following reviews of recently released albums by bands who have in common… well… a letter of the alphabet.)

Oh my stars and garters, there is a lot of music out there at the moment isn’t there?

I know this feels like a familiar refrain (and it is), but it bears repeating. There’s simply too much music, and too much Metal, being released, week after week, to stay on top of it all.

Still, we try our best to cover what we can, and today I’d like to direct your attention to three recently released albums from Nansis (Switzerland), Necrot (USA), and Núll (Iceland). Continue reading »

HYMN: “BREACH US”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Sep 012020
 

 

(On August 28th Fysisk Format released the second album by the Norwegian duo Hymn, and Andy Synn gives it an enthsusiastic review below.)

Being human is, I’m sure we’ll all agree, a strange experience. One which, ultimately, we all experience differently.

Even though we have so much in common, and encounter the world through the same five senses, the same underlying mental architecture, if I were to try to convey to you exactly what I experience when I feel pain, or pleasure, or any number of other sensations, I wouldn’t be able to do so.

Oh sure, we have language to describe what pain “is”, what pleasure “is”, but the truth is that human language just isn’t equipped to describe the subjective qualia of reality.

Quite simply, you can’t feel what I feel.

This is one reason why we often fall back on comparisons and shared points of reference when describing things to one another, especially (to the chagrin of many) when talking about music.

So, like it or not, please be aware that when I say that Norwegian duo Hymn sound like the bastard offspring of Cult of Luna, Crowbar, and Celtic Frost I do so with good reason, as you’re about to find out. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 124): HAVUKRUUNU

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  3 Responses »
Aug 312020
 

 

(For the August 2020 edition of The Synn Report, Andy Synn has decided to compile reviews of all the releases by the tremendously talented Finnish band Havukruunu, including their newest album released earlier this month by Naturmacht Productions.)

Recommended for fans of: Moonsorrow, Immortal, Vintersorg

Black Metal, as we all know, comes in many different forms.

Punky and primal, proggy and polished, feral and fierce, mighty and majestic… and all shades and shapes in between.

And for this month’s Synn Report it’s the latter style I’ve chosen to focus on, with this deep dive into the discography of formidable Finnish foursome Havukruunu.

Three albums into their career (the most recent of which was released earlier this month) the band have, effectively, become masters of a scintillating brand of Black Metal which fuses the epic extravagance of their countrymen in Moonsorrow with the swaggering, riff-centric approach of Immortal and the fearless melodic mettle of Bathory… although, as accurate (maybe even a little too obvious) as those references are, I’d say that Havukruunu have more than made this sound their own at this point.

So fill your cups, sharpen your blades, and ready yourselves to ride the blazing Northern skies as we take a journey through the band’s bountiful back catalogue. Continue reading »

EXPANDER: “NEUROPUNK BOOSTERGANG”

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Aug 282020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Expander (from Austin, Texas), which Profound Lore Records released on August 21st.)

We don’t often cover much Thrash, or Thrash-adjacent, material here at NCS. For whatever reason it’s something of a blind spot in our regular coverage, and it generally takes a particularly special (or audaciously strange) example of the style to attract our attention.

As you might have guessed, Neuropunk Boostergang is one such example, which is why, just a week after its official release, I’ve decided to write a few words about it.

Of course the fact that we’re turning our gaze towards the realm of Thrash right now, just after the sad and untimely passing of Power Trip frontman Riley Gale, adds an extra dose of poignancy to this write-up, especially when you consider that, much as PT could never be fully summed up by the over-simplistic “Thrash” tag most often applied to their music, likewise Expander don’t fit neatly within the confines of the genre either.

Which is probably why I like them so much. Continue reading »

CAVERN: “POWDERED”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 272020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Maryland-based Cavern, which will be released on August 28th.)

I know what you’re all thinking.

First Ulver and their polished, provocative Synth-Pop. Now Cavern and their moody, mellifluous Post-Rock. Has our beloved Andy Synn gone soft?

Or, worse, has he… sold out?

The truth, as always, is far more mundane. This is just what I felt like writing about this week.

But don’t worry, I’ve got something much rougher and riffier lined up for tomorrow…

Until then, though, it’s time to immerse ourselves in the glistening, atmospheric waters of Powdered. Continue reading »

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