AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): WITCHING — “VERNAL”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  1 Response »
Jun 032020
 

(Accompanied by the following review written by Andy Synn, we present the premiere stream of Vernal, the new album by Witching, which will be released on June 5th. It features cover art by Alex Eckman-Lawn.)

Life often throws up some strange coincidences, does it not?

Case in point, we almost missed out on hosting the premiere for this album, the debut full-length from Philadelphia quintet Witching, as the initial invitation to do so wound up getting buried in our ever-overflowing inbox.

Wouldn’t you know it though, the same day I got in touch with Islander to see if we had received a promo for the album (having become enamoured with the handful of pre-release tracks available on the group’s Bandcamp page) we also received a follow-up email from the band’s PR rep, with the final result that we agreed to combine my review with the premiere you’re about to listen to.

Like I said, coincidence is a strange, but sometimes extremely satisfying, thing. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 121): XIBALBA

 THE SYNN REPORT  3 Responses »
May 302020
 

 

(In this May 2020 edition of THE SYNN REPORT Andy Synn combines reviews and streams of all the albums (and one EP) released to date by the California band Xibalba, including their latest album released just yesterday by Southern Lord.)

Recommended for fans of: Misery Index, Earth Crisis, Morbid Angel

Depending on who you ask, Death Metal and Hardcore are either mortal enemies or eternal blood brothers, divided or bound by a mutual love of pure heaviness and pulverising aggression.

Californian crushers Xibalba clearly see the two styles as different sides of the same coin, and have been paying their dues for over a decade now, producing, to date, four impressively intense albums of churning riffs, chunky breakdowns, and belligerent bellowing vocals.

But, for whatever reason, the band just haven’t had that major “break out” moment yet, which is pretty shocking when you consider how much crossover potential there is in their sound. After all, they’re pretty much the only band I could ever recommend equally and without reservations to fans of Earth Crisis or Entombed, Disembodied or Dismember, Misery Index or Machine Head or Morbid Angel.

Hopefully, however, the recent release of their fourth album, Años en infierno, should give their profile a major boost, meaning now is the time to jump onboard the hype train before you get left behind! Continue reading »

DOOMSDAY, PART 3: IN THE COMPANY OF SERPENTS / LOVIATAR / SHEDFROMTHEBODY

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  5 Responses »
May 292020
 


In the Company of Serpents

 

(Today Andy Synn completes his week-long foray into the realms of doom with another trio of reviews. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, you’ll find them here and here.)

The one thing which unites the three bands featured in this article, the third and final edition of my week-long focus on all things slow, heavy, haunting, and atmospheric, is their sheer quality, as each one of them could be considered a highlight of this year’s bumper crop of doomy delicacies. Continue reading »

DOOMSDAY, PART 2: CLOSE THE HATCH / SEA / WITHOUT LIGHT

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  3 Responses »
May 272020
 


Close the Hatch

 

(Andy Synn continues his week-long foray into the realms of doom with another trio of reviews today. If you missed Part 1, you’ll find it here.)

For the second part of this week long doom-odyssey we’re tacking into sludgier waters, tinged here and there with currents of Post-Metal melancholy, so if that’s not your sort of thing… well, the lifeboats are over that way.

Still, if you do choose to abandon ship at this point you’re going to be missing out on three absolutely killer albums, at least one of which is firmly in contention for a spot on my “Critical Top Ten” list at the end of the year. Continue reading »

DOOMSDAY, PART 1: EXGENESIS / FUNERALOPOLIS / SORCERER

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
May 252020
 


Sorcerer

 

(With this post Andy Synn embarks on a week-long excursion into shades of doom, beginning with this trio of reviews.)

So far this year the majority of my writing has tended to focus more on the Death and Black side(s) of things, with maybe a bit of Tech/Prog/’core thrown into the mix when the mood strikes me.

But, for whatever reason, very little from the doomier end of the metallic spectrum has grabbed my attention.

This was a little concerning. After all, every year there are several doom-laden diamonds which make my “Critical Top Ten List” with ease – the last few years alone have given us fantastic albums from Fvneral Fvkk, Sinistro, Loss, and more – but so far 2020 seemed to be really lagging behind.

Or so I thought… because over the last couple of weeks I’ve dug up, unearthed, or just randomly stumbled across so many brilliant Doom (or Doom adjacent) albums – some not yet released for public consumption, some a full five months old already – that I’ve decided to dedicate this entire week to the dreary, desolate, delights of the genre, beginning with the new albums from Exgenesis (CO/SE), Funeralopolis (CH), and Sorcerer (SE). Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH: ANTE-INFERNO / BURIAL / PATRONS OF THE ROTTING GATE

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
May 222020
 


Ante-Inferno

 

(Andy Synn delivers another installment of his occasional series devoted to reviewing releases by bands from his UK homeland.)

So how’s everyone doing? Going a little stir-crazy? Trust me, I know the feeling.

While I’m lucky enough to still be working right now (and my foresight of buying up an entire home gym’s worth of equipment over the years is really paying off) the days are definitely starting to all blur together… heck, I’ve got a four-day weekend coming up starting tomorrow, but I’m not really all that sure what I’m going to do to try and differentiate it from the rest of the week, apart from maybe (hopefully) getting to sleep in.

One thing that’s helping me to maintain my always tentative grip on sanity, however, is music, and I’ve uncovered, discovered, or re-discovered, a whole host of bands during the lockdown period which I’m eager to share with you all, so today I’d like to direct your attention to the recently released albums from Ante-Inferno, Burial, and Patrons of the Rotting Gate. Continue reading »

RANNOCH: “REFLECTIONS UPON DARKNESS”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
May 212020
 

 

(We present Andy Synn’s review of the astonishing new opus from the genre-bending UK band Rannoch, which is set for release on May 25th.)

How does one measure ambition?

How do we quantify it and qualify it? How do we analyse and assess it? How do we judge whether one band’s ambition to be the heaviest/fastest/most technical is somehow inferior/superior to another band’s desire to cross-pollinate multiple styles and sub-genres to create something entirely new?

And what of those bands whose central ambition is simply to be the best that they can be and to write the best songs possible? Are they any less worthy than the band who just wrote an hour long, single-track, Prog-Metal odyssey?

All these questions, and more, were floating around my head while listening to the exceptional new album from Rannoch. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE: DEVIL WITH NO NAME — “DEVIL WITH NO NAME”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
May 202020
 

 

(Andy Synn introduces our premiere of the self-titled debut EP by the western U.S. black metal trio Devil With No Name, which is set for release on May 22nd.)

Unlike most Black Metal bands, Devil With No Name take their inspiration not from the chilling heart of winter but from the burning heat of the Arizona desert, whose desiccated desolation is, in its own way, just as bleak and inimical to human life as the icy vastness of the frozen wastes. Continue reading »

BEST IN BLACK: AFSKY / ODRAZA / UPRISING

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
May 182020
 


Uprising

 

(Andy Synn wrote each of the three reviews collected in this post, singing the praises of the new albums by Afsky (Denmark), Odraza (Poland), and Uprising (Germany).)

Black, as we all know, is the best colour.

It’s slimming, effortlessly classy, and goes with pretty much everything. Which I guess is why Black Metal fans are renowned as the sexiest, suavest-looking motherfuckers on the planet…

All joking aside, while conventional wisdom and common consensus seems to be that 2020 has, thus far, been a big year for Death Metal, it’s also been a banner year for Black Metal too, and I’ve already written about several absolutely stunning entries to the canon (for example, here, here, here, and here) that will doubtless end up on many year-end lists.

Well, now I’m about to add three more contenders for the crown to those lists, with the new albums from Afsky (DK), Odraza (PL), and Uprising (DE). Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: ABORTED / AUROCH / BECOMES ASTRAL / DEVIL CITY CULT / GALACTIC MECHANICS / RIPPING FLESH

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  6 Responses »
May 152020
 


(Andy Synn has compiled reviews of six recently released EPs that will make your shut-in time more bearable)

In the unending onrush of new albums coming out every month it’s easy to lose track of some of the smaller, though no less stellar, examples of ravaging riff-craft being released at the same time.

The thing is, sometimes what you want is more of a snack than a full meal, which is why it’s important that we make room in our schedule, now and then, to really appreciate some of the sweet metallic morsels like the six I’ve selected here today. Continue reading »

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