Cryptic Shift
(Andy Synn again focuses on releases from his home country, and today reviews two brand new albums and one that will be arriving soon.)
I’m not going to waffle on here about the state of the world, the way things used to be, etc. It’s all been said enough times already.
Instead, let’s get right to the matter at hand, and enjoy these three celebrations of the power of the riff, in all its unlimited glory! Continue reading »
(Here’s Andy Synn‘s review of the debut album by the multinational European band Sinistral King, which is being released today — April 24th.)
Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men… how easily they go astray.
Case in point, I had, originally, intended to take today off from NCS work and leave this particular album until next week, where I planned to make it part of a six-album, Black Metal-focussed, round-up (which, just to be clear, I’m still going to do).
However at the eleventh hour I was struck with a sudden surge of inspiration, a compulsion to get this one written up as soon as possible, hence why I’m back again with my fourth review of the week.
The extra effort is all worth it though, because I can say, without a shred of hyperbole, that Serpent Uncoiling is one of the best Black Metal albums of the year so far. Continue reading »
(Here’s Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the Polish band Koronal, which will be out on April 29th.)
It’s pretty common knowledge by now that we here at NCS Inc. tend to focus more on the underground, and underappreciated, bands and artists from the Metal scene.
That’s not to say we have anything against the bigger or more well-known names (heck, I’ve reviewed several of them myself over the last few weeks) but igenerally these bands, for the most part, don’t really need our coverage – in most cases they’ve already got the benefit of a label’s PR machinery and resources behind them, and even when they don’t you tend to find that they’ve already crossed a certain threshold, popularity-wise, which makes them essentially “too big to fail”.
It’s different for the smaller bands though, and it’s here where I/we generally feel like we can do the most good and make the most difference by introducing our readers to new bands, bands who they might not otherwise have stumbled across on their own, to them grow and establish their fanbase.
Over the years we’ve all developed particular favourites of our own – personally I’m still waiting for new stuff from Martriden, Sanzu, and Sunlight’s Bane, to name but a few – but I know I’m not the only one of us who has been looking forward to hearing more from Polish post-Meshuggah crew Koronal, whose superb second album is scheduled for release next week. Continue reading »
(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Sweden’s Katatonia, which is set for release on April 24th by Peaceville Records.)
It’s probably worth pointing out, right at the start, that City Burials is not – despite what you might read elsewhere – the best album of Katatonia’s career.
Neither, however, is it their worst, as some others, angry that the band haven’t produced exactly what they wanted, would have you to believe.
What it is, is an intriguing, emotive, yet oddly uneven, collection of songs which vary in tone and texture – some erring more towards the band’s classic brand of metallic melancholy, others leaning more towards gleaming, gloomy goth-pop – but which are all, ultimately, tied together by the sublime vocals of Jonas Renske, who gives what could very well be a career-best performance. Continue reading »
(We present Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by California’s Ursa, which was just released yesterday.)
While NCS may have a reputation for focussing mostly on Death and Black Metal, the truth is that we don’t like to limit what we cover to just a small sub-set of styles. As long as it’s got a sufficient metallic component, and a certain level of quality, we’ll be more than happy to give it a shot.
Over the years we’ve become particularly fond of the doomier side of Metal, in all its grim and gloomy varieties, to the point that you’re guaranteed at least one (or more) slot dedicated to dark, doomy goodness in every one of my/our year-end lists.
Last year it was the sublime Carnal Confessions by Fvneral Fvkk which took the honours, and in 2018 the medal went to Dor by Clouds, while 2017 saw albums from Loss, Foscor, and Paradise Lost all make the cut (and, FYI, I’m only just now realising how Doom-heavy that particular list was).
So far 2020 has already delivered its fair share of doom-laden delights, from the rugged, riff-heavy swagger of the new Solothus (which I touched upon briefly here last week), to the grandeur and gravitas of Loviatar’s Lightless (which hopefully I’ll get around to covering properly sometime soon), and several more which I’m sure I’m forgetting about.
And now it’s time for URSA to stake their claim with the release of Mother Bear, Father Toad. Continue reading »
(Nineteen months after the last time he did this, Andy Synn has brought us another collection of three-line album reviews.)
I have to thank our buddies over at the Toilet Ov Hell for inspiring this brand new edition of “Reviews In Haikus”.
After all, if they hadn’t recently tried to steal my thunder then I probably would have forgotten all about this particular column (it turns out I haven’t done one since September 2018).
It’s good timing too, as there’s been a bunch of newly released (or newly discovered) albums from the past couple of months which I’ve been itching to write about, but which I simply haven’t found the right time (or right format) to cover properly.
So, without further ado, here’s a collection of reviews/critiques/comments all delivered in the form of the ageless haiku. Continue reading »
(In this review Andy Synn lavishes great (and well-deserved) praise on the new album by New Zealand’s Ulcerate, which will be released by Debemur Morti Productions on April 24th.)
Let me ask you a question… what does it take to earn a place in the Death Metal hall of fame?
Obviously seminal acts like Death, Dismember, Morbid Angel and their ilk (to name but a few) all belong there, as without them we wouldn’t even have a Death Metal genre… at least, not in the same way we know it now.
But as things have evolved, as new styles have come into being and splintered off to form their own distinct sub-species, it’s become harder and harder to form a consensus about what bands are big enough, bold enough, bombastic and badass enough, to be considered true hall-of-famers.
But if there was ever any doubt about Ulcerate’s worthiness, the release of Stare Into Death and Be Still should finally, and firmly, put that to rest. Continue reading »
(Here’s Andy Synn‘s review of the debut album by Colorado’s Black Curse, which was recently released by Sepulchral Voice.)
To paraphrase a very tall, very shiny, Russian man:
“…four or five moments… that’s all it takes to be a hero make a good album…”
And, you know what? He’s right. If your album has four or five moments, four or five songs, which truly stand out, and stand the test of time, then you’re probably good.
The thing is, really great albums, albums like Endless Wound, don’t just settle for four or five moments per record, they offer up four or five of these moments in practically every song! Continue reading »
(Here’s Andy Synn‘s review of the anxiously awaited debut album by the German/Austrian/Belgian band Lebenssucht, which was released on April 7th through Thanatoskult.)
I don’t have kids (nor do I want them) but I have to imagine that the feeling I get watching certain bands develop is the same one which a proud parent must get when watching their child first learn to walk, or talk… or give up their dreams and settle into a life of soul-crushing drudgery.
Ok, maybe it’s not exactly the same, but it’s definitely rewarding to see bands you’re invested in, particularly ones you’ve been following since their very beginning, living up to their potential.
Case in point, multinational Black Metal collective Lebenssucht, who I/we have been following at NCS since their debut EP, Fucking my Knife, have finally released their first full-length album this week, and it’s one hell of a ride. Continue reading »
(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by The Black Dahlia Murder, due for release on April 17th by Metal Blade Records.)
If I were forced to select one word to describe The Black Dahlia Murder’s particular brand of high-stakes, high-adrenaline Death Metal that word would undoubtedly be… anthemic.
After all, one of the band’s defining features has always been their ability to conjure up a seemingly endless series of contagious, crowd-friendly choruses and red-hot hooks to balance out their molten metallic mayhem, with much of this burden often falling to lunatic-larynxed frontman Trevor Strnad, whose distinctive delivery – part predatory preacher, part Death Metal drill sergeant, part crazed carnival barker – is an inimitable part of the group’s sound.
The band’s last album, 2017’s superb Nightbringers, in many ways felt like the apotheosis of this, with songs such as “Kings of the Nightworld” and the titanic title track featuring some of the catchiest, most bombastic material the group have ever written.
The thing is… once you’ve peaked like that, there’s almost nowhere to go but down. So the big question now is whether or not Verminous is going to be a victim of the band’s success, or whether the gang have found a way to escape the curse of diminishing returns… Continue reading »