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.

Continue reading »

Aug 222023
 

A rare day with no premieres on our calendar, which means I had time to whip up a roundup of new songs and videos.

Lots of things to choose from, as usual, and in making those choices I decided to give you a musical carnival ride, one of those things that’s spinning in several directions at once and leaves you stumbling with vertigo by the end.

ALKALOID (Germany)

My comrade DGR alerted us to this first song, which he pithily described as “one of the more batshit songs from Numen,” Numen being the name of Alkaloid‘s new album. Saying that anything on an Alkaloid release is more batshit than others is really saying something, since everything tends to be in the batshit crazy category. But sure enough…. Continue reading »

Feb 082023
 

As you can see, I was able to finish Part 2 of a mid-week roundup of new songs and videos that began here. Finish it I did, and I’m pretty happy with the musical twists and turns it will take you on, but I’ve still had to hurry a bit more than I’d like to get it wrapped up. Please leave typo corrections in the Comments.

ENTROPIA (Poland)

I’ve already written here about “Retox“, the first single from Entropia’s new album Total, and now there’s another one out in the world. This one is named “Final“.

Prepare to be seduced by intriguingly warped melodies that are both glittering and dissonant, a mercurial but bone-vibrating bass, larynx-lacerating screams, and whip-crack drums. The mood also grows darker and more grim, as well as more nerve-racking and unsettling, but a feeling of fire-borne resilience fights through. Another fascinating track from an always-adventuruous band. Continue reading »

May 112021
 

(Andy Synn dives back into the darkness once more with the new album from Russian Blackened Hardcore bruisers Morokh)

You know what they say… once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.

And, as it happens, this is the third album from Russia in just over a month that’s instantly established itself as one of my favourite records of the year, which suggests that either someone out there is purposefully targeting me and my listening tastes… or I’m just being paranoid (or am I?).

Continue reading »

Oct 062020
 


Minuala

 

(Here’s a triptych of EP reviews by Andy Synn.)

One of the (many) great things about writing for this site is that, free from the concerns of having to sell ad space or keep to print deadlines, we’re basically free to write about what we want, when we want to.

So, for example, if I want to dedicate an article to reviewing three releases all situated somewhere along the Blackened Crust/Hardcore spectrum… then I can do!

And if those three releases all happen to be EPs, and not albums… it’s all good!

And then if one of them was, in fact, originally released back in February, even though I’m only just getting to writing about it now… well, that’s not a problem either! Continue reading »

Sep 202020
 

 

I mentioned in the first Part of today’s column that I overcame the usual brain-freeze brought about by the overwhelming volume of interesting new music by separating the attractions into advance tracks and complete new releases. Today’s earlier post was devoted to advance tracks, and I mentioned that I had an idea for how to handle the new complete releases.

In the early days of NCS I began a recurring series called MISCELLANY, which got up to 78 installments before it died away from neglect. The self-imposed rule for that series was that I would pick bands I’d never heard before and listen to one (or maybe two) songs from something new they’d released, record my immediate impressions, and then leave it to readers to decide whether to explore further. That strategy allowed me to sample from albums and EPs that I didn’t have time to review in full, without knowing in advance how the music would strike me (or you).

And that’s almost the same strategy I’ve used in this post — almost, because some of what you’ll find below came to me via recommendations from people I trust. So it’s not quite the shot-in-the-dark of the old MISCELLANY series.

IN VACUO

To begin I picked “Pavlína Kováříkov“, the lead-off track from this Hungarian band’s just-released third album, Urbain Noir — and man, I love it. The guitar leads have a kind of yowling but spooky and sorcerous sound, and the way in which In Vacuo introduce and then twist the central melody is ingenious. The song as a whole proves to be a twisting (and twisted) experience – heavy and battering, deep and drilling, moody and murmuring, jolting and groaning, thrilling in its maniacally glittering tremolo’d vibrations and blood-curdling in the hostility of its varying vocals. Continue reading »

Jun 242019
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of a new album by the Moscow-based metal band Morokh.)

I originally had this album lined up as part of a double-review alongside the latest release from a band who, due to various factors, have ended up becoming this month’s focus of The Synn Report (keep an eye out for that later this week).

But, due to changing circumstances, it’s Russian Blackened Hardcore crew Morokh who are getting top billing today, and will hopefully also garner themselves a few new fans (and sales) from being featured here. Continue reading »