Andy Synn, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Andy Synn

FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY – THE NOTHING THAT IS

Oct 282024

(Andy Synn might be the biggest Fit For An Autopsy fan out of all of us, but he hasn’t let that stop him being critical of the band’s new album when necessary)

My first reaction to the new album from Fit For An Autopsy was, to be frank, one of disappointment.

Look, I know a lot of you are going to be mad that I wrote that, and you’ll probably be even more mad by the end of this review (though, please, do try and stay until the end, as there’s a few twists coming, and the added context will be important).

But the truth is that most of the pre-release tracks seemed fairly bland and toothless to me, and upon finally receiving the full album I quickly became concerned that the band had finally reached that point where they felt obliged to tone things down and play it safe in order to stay “on top”.

And, if we’re being honest with ourselves (and not just engaged in some sort of sycophantic parasocial relationship where the band can do no wrong), there’s probably at least a little truth to this – whether consciously or not – because much of the band’s new album, in line with their increasing status and popularity, feels like an attempt (whether a successful one or not depends on where you stand on these things) to capitalise on what’s already worked for them without necessarily moving things forward at all.

But, thankfully, that’s not all that The Nothing That Is… is.

SHORT BUT SAVAGE: DISENTOMB / EMASCULATOR / PERSECUTORY

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Oct 242024

(Andy Synn presents three short but savage releases to terrify your eardums)

Look, a while back I promised I’d be better at covering more EPs this year.

And, let’s face it, I have failed in that task pretty abjectly.

But I’m trying… which is why today I want to draw your attention to three recently-released (or upcoming) bite-sized portions of brutality courtesy of Disentomb, Emasculator and Persecutory.

UNEXPECTED SURPRISES: SERPENT COLUMN / UNDERNEATH

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Oct 222024

(Andy Synn highlights two surprise releases from last week)

Don’t you just love surprises?

Well, the good kind anyway… you know, like the unexpected return of a musical project you thought was gone for good, or another new album from a band who already produced one of your favourites of the year?

Because that’s exactly what we’re looking at (and listening to) today.

BEYOND GRACE – FRAGILE

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Oct 212024

(Andy Synn presents a brand new single… by his own band)

As it turns out, Islander, DGR, and I were all so busy this weekend that none of us had any time to prepare anything for NCS today.

So when the boss man asked if I wanted to take the opportunity to promote something of my own – which I generally feel a little weird doing here – I decided, for once, to take him up on the offer.

Because today we released a brand new single, a cover of Sting‘s 1987 anti-war anthem “Fragile“, and I’d love for you all to check it out!

SCHAMMASCH – THE MALDOROR CHANTS: OLD OCEAN

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 162024

(Andy Synn plumbs the depths of the new album from Schammasch, out next Friday)

Let me tell you something – I regard Schammasch‘s stunning second album, the now decade-old duology entitled Contradiction, to be one of the finest, yet also most underrated, Black Metal albums of the post-millennium period.

And while I understand and appreciate (and, to an extent, share) the love for Triangle – their even more ambitious triple-disc follow-up – and the way it allowed them to explore three subtly different aspects of their sound, the truth is that nothing since then has quite managed to achieve that same balance between esoteric creativity and focussed fluidity (with 2019’s Hearts of No Light in particular being a collection of artistically intriguing tracks which still, somehow, felt like less than the sum of its parts).

So when I say that Old Ocean is, in my opinion at least, the band’s strongest, most consistent, and most captivating work since 2014… you’ll understand how much that means.

VOMIT FORTH – TERRIFIED OF GOD

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Oct 152024

(Andy Synn says that when you’re as heavy as Vomit Forth it doesn’t really matter what they call you)

It’s funny how the use of certain words, certain terms, can prompt such drastically different reactions.

Case in point, if I were to call the new album from Connecticut crushers Vomit Forth a “Death Metal” album there’d be a bunch of people who’d immediately go and check it out purely because of that… and just as many people ready to string me up for daring to call it that.

But if I were to call it a “Deathcore” album? Well, those self-same people would either immediately hate it… or get mad at me for insulting the band.

The thing is – after having listened to it a hell of a lot over the last week or two – Terrified of God absolutely is what I’d call a “Deathcore” record… one which has just as much in common with the likes of The Acacia Strain and Black Tongue as it does Cannibal Corpse or Suffocation… but that’s nothing to be afraid of!

ORYX – PRIMORDIAL SKY

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 112024

(Andy Synn follows the migratory patterns of the majestic Oryx as they prepare to release their new album)

To witness a band go from “good” to “great” – as Oryx did with 2021’s Lamenting a Dead World – is one of the great pleasures for a music writer/reviewer.

But being there to see them go from not just “great” to truly “world-class” is an even rarer phenomenon.

Which is why you should all keep an ear out for the band’s newest – and best – album next week.

BEST OF BRITISH: HERIOT / LOWEN / SUGAR HORSE

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Oct 092024

(Andy Synn presents three more prime cuts of British beef for you to gorge yourselves on)

What’s that? Another “Best of British”? The second in as many weeks?

That’s right, and I’ve even got my next one in the works already (though that won’t be until next month).

And, hey, you might even see some more music from yours truly out before then as well, which will hopefully also add to this year’s bumper crop of killer British bands.

Until then, however, let’s see what the new album from Heriot, Lowen, and Sugar Horse (all out now) have to offer, shall we?

FERAL LIGHT – A RECKONING WITH THE INTANGIBLE

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Oct 082024

(Andy Synn celebrates, and mourns, the end of an era)

Well, this… fucking… sucks.

Not the release of a new Feral Light album – that’s always something to get excited about – but the fact that A Reckoning with the Intangible (which dropped last Friday) is going to be the band’s final album.

We’re not happy about this, obviously, but sadly there’s nothing we can do about it, so I guess all that’s left for us is to see whether they’ve elected to go out with a bang or a whimper?

Spoiler alert… it’s the former.

BLOOD INCANTATION – ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE

Album Reviews 8 Responses »

Oct 072024

(Andy Synn dons his sceptic hat to see whether Absolute Elsewhere is everything people say it is… or perhaps something more)

Some have said – perhaps not unreasonably – that over the years I’ve had a tendency to treat Blood Incantation a little more harshly (or, at least, be a lot less effusive with my praise) than many other writers.

It’s not that I don’t like the band by any means – I’ve reviewed them positively a number of times, in fact, and have largely enjoyed it when I’ve caught their live show (even if I’ve never been as blown away by their “Morbid Angel on mescaline” vibes as a lot of others seem to be).

It’s just that the hype – “the next big thing“, “the future of the genre“, “a paradigm shift in Progressive Death Metal“, and so on – has always (in my opinion) seemed to outstrip the music, such that with every new release it’s felt more and more like the band are trying to play catch-up to everyone else’s expectations (and demands).

But, wouldn’t you know it, it’s when the band finally stopped trying so hard (and, make no mistake, Absolute Elsewhere is the sort of introverted, art-for-art’s sake, album they absolutely needed to make) that Blood Incantation finally, and fully, caught up with all the hype around them… and then some.

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