(So far this week, NCS writer Andy Synn has provided his lists of 2013’s “Great” and “Good” albums, and now he identifies seven that disappointed him.)

And now, in many ways, the big one. The one guaranteed to cause more controversy, flame-wars, and outright despair than both the others combined.

The thing to bear in mind is a) this is just my opinion, as a (so-called) critic, and as a major fan of metal music, and b) just because they’re disappointing doesn’t necessarily make them terrible. After all, we tend not to even bother with the bad albums here at NCS. It just means that something was missing – something significant enough to leave each of the albums here with a bitter aftertaste of what could, or should, have been.

This is probably the most negative we get here at the site, but I think, as the year draws to a close, it’s important to have at least one entry like this to try and establish some balance and some context for what we’ve been listening to over the past twelve months.

Now… prepare yourselves… I present to you – alphabetically – the seven albums which most disappointed me this year. Continue reading »

(Here’s the second of Andy Synn’s five year-end lists. His list of the year’s “Great” albums can be found at this location. More lists coming in the days ahead…)

So here we are. List number 2. The “Good” albums. It’s a varied list. Not just in terms of a cross-section of the various metal sub-genres, but also in terms of just how good each album is/was.

There are some here that fell just shy of greatness. Some played solely to their own crowd – solid, safe, occasionally impressive – but a good listen nonetheless. There are some albums that went too far (too many songs, too many influences, too much in general…) and some that didn’t go far enough (lacking that one special spark that would really have put them over the top).

The thing to remember is that all these albums are good… maybe even edging on great… it’s just that in a year where the quality was so high (and it really was), they can’t do much more than graciously collect a silver medal this time around. Continue reading »

(We continue with our year-end Listmania series by presenting this list by NCS reader Fork Tongue.)

One part of music I love is wading through bullshit to find treasure. Whether it be digging through used CD’s and vinyl bins or sampling shit online, nothing quite matches that feeling of finding a bargain or finding the band you can attach yourself to as the guy who discovered them among your peers. Yea, I’m that guy.

In 2013 I found quite a few bands from whom I’ll be patiently awaiting more material. Now, I know this is “No Clean Singing”, but I’ve included a couple awesome clean singing demos in here. Let’s get to it. In no particular order…

Kêres – The Wanderer’s Path Demo XX

This is their third demo (according to Metal Archives) and I’m not sure how they haven’t landed something with one of the underground Black Metal labels like Fallen Empire. Regardless, I’m hoping past and future material becomes more readily available soon because Kêres are on par with any other good Black Metal band out there. Continue reading »

(We are most happy to bring you a list of favorite 2013 albums by Aaron Edge of Lumbar — whose own 2013 album, The First and Last Days of Unwelcome, is one of my favorites.)

I am most honored to be asked by No Clean Singing to share with you my favorite sonic gems of 2013. It must be said, though, that my year has been the most turbulent in my history as a human being. I am quite out of the loop on perhaps most of the killer new releases… so many swam by, uncaught in my small, old, holed net. That said, the following bands got snatched by my tinnitus-plagued head holes, were hauled in, and gave a truly fantastic bloody birth to perfect gifts. We, as listeners, should thank the giant universe that we are so blessed to have them (in no order):

Purist – Purist

Sea of Bones – The Earth Wants Us Dead

Continue reading »