THE SYNN REPORT Archives - NO CLEAN SINGING

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 177): ALKYMIST

Nov 302024

Recommended for fans of: Celtic Frost, Triptykon, Omination

For my penultimate Synn Report of the year I’ve chosen a band who recently put out one of the best albums of the year (sorry, that probably should have come with a “spoiler warning” for my end of year list-stravaganza).

But to fully understand the inner workings of Danish deviants Alkymist – whose music has been described both as “Progressive Sludge” and “Post-Doom” (with the truth lying somewhere in between) – we have to go back to their self-titled 2018 album and become familiar with how they’ve grown and evolved in the years since then.

Are you with me?

Good… then let’s begin.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 176): OBSIDIAN MANTRA

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Oct 312024

Recommended for fans of: Decapitated, Meshuggah, Replicant

It’s the end of another month, which means it’s time for another edition of The Synn Report.

But not only is it the end of another month, it’s also very close to the end of the year, meaning that – including this one – there’s only three more editions of this column left before the end of 2024.

So I’d better make each of them count, right?

Which is why today I’d like to direct your attention to the Polish powerhouse known as Obsidian Mantra and their hybrid blend of densely-wound, Decapitated-esque riffs and galvanised, Meshuggah-like grooves.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 175): STAMPIN’ GROUND

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Sep 302024

Recommended for fans of: Earth Crisis, All Out War, Living Sacrifice

If you’re not aware – though it’s been well-documented here over the years – Hardcore was the first genre of “alternative”, non-mainstream music that really spoke to me as a kid.

And although I’ve grown apart from “the scene” over the years – I’m sure there’s still good parts of it still, but trying to navigate all the different cliques and their increasing obsession with “mosh style” just isn’t for me any more – I’m still always keen to find and feature new albums and new bands (perhaps you’ve even read about some of them here?) that I think best represent the sort of Hardcore that I want to hear more of.

At the same time, however, I’ve also still got a lot of love for the bands who first got me into the genre back when I was just a dumb kid (as opposed to an equally dumb adult), which is why today I want to (re)introduce you to the thuggishly thrashy Metallic Hardcore of British bruisers Stampin’ Ground.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 174): OXYGEN DESTROYER

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Aug 312024

Recommended for fans of: Vader, Goatwhore, Revocation

Sometimes a band and their theme just go so well together – think Slugdge and their mollusc-worshipping metallic magic, or Sulphur Aeon and their obsessive Lovecraftian occultism – that you can’t ever imagine them doing, saying, or singing about anything else.

Such is the case with Seattle’s own Oxygen Destroyer whose monstrous sound – a ravenous hybrid of Death, Black, and Thrash Metal, designed to take your breath away – has become totally inseparable from their monstrous subject matter.

So prepare yourselves, it’s time for a rampage.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 173): RESPIRE

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Aug 022024

Recommended for fans of: Envy, Alcest, Mono

This edition of The Synn Report may be a few days late, but since I’ve been waiting a long time to write about this particular band – ever since I first stumbled across their fantastic third album, Black Line, in early 2021, in fact – what’s a few days more?

Blending influences from Post-Hardcore (Envy, Refused, Pg.99), Post-Rock (Mono, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor), and Post-Black Metal (Alcest, Deafheaven, Dawn Ray’d) – which collectively range even further afield to draw from Prog, Screamo, and Shoegaze – the group’s orchestral “post-everything” approach has been blurring genre boundaries for the last decade, with each successive album further showcasing both the breadth of the band’s creative vision and the depth of emotion they’re able to conjure from their instruments.

And with the recent release of their fourth full-length, Hiraeth, now seemed like the perfect time to finally make good on my promise to one day give them their due here at NCS.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 172): FRACTAL GENERATOR

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Jul 012024

Recommended for fans of: Replicant, Wormed, Afterbirth

There must be something in the water – or the maple syrup – up in Canada that triggers the extreme gene in certain bands.

How else do you explain the existence of acts like Gorguts, Cryptopsy and the subject of today’s article, Fractal Generator?

Taking a heap of inspiration from the aforementioned pair, along with a hefty helping of Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, and Mithras, this terrible trio have already made something of a name for themselves with their punishingly technical, subtly dissonant, slam-tinged, grind infused, and synth-layered brand of Death Metal, and with their third (and best) album having just been released now seemed like the perfect time to dedicate a full feature to their works.

Look upon them, and despair…

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 171): DEMANDE À LA POUSSIÈRE

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Jun 012024

Recommended for fans of: LLNN, Amenra, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber

French quartet Demande à la poussière, having formed in 2017 and released their first album in 2018, have spent the last several years defining and refining a sound for themselves which combines the doom-laden density of Sludge and the haunting atmospheric heaviness of Post-Metal with a substantial Black Metal edge.

And with the recent release of their third album, Kintsugi, at the beginning of last month, now felt like the perfect time to take a comprehensive look at their already impressive back-catalogue.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 170): CLEARXCUT

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Apr 302024

Recommended for fans of: Shai Hulud, Earth Crisis, Heaven Shall Burn

The end of another month means it’s time for another discography deep-dive, which this time focusses on the work of Metallic Hardcore marauders ClearXCut.

Unsurprisingly for a band who describe themselves as “a vegan, straight-edge collective” (one whose shifting line-up over the years has included various members of King Apathy, Heaven Shall Burn, and Implore, among others) the group have no problem proclaiming their beliefs and ideals up front, with songs about everything from anarchism to addiction to animal liberation to all-out class-war.

But, as the band have been keen to stress in various interviews over the years, their primary purpose as a group is not to preach or pass judgement – even though they are just as willing to be critical of the hypocrisy and toxicity present in their own scene as they are the problems of the wider world – but to engage and inspire others through both their actions and their art.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to agree with the message – I’m neither vegan nor straight-edge myself, but I still find the band’s idealism and integrity inspiring – to enjoy the music on its own terms, and so… without further ado… let’s get to it, shall we?

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 169): VERBERIS

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Apr 012024

Recommended for fans of: Svartidauði, Panzerfaust, Rites of Thy Degringolade

New Zealand’s Verberis have been one of those “if you know, you know” bands ever since the release of their debut album, Vexamen, back in 2016.

It was the addition of Ulcerate drummer Jamie Saint Merat during the writing and recording of their Vorant Gnosis EP in 2018, however, that really helped put the band on the map, and there’s no denying that his impressive abilities behind the kit certainly helped elevate them to a whole new level.

But to focus too much on JSM’s contributions would be to do a huge disservice to the rest of the band (who, while no longer totally anonymous, prefer to go by the initials NH, DA, and MP) as it’s their collective contributions – combining the face-melting fury of the Antipodean Disso-Death scene with the bone-chilling bleakness of Icelandic Black Metal – which gives Verberis their monstrous, multi-headed sound.

And with the group having just surprise-released their new album, The Apophatic Wilderness, last week now seemed like the perfect time to give these particular devils their due.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 168): BLACK KNIFE

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Feb 292024

Recommended for fans of: Midnight, Hellripper, Goatwhore

Let me tell you a story about why it’s important to strike while the iron (or knife) is hot.

Having first discovered self-described “Heavy Metal Punx from Hell” Black Knife back at the end of 2021, and then enjoying their third (and, sadly, final) album, Baby Eater Witch, last year, I decided that I’d pick up the band’s entire back-catalogue on cd for #BandcampFriday at the start of February

But no, it was not to be, since – due to their decision to break-up (which I hadn’t even heard about) – they’d recently sold out of every single copy of both their debut album, Spell Caster and it’s fantastic follow-up, Murder Season, so I ended up missing out on the chance to add both to my collection.

So, with that in mind, I hereby encourage you all to check out what brimstone snortin’, bullet-belt wearin’, d-beat lovin’ devil-worshippers Black Knife have to offer in this latest edition of The Synn Report, because while the band may now have been laid to rest, their music is still very much alive and kicking.

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