Andy Synn Archives - Page 2 of 140

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Mar 052025

(Andy Synn highlights four albums from a very busy February which you may have overlooked)

I don’t mind admitting that, due to a lot of different factors – being busy at work, having to spend time prepping and then playing with the band, and then finally succumbing to this really shitty flu (to the point where I’m still not back to 100%, to be honest) – I missed a lot of stuff I originally intended to write about last month.

To exacerbate this, there’s only a limited amount of space (and time) I have here to catch up on what I/we missed, which means the likes of Grima (really good, but perhaps not quite as good as its predecessor), Havukruunu (bombastic blood and fire heroics at their best), and Mantar (a punkier, more stripped-down album than their last one, albeit with a few tracks/riffs that sound a little too familiar in places), probably aren’t going to get the full write-ups that they deserve.

But, you know, those are pretty big names – or, at least, pretty notorious in our little scene – and if there’s one thing we’re known for here at NCS it’s focussing on less (in)famous bands wherever possible, so hopefully you won’t begrudge me my choices for this month’s column!
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WHITECHAPEL – HYMNS IN DISSONANCE

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Mar 032025

(Andy Synn is as shocked as anyone at how good, and how heavy, the new album from Whitechapel is)

As someone who considers themselves a long-time fan of Whitechapel it wasn’t until I picked up the promo for their upcoming ninth(!) album, Hymns in Dissonance, that I realised I’ve been more of a lapsed fan of the band for even longer.

Truth be told, the last time I enjoyed a Whitechapel album front-to-back was their 2012 self-titled record (still my favourite out of everything they’ve done, though I’ll happily entertain any arguments in support of 2010’s absolutely monstrous A New Era of Corruption), and although I’ve given every subsequent release a shot – from the lazy Slipknot-isms of Our Endless War and The Mark of the Blade (arguably the lowest point, creatively speaking, point in the band’s career) to the increasingly popular, but also increasingly generic, sounds of The Valley and Kin – it’s largely felt like the past decade or so has been all about doing whatever it takes to maximise the band’s popularity, at the cost of what originally drew me to them in the first place.

And, look, I get why so many people like the latter two albums – Bozeman has a great singing voice, no doubt, and it’s clear how much effort he’s put into expressing the necessary emotion and processing his trauma on each record – but so much of their recent music has just been so aggressively bland (and, on the occasion where it actually does show some teeth, so blandly aggressive) that I can’t help but feel disappointed in them for continually playing things so safe.

Which is why Hymns in Dissonance is such a revelation – because I don’t think anyone out there expected them to go this hard, or this heavy, ever again.

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 180): GREAT AMERICAN GHOST

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Feb 282025

Recommended for fans of: Employed to Serve, Fit For An Autopsy, Knocked Loose

Despite their steadily growing profile over the years, this is the first time we’re actually writing about Boston-based bruisers Great American Ghost here at NCS (though their 2022 EP, Torture World did get a small mention in my end of year round-up at the time) so a quick introduction may be necessary before we go any further.

Equally influenced by seminal Hardcore acts like American Nightmare, The Hope Conspiracy, and Vision of Disorder as they are living Metal legends like Meshuggah, Gojira, and Fear Factory, the group’s sound has slowly shifted over the years, moving from the rougher, rawer approach of their debut album, Everyone Leaves, through the increasingly heavier and more metallic sounds explored on Hatred Stems from the Seed and Power Through Terror, to the even bigger and more bombastic tones of their most recent record, Tragedy of the Commons (which was released just last month).

So if any of that sounds appealing (and I’m hoping it does) then get ready to discover your new favourite band!

SHORT BUT SWEET: CHURCH TONGUE / GRAND DEVOURER / PYRRHIC SALVATION

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Feb 262025

(Andy Synn suggests three more short but sweet musical morsels for you to sink your teeth into)

What is it that they say about the best laid plans?

Some of you may have noticed a bit of a disruption to our regular publication schedule here at NCS this week, and that’s due to the fact that Islander is currently without power or internet where he lives and I’m dealing with a really nasty case of the flu that’s making it very difficult for me to function.

Rest assured, normal operations will be resumed at some point… but, until then, hopefully this little round-up of some recent EPs will keep you occupied and entertained.

LIGHT DWELLER – THE SUBJUGATE

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Feb 242025

(Andy Synn bows down before the new album from Light Dweller, out this Friday on Avantgarde Music)

It’s pretty well documented by now that, generally, I prefer “bands” over solo projects.

There’s just something about the magic that happens when you get a group of musicians together and they start to bounce ideas off of each other, introducing an element of randomness and quantum chaos as they feed on each other’s energy, which seems to produce (in my opinion anyway) more interesting results.

But the work of Cameron Boesch, aka Light Dweller, has always been an exception to this particular “rule”, as he’s developed such a distinctive creative voice over the years weaving together bits and pieces of Immolation and Ulcerate, Krallice and Gorguts, and beyond, that there’s never any fear of his work falling afoul of stock tropes and standard clichés.

2022’s Lucid Offering in particular stood out as easily his magnum opus, striking a brilliant balance between atmosphere and dissonance, introspection and aggression, that was always going to be hard enough to replicate, let alone surpass.

Which I suppose begs the question… what do you do when you’ve reached the top of your particular, personal mountain? Where the heck do you go from there?

CROSS BRINGER – HEALISMUS AETERNUS

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Feb 192025

(Andy Synn has a busy week, but had just enough time to write about Cross Bringer‘s new album)

It’s funny how things sometimes line up, isn’t it?

Case in point, just as last week I had no prior intention of writing about three killer Death Metal albums in a row – it just happened that way – this week I’ve ended up writing about not just one, but two Black Metal/Hardcore crossover outfits.

But although the Blackened Metalcore of Bleeding Through and the crustier, punkier sound of Cross Bringer certainly possess a few superficially similar features those similarities are rarely more than skin deep, with the former obviously opting for a more polished (these days, anyway) and cinematic sound while the latter keeps things that little bit rougher and gnarlier, and derives its darkness not from sinister symphonics but from layers of rough-textured distortion and ragged, raw-boned emotion.

Anyway, seeing as how this will probably be the last thing I write/publish this week (I’ve got a short run of shows with my own band I need to focus on) let’s not waste any more time and dive right in to see what Healismus Aeternus has to offer, shall we?

BLEEDING THROUGH – NINE

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Feb 172025

(Andy Synn continues his murderous, on-off, love affair with OC Metalcore crew Bleeding Through)

It’s entirely appropriate that the cover for Bleeding Through‘s new album features a solitary figure standing at a crossroads… because that’s pretty much where Bleeding Through have stood their entire career.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a fan of the band for a long time – I think it was their seminal second album, Portrait of the Goddess, which first brought them to my attention, right before they had their big breakthrough with 2003’s This Is Love, This Is Murderous – but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to their flaws.

In particular they’ve always seemed torn between two competing urges – whether to double down on the more blisteringly aggressive and abrasively “blackened” side of their sound (as they did to such great effect prior to their hiatus with their 2010 self-titled and 2012’s blazing The Great Fire) or to take the poppier (and, inevitably, more popular) path by following in the footsteps of some of their more radio-friendly peers (as they did in the aftermath of This Is Love…’s unexpected success).

Their 2018 comeback album, Love Will Kill All found them trying to split the difference (which, to be clear, doesn’t have to be a bad thing) but ultimately resulted in a rather compromised record that didn’t leave much of an impression, and since then the only real insight into the band’s musical direction has been 2022’s Rage EP… all of which means there’s a lot of questions, and a lot of expectations, to be answered by NINE.

CONTINUUM OF XUL – VORATORE

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Feb 142025

(Andy Synn keeps his review streak going with a another killer Death Metal album that just came out)

Death Metal, as we all know, is a global phenomenon these days.

And, if that wasn’t already obvious, our travels this week have taken us first to Scandinavia then to South America and now to Southern Europe where we’re about to discover what delights the debut album from Italian hellions Continuum of Xul (featuring both current and former members of Ad Nauseum, Defacement, and Antropofagus) has to offer.

STORM DEATH – CHAOS WILL REIGN!

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Feb 122025

(Andy Synn has a storm of praise for the new album from Storm Death, out now)

One of the great things about writing here (and, trust me, there’s a lot of them) is that we aren’t beholden to anyone or anything – not PR firms, not labels, not advertisers, not deadlines, etc – when it comes to what we cover, or when we cover it.

Case in point, we have the freedom to cover, say, a pretty big name like The Great Old Ones or the highly-anticipated (and much hyped) debut from a band like Retromorphosis, only to then pivot entirely to a much less well-known, but no less deserving, band like Chilean death-dealers Storm Death, whose new album, Chaos Will Reign!, came out just last week.

RETROMORPHOSIS – PSALMUS MORTIS

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Feb 102025

(Andy Synn discusses questions of legacy and rebirth while singing the praises of Retromorphosis)

Look, there’s no way to talk about Retromorphosis without also talking about the elephant in the room.

After all, a lot of people feel (with good reason) that Psalmus Mortis is basically the long-awaited 4th Spawn of Possession album in all but name, especially since four out of five of the people behind the recording are ex-Spawn alumni (although only guitarist Jonas Bryssling and vocalist Dennis Röndum are SoP originals).

This, however, creates two potential problems for any budding reviewer.

On one hand you’ve got the question of how to address the expectations of the group’s fanbase, some of whom have already declared it “Album of the Year”, while others are convinced there’s no way it can live up to the band’s legacy – both prior to actually hearing it, I might add – without pandering to or dismissing their concerns.

Then, on the other, there’s the issue of how to put the album in its proper context – after all, it’s been just under thirteen years since SoP‘s third (and final) album was released, and during that time the Technical Death Metal scene has mutated and metastisized so much, spawning (no pun intended) a myriad of new strains and new variants, that it’s understandable if you’re wondering where exactly Retromorphosis are going to fit in.

Well, wonder no longer, because you’re about to find out all that… and more!

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