UNSUNG HEROES OF 2020:  CONSTRUCT OF LETHE / EYE OF SOLITUDE / PERSEFONE

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Jan 042021
 

 

(In this post Andy Synn reviews three 2020 album “reissues” that in different ways gave the original releases a new lease on life.)

“Out with the old, in with the new!”

That has, traditionally, been the mantra that accompanies the end of one year and the beginning of another.

And so, in that spirit, I’ve decided to bit adieu to 2020 with a look back at three albums which originally reared their ugly heads in 2016, 2011, and 2004, respectively, but which were all given a new lease on life last year.

So I guess that opening mantra should have been “everything old is new again…”, shouldn’t it? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: EYE OF SOLITUDE, AKROTHEISM, INCANDESCENCE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Mar 052019
 

 

I’m kind of scrambling due to interferences from my damned day job, but I didn’t want too much time to pass before sharing with you a few items of interest — the first of which is an exclusive piece of very exciting news.

EYE OF SOLITUDE

Those of you who’ve been following the site for a while will probably be aware that we’re big fans of Eye of Solitude and their fearsome brand of funereal death/doom. We’ve been writing about these Romanian/British doom lords for well over six years now, and have featured articles on their work a number of times (such as here, here, here, and here), as well as one of Andy Synn’s Waxing Lyrical interviews of the band’s main man Daniel Neagoe (here).

Eye of Solitude’s most recent album, 2018’s Slaves of Solitude, presented (in Andy Synn’s words) “some of the best music we’ve heard from the band since their career-defining Canto III“, and was definitely one of the year’s doom metal high points, successfully achieving “that rare feat of providing a listening experience which is both utterly devastating yet eminently re-listenable.”

And now we are delighted to report that this year Eye of Solitude will be returning with another album named Godless, and to reveal the album’s cover art (above). Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2018: A YEAR-END LIST FROM GRANT SKELTON

 LISTMANIA 2018  12 Responses »
Jan 032019
 

 

(We present a 2018 year-end list by NCS contributor Grant Skelton, which consists of 15 miserable, mutilating, and mesmerizing titles, not all of which are metal.)

Salutations fellow metalheads! My choices this year were a bit more of a mixed bag than in previous years. Per our usual MO here at No Clean Singing, I tried to focus on bands whose albums seemed to slip into the proverbial cracks. I hope you find something you like here, and by all means leave me recommendations in the comments. Continue reading »

BEST OF BRITISH (PART 4): ENCIRCLING WOLVES / THE EVER LIVING / EYE OF SOLITUDE

 Album Reviews  15 Responses »
Jun 112018
 


Encircling Wolves

(Andy Synn forges ahead with the 2018 version of his series focusing on new releases by UK bands.)

 

Because we believe education is so important, today’s edition of “The Best of British” is brought to you by the letter ‘E’ and the number ‘3’. And, please, do pay attention, as there will be a test at the end. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): EYE OF SOLITUDE — “CENOTAPH”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Aug 262016
 

Eye of Solitude-Cenotaph

 

(Grant Skelton reviews the new album by the UK band Eye of Solitude and brings us the premiere of a full album stream.)

 

I’ve truly grown to love sad metal. A prevalent stereotype among the folks who do not understand our beloved genre is that all metal fans are depressed. Yeah, even suicidal. But sorrow, despair, depression, and even suicidal ideation are not unique to metal fans.

In a study published in Frontiers In Psychology, Ai Kawakami intended to find out just why people like sad music. While Kawakami and his fellow researchers used classical pieces for their study, the result is what counts. The participants in the study enjoyed listening to sad music. “Musical emotion,” Kawakami said, “encompasses both the felt emotion that the music induces in the listener and the perceived emotion that the listener judges the music to express.” (Find out more here.)

Certain kinds of metal are for partying and abusing your liver. Other kinds probably give many of us a healthy outlet for aggression so that we don’t wind up in a padded cell. But some metal — and I definitely place London’s Eye Of Solitude in this category — give us something else. I was recently given the pleasure of listening to their latest album Cenotaph. And what exactly does this album give the listener? In a single word, I’d say humanity. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: EYE OF SOLITUDE — “THIS GOODBYE. THE GOODBYE”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Aug 232016
 

Eye of Solitude-Cenotaph

 

(Grant Skelton introduces our premiere of a video for a new song by the British band Eye of Solitude from their forthcoming album, Cenotaph.)

Eye Of Solitude will release their new album Cenotaph next week (September 1). This Friday (August 26), No Clean Singing will bring you an exclusive full-album stream of that release along with my review. Cenotaph is an album meant for solitary enjoyment. It will disengage you from all externalities and invite you to retreat inward — to places inside your soul you aren’t even aware of.

In the meantime, No Clean Singing is proud to present another exclusive from Cenotaph. Below, you will find the official music video for the track “This Goodbye. The Goodbye.” The video, directed by Razvan Alexandru, is deliberately slow and contemplative. Just like the track itself. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: MAMMOTH STORM, ENNUI, EYE OF SOLITUDE, MOONBOW, WEEDPECKER

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  15 Responses »
Nov 192015
 

MammothStormFornjot

 

(Grant Skelton steps forward for round-up duty with this collection of mostly new music from five bands.)

MAMMOTH STORM

Mammoth Storm are a three-piece from Saffle, Sweden. They released a demo in 2013. Less than a year later, Mammoth Storm followed that demo with a self-released EP called Rite Of Ascension. Their debut album Fornjot (named for an ancient Norse giant) was released earlier this month on Napalm Records.

Mammoths and Norse giants are fitting imagery for the kind of riffs this band writes. Enormous, loud, and destructive. They recently completed a tour with their labelmates Ahab and High Fighter. If you’re into either of those bands, then Mammoth Storm definitely have something for you. Below are the lyric video to the title track “Fornjot,” as well as a Soundcloud stream of “Augurs Echo.” Find Fornjot on Amazon and iTunes. The album also includes “Ancient Apocalypse,” a bonus track re-recorded from their 2013 demo. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BYZANTINE, EYE OF SOLITUDE, FALLS OF RAUROS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Aug 292014
 

 

Those of you who can’t let a day go by without visiting our humble site, by which of course I mean all of you, have undoubtedly noticed that I haven’t been very good about posting round-ups this week. There are reasons, but I’ll just acknowledge my failure, express my deep regret, ask for God’s forgiveness, and try to turn the page (I got that sentence out of the Official Politicians’ Handbook For What To Say When You’re Caught In Bed With A Dead Girl Or A Live Boy).

Many, many things have happened over the last few days that are worth noting, but I’ll just mention three of them for now.

BYZANTINE

The resurrection of West Virginia’s Byzantine has been all but complete, with the release of a stellar comeback album in 2013 and the commencement of work for a follow-up record (To Release Is To Resolve) now in progress. But one thing has been missing: A Tour!

Well, finally, it appears that’s going to happen, too. Today the band announced the Release To Resolve Tour, which will be their first tour in 7 years. It begins and ends in West Virginia and includes an appearance at the CMJ Showcase in New York City. They will be supported by New York’s IKILLYA and by Thy Will Be Done from Providence, RI. The schedule as it currently exists (with a few specific locations still to be announced) is below: Continue reading »

DOOM QUIZ PART 4: EYE OF SOLITUDE, FATHER MERRIN, GRIMPEN MIRE, KYPCK, NARROW HOUSE, VIN DE MIA TRIX

 Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jul 152014
 


Eye of Solitude

(Today our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks brings us Part 4 of a six-part series in which he puts the same five questions to doom bands from around the world, and introduces us to their music at the same time.)

Sometimes I use this unpopular “quiz” format because there are too many interesting bands that I would like to bring to light, and in my opinion it’s a good way to spread some news and to get new points of view on a few issues (including even some political questions). The list of questions I put to the bands is below:

1. What is the band’s latest news and what are your plans for the near future?

2. What do we get (in the broadest sense) from the release of your last album?

3. What is the best response that your band has ever received?

4. What role does the church (or any other religious organization) play in your life or (let’s take it wider) in the life of the heavy scene? Is there any spiritual, religious, or antireligious component in your songs?

5. What does the Media in your country tell about the situation in Ukraine? And how do you see that situation? Some people from other countries have asked me strange questions about Russia’s policy, and let me say that I have a few friends in Ukraine and my colleagues have relatives there, and believe me, there’s no media in ANY country that is showing the problem as it really is. We can watch as the Cold War turns into real warfare.

Today, we bring the answers to these questions from Eye Of Solitude (United Kingdom), Father Merrin (France), Grimpen Mire (United Kingdom), KYPCK (Finland), Narrow House (Ukraine), and Vin De Mia Trix (Ukraine). Continue reading »

EYE OF SOLITUDE: “CANTO III”

 Album Reviews  9 Responses »
Dec 112013
 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by UK-based Eye of Solitude)

Some albums are a real slog. They drag, they stagger, they pull you down. They’re like a car crash in slow motion (and not in the good way). You simply can’t turn away from them. You get through them only by virtue of sheer will-power and bloody-minded perseverance.

Those are the bad albums.

Others are an epic journey. Physically and emotionally draining, yet cathartic and captivating. They hook their fingers into your soul and simply refuse to let go until the last dying note. Every step along the way reveals something new, something memorable and magical, making every aching mile worth the effort and toll.

This is one of those albums. Continue reading »

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