THE SYNN REPORT – A 30TH ANNIVERSARY ROUND-UP

 THE SYNN REPORT  12 Responses »
Dec 052012
 

(NCS writer Andy Synn pauses after the 30th installment of THE SYNN REPORT to take a look back at the first two years of the series.)

Ok, so we’ve now had 30 ‘official’ entries in The Synn Report. I hope that a good number of you have discovered new bands and gone out and shown your support for them, buying music, merch, gig tickets, etc.

I thought, since the year (and the world!!!) is coming to an end, it might be a good time to provide a quick one-stop summation of all the previous entries, for those of you who maybe missed a couple, or for new devotees of the site who have yet to encounter the earlier editions and the bands contained therein.

Did you know that the genesis for The Synn Report was not entirely down to me? There’s a post that I consider ‘The Synn Report: Year Zero” which was written by Islander himself, in response to my recommendation of a particular band. That post is included here, as I think it’s an important foundation stone in the genesis of The Synn Report, and because I think the band in question are utterly phenomenal.

So there we go, after the jump there’s a tiny entry on each band from each edition of The Synn Report, with a short genre description and a re-iteration of the “Recommended for fans of:” section. Which ones did you miss? Which ones should you give another shot to? Click each one to be linked to the appropriate article, where you’ll find the full write-ups and sample songs from each release! Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 27: NAHEMAH

 THE SYNN REPORT  5 Responses »
Aug 042012
 

(In this 27th edition of The Synn Report, Andy Synn reviews the discography of a recently dis-banded group of talented Spaniards known as Nahemah.)

Recommended for fans of: The Ocean, Swallow The Sun, Borknagar

Ok, let me let you in on a little secret. Although each edition of The Synn Report may seem like a spontaneous explosion of brilliant exposition and stunning hyperbole, there is in f act a guiding plan behind the whole thing. I have a list of bands I want to introduce to you all, laid out in a general order – which is subject to alteration and adaptation as circumstances dictate.

For example, I decided to rearrange things to  cover both Ludicra and Oceans of Sadness after learning of their dissolution, and just last week I chose to tweak the order a bit,  dropping in a feature on Crocell to break up the overwhelming blackened trend of the column.

So obviously, certain bands get moved back. In fact I can think of several that have been moved back multiple times – but that’s just the luck of the draw. Today’s edition focusses on a band who have suddenly found themselves thrust to the front of the pack by the advent of some new, and unwelcome, news.

Because Nahemah announced a few days ago that they were breaking up. Which is sad news indeed, but definitely one way to ensure your band gets priority. It’s a bit of a drastic move, however, and not one I’d really recommend.

The 5 piece progressive/post- metal group calling itself Nahemah hail from Alicante, Spain, and came together way back in 1997. Their first album wasn’t released until 2001, while their third (and now, it seems, last) album came out in 2009. While they may not be the most prolific band on the planet, they more than make up for that with the sheer quality and ambition of their material, coupled to a raw and passionate sense of emotion and integrity. Continue reading »