Feb 072025
 

(Andy Synn is here to correct some egregious oversights by the rest of the NCS crew)

Well, I guess it’s finally time to draw a line under last year… in fact, it’s probably well past time… but before we consign 2024 to the great internet graveyard I wanted to get in one last edition of “2024’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs” focussing on some of the coolest and most killer cuts that my buddies Islander and DGR missed.

Credit where credit is due, however, the two of them did end up featuring a couple of tracks I assumed would end up on my list (namely “Dehumanize Me” by Candy and “Blackwater” by Bloom Dream) but the rest of these ten selections (I decided that was a nice limit, considering between them Islander and DGR already highlighted over 100 tracks) come from artists/albums/EPs they didn’t touch in their lists.

I’ve also resisted the temptation to include anything by my own band… although if I had it probably would have been “Until Morale Improves” (which, you know, you should definitely check out)… or any bands I’m too close to personally, but that still left a pretty massive “short list” (short being a relative term) to choose from, so whittling it down to just ten options meant a whole heap of songs were left behind on the cutting room floor.

But, hopefully, what you’re about to hear will encourage you to further check out the rest of these records.

Continue reading »

May 062024
 

(What you’ll find below is Comrade Aleks‘ in-depth and wide-ranging interview of Michael Chavez, the mastermind behind the California death/thrash band Hemotoxin, whose new album When Time Becomes Loss is set for release on May 17th via Pulverised Records.)

Fresh and savage death metal from Hemotoxin is rooted in thrash and shaped in twisted progressive forms. The band itself was started in 2010 by Michael Chavez (vocals, guitars, bass), and after three full-length albums and global lineup changes it reaches its new top with the fourth album When Time Becomes Loss.

Or, as the official press-release states, “discordant in euphonious harmony yet ruminative in essence, riff-mogul Michael Chavez inflicts a gaping wound that perfectly intersects forward-thinking thrash and prog metal”.

So many people, so many opinions… However, let’s now devote our own time, as Hemotoxin’s mastermind Michael Chavez provided us the in-depth story of When Time Becomes Loss and far more. Continue reading »

Dec 312022
 

Recommended for fans of: Grave, Lock Up, Exhumed

Choosing what band to feature for the last edition of The Synn Report for 2022 wasn’t an easy task.

While I knew I wanted to use this as an opportunity to highlight one of the many bands I didn’t get to write about properly this year, there were so many bands that fit that description that I almost didn’t know where to start.

But, ultimately, there could be only one, and that one had to be Ripped to Shreds, as not only was their latest album arguably the best true/classic/old-school Death Metal record of 2022, but it was also high time we gave their entire back catalogue the attention and acclaim it so richly deserves.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

Continue reading »

Aug 172022
 

We had another rare day today when there were no premieres on the calendars. Because I write almost all of those, this gave me some extra time to use in compiling another roundup of new songs and videos. But then my fucking day job unexpectedly reared its head like a hungry serpent, and greedily consumed almost all that extra time. So, this roundup wil be short, but hopefully you’ll find it sweet.

BLACK LAVA (Australia)

I always get a thrill when I see a new cover painting by Paolo Girardi. One of these days I’ll then discover that some album adorned by his artwork turns out not to be worth recommending. Maybe that has already happened at some point in the past, but if so I’ve forgotten it. It didn’t happen today.

What I saw today, and what you now see, is Paolo‘s cover painting for a debut album named Soul Furnace by Melbourne-based Black Lava. Lots of molten vulcanism in that verbiage, and the just-released title track provides some justification. Continue reading »