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 12: THE WARRIORS

 THE SYNN REPORT  2 Responses »
Jun 082011
 

(NCS writer Andy Synn checks in with his latest edition of the SYNN REPORT, and it includes his review of the band’s 2011 album, See How You Are.)

The last edition of THE SYNN REPORT was a real mental workout for me; listening to that much horrific, hellish noise, over and over again for such an extended period left me completely and utterly drained. So, for this edition I sought out something more positive and uplifting that, without sacrificing aggression or integrity, would provide me with the perfect antidote to the toxic poisons I had ingested, something which would actually give me more energy rather than leave me a broken shell of a man.

After all that, after eleven issues/editions/chapters (?) of THE SYNN REPORT, I finally feel it’s time to look across the water to The Great Satan™ and pick a US band to cover. Seeing as how the USA is considered (perhaps rightly so) the birthplace of “hardcore”, and how the genre is in many ways quintessentially American, this iteration of THE SYNN REPORT is going to cover edgy metallic-hardcore quintet The Warriors.

This Californian 5-piece have to date produced 4 albums (the latest See How You Are having only recently been released this year) of hardcore bite and vicious metallic chuggery, blended with funky, elastic grooves and delivered with a rolling, rock n’ roll swagger. The harsh, intense vocals of Marshall Lichtenwaldt are perhaps the thing which most people will pay attention to, his distinctive, throat-rending snarls and rapid-fire delivery providing an obvious talking point to any lovers of the genre. Yet the musical abilities of the rest of the band are just as important, the guitars heavy yet far from primitive, the drums taut and punchy, and the bass agile and flowing.

Though the band’s transition into ever more metallic territories has alienated some of their earlier fan-base, the talents of the group as a whole remain undeniable, capable of both terrific power and admirable restraint. On each album they display a new side to what can be achieved by stretching the limits of the harshly prescribed hardcore formula, confidently strutting their funky stuff without preening, flexing their metallic muscle without egotistical posing and screaming their frustrations loudly and clearly without any inkling of self-pity or self-doubt.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »