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Clandestine Cuts Vol. 6 Issue #2 - Awesome New Demos and EPs


Written by: Nefarious, BloodTears, Abattoir
Published: 04.07.2016


Clandestine Cuts Volume 6, Issue #2
The Metal Storm Demo/EP Spotlight

Brand New Independent Metal Lives Here.
Welcome to the Clandestine Cuts!


Is independent, unsigned, and underground metal what you seek? Weary traveller of the metal world, rest here a while. Clandestine Cuts are the best demos and EPs from these bands, the heart and soul of metal music. These musicians are slaves to their passions, and their blood keeps the metal machine alive and turning. Support them with a simple listen, and discover the future.

Metal Storm users: you can vote in the poll below to choose your favourite demo/EP of the issue. The winners each year are nominated in our annual Metal Storm Awards so exercise your rights: this is the one category chosen completely by YOU the readers. Make sure your favourite independent metal is recognized each year!

(Think your band has what it takes to be featured in the Cuts? Email demos@metalstorm.net to submit your music.)

In case you're new at this, go back and enjoy our last few issues:
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 6 #1
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 5 #4
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 5 #3




And now to the new music...




Cairiss - Fall
Listen at Bandcamp

Cairiss just released their debut EP, Fall, and it's a thing of beauty. The five-piece from Southampton, U.K. rely heavily on building a particular kind of ethereal atmosphere. The obvious stand-out aspect of their music is Freyja Brown's otherworldly voice, perfect for the spectacularly crafted clean sounds that emanate from the band. She also offers harsher vocals when the intensity of the music reaches its peak and Cairiss venture into black metal and shoegaze territory. The orchestral arrangements give these three songs a full sound, overflowing with tasteful melodies. You just need to open this treasure chest and discover this diamond in the rough.

by BloodTears





Cambrian Explosion - The Moon
Listen at Bandcamp

Cambrian Explosion play a groovy, multi-layered mix of stoner and psychedelic rock with oriental influences that's full to the brim with fuzzy, catchy riffs. Now while there is certainly a large number of bands with a similar sound, what makes Cambrian Explosion stand out from the crowd is their impeccable musicianship & brilliant sense of rhythm. Clocking in at just over 35 minutes, this ambitious EP could almost be considered a full length yet it leaves you wanting more. So sit back, relax and let Cambrian Explosion fly you to the moon.

by Nefarious





Dan Pierson - Mesolus
Listen at Bandcamp

Dan Pierson's Mesolus is highly promising. Granted, it has plenty of Devin Townsend worship, especially in the use of guitar sounds and exploration. However, this is quite sentimental and ingenious progressive metal minus the wacky part. The ambient and synth parts are beautifully constructed and interweaved with vibrant melodies throughout. Think about the mood of "Deep Peace" as a starting point to a different kind of journey. These types of stellar debut releases are hard to come by. Words alone don't do it justice.

by BloodTears





Ocean of Grief - Fortress of My Dark Self
Listen at Bandcamp

Simply put, Fortress of My Dark Self is 27 minutes of top-notch melodic death/doom. While not really testing the conventional boundaries of the genre, Ocean of Grief's debut EP remains an interesting & enjoyable listen as the lack of originality is made up for by the bands sheer talent, musicianship & songwriting ability. Fortress of My Dark Self is a solid first effort for this young band hailing from Athens, Greece & provides a solid baseline for them to hopefully grow & carve out their own niche in the saturated death/doom genre in the future.

by Nefarious





Nights Of Malice - Our Penance
Listen at Bandcamp

I have never really been a deathcore enthusiast, but in this case I can say that some fine, groundbreaking tunes are coming out of Nights Of Malice's EP, entitled Our Penance. Lots of variety in the change of pace, some fast, shredding passages with fair amount of pounding down-tempo strikes. Since this is the band's already third EP, it can be felt that sound production reached a very high level, which is also one of the main factors that overwhelmed me on this release. While deathcore in general ain't that original per se, you have to be (more or less) into this genre if you want to create a positive ambience with Our Penance.

by Abattoir





Cloak - Cloak
Listen at Bandcamp

Cloak play a cross between black metal, death metal & straight up rock & roll that is dark & brooding yet full of energy & groove. Fans of Tribulation will find a lot to like here as the comparisons between the two are undeniable. Containing only 2 tracks with a total running time of under 13 minutes, this self-titled EP is incredibly short but shows a huge amount of promise & is a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. Hopefully it won't be too long until we hear a full length LP from these guys as 13 minutes is just not enough!

by Nefarious







Poll

What's your favorite new release this issue?

Login or register to vote. Results are hidden




Comments

Comments: 9   Visited by: 78 users
04.07.2016 - 22:56
Maco
Pvt Funderground
I think the guy from Ocean Of Grief shared his music in a thread he created, it was great.
----
Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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04.07.2016 - 23:52
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
"Dan Pierson's Mesolus is highly promising.
Granted, it has plenty of Devin Townsend worship, especially...
" ...the album cover?
----
"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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05.07.2016 - 07:41
Dargor

Cairiss was an absolutely impressive discovery to me. My personal favorite. The rest is also equally interesting. I need to listen more to Cloak, they seem to have a lot of potential too. Overall, a very enlightening read!!
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05.07.2016 - 12:21
BloodTears
ANA-thema
Written by Karlabos on 04.07.2016 at 23:52

"Dan Pierson's Mesolus is highly promising.
Granted, it has plenty of Devin Townsend worship, especially...
" ...the album cover?


Mostly in terms of the music, but the album cover too. No doubt
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29

Like you could kiss my ass.


My Instagram
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09.07.2016 - 00:02
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
As in every cuts I speak weird tongs to not directly give up my vote
Lets keep that tradition alive
winner is town where Marian Pahar spend his glory days as footy player
secend would be Hellenic lads, but that other band was better
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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10.07.2016 - 04:42
Susan
Smeghead
Well, I'd vote Ocean of Grief for best album cover if I could.

I'm still making my way through all of the amazing music in this article, and what a journey it's turning out to be. Excellent offerings so far.
----
"A life all mine
Is what I choose
At the end of my days"
--The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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31.07.2016 - 13:54
NocturnalStalker
Metal Addict
This issue hasn't inspired me as much as a previous one, but it still has its moments of glory. While Dan Pierson's music sounds too much like Devin Townsend for my liking (and I love Devin!), Oceans of Grief are not bad, but lacking the catchy melodies their compatriots Immensity had on their demo, Nights of Malice sounds like a generic deathcore and Cloak sounds cool, but, once again, like something I heard a lot of times before, I found myself torn between the atmospheric black metal of Cairiss and the psychedelic madness of Cambrian Explosion. In the end, it was the Portland band that convinced me more.
----
"And we are not who we think we are
We are who we're afraid to be"
- Lux Occulta "The Opening of Eleventh Sephirah"
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12.10.2016 - 21:33
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Torn between Cairiss and Cambrian Explosion. I went for the later but I really hope it goes well for Cairiss as they can definitely achieve bigger things.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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19.10.2016 - 18:45
Nefarious
Doom Knight
Nice to see that Cloak just signed with Season of Mist
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"FUCK!!! You're the fucking 5th person asking me in an interview about the woman in the bathtub?The problem is that I AM the fucking person in the bathtub, and I AM a fucking MAN, for fuck's sake! I hate you all!" ~ Herr Morbid
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