Written by:	ScreamingSteelUS, RaduP, musclassia, nikarg, Starvynth, Abattoir
Published:	30.04.2020

Clandestine Cuts Volume 10, Issue #3
The Metal Storm Demo/EP Spotlight



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. 10 #2
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 10 #1
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 9 #12

And now to the new music...

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Holy Death - Supreme Metaphysical Violence [Death-Doom] I've heard a lot of doom death and death doom that sounds wicked, but few things are as slow and wicked as Holy Death's Supreme Metaphysical Violence. With bass-heavy riffs that sound like industrial rapturous tremors of the earth, reverb-heavy solos that feel like impending doom, and vocals that sound like demoniacal hardcore punk, this EP has such a full sound that feels like Electric Wizard tried playing some Hooded Menace but with a ghoulish reincarnation of a dead punk at the mic. Even its post-sounding interludes sound fantastic despite feeling totally alien to the heavy parts, and these weave into the songs surprisingly well. Doom to make your house shake. by RaduP

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Nightwölf - Unleash The Beast [Heavy] Nightwölf, not to be confused with Malaysia's coincidentally also heavy Nightwolf, or any other of the now defunct but without umlauts Nightwolfs, is a Brazilians heavy metal band with influences as diverse as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Accept and Dio. Jokes aside, Nightwölf have chosen a sound to resurrect and they're sticking to it quite well. With the production being fairly raw and their songwriting to decidedly retro, this is something that really could pass as an overlooked release from the late 80s, when heavy metal was just starting to branch into power metal. There is cheese galore, but great performances on all sides, surprisingly audible bass, and songwriting skills that really aren't lacking. Heck, one listen through and I could already recall some choruses. Unleash The Beast would be one song away from being a full-length, but hopefully the production will be less raw by the time they actually release one (but make sure to keep the bass high in the mix). by RaduP

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Autolith - Caustic Light [Crust / Sludge] After a few seconds of ominous build-up, a sickening 'bleh' is the trigger for an onslaught of furious blackened sludge in "Caustic Light", the title track of this new EP from Tennessee's Autolith. "Caustic Light" alternates between frantic blasting and slow, grim headbangable grooves, demonstrating the range of the band's vicious, crusty sludge sound. There's a decent amount of variety across Caustic Light's five songs; "Vice Blessing" somehow fits both hardcore aggression and atmospheric sludge moments into its 144 seconds, whilst "Void (Crawl Back To Nothing)" is a slow, meaty trudge with bouts of punishing violence. The moments of breakneck savagery only serve to further elevate the impact of the slower sections, such as the bludgeoning outro of "Sprawl", which has a hint of Remission-era Mastodon to it. Rounding off the EP is something of a stark departure in "Unyielding Loss", a lengthy post-metal cut with an atypically clean sound that further displays the range of Autolith, who have announced themselves as a name worthy of attention with Caustic Light. by musclassia

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Duoxini - Sins Of Society [Thrash] This debut EP from South Korea is some savage thrash aggression that comes in the form of cataclysmic assault ("Old Noise"), in tons of massive groove ("Sin Of Society"), or in both of these combined ("Nitroglycerin Overdose"). There is a distinct Exodus and Destruction influence, but the sound they seem to be more affiliated with is the one of Nuclear Assault because of their audible bass and the screaming retro thrash vocals. When they bring on the melody, like on "Unknown Field", they are equally contagious and you really must listen to the solo of this particular song. According to the band's guitarist, Jaegu, Duoxini's name is taken from a 'traditional head crush ghost of Korea'. I have no idea what this means, but it sounds fitting. by nikarg

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Inception Of Fall - Builders Of The World [Technical / Progressive Death] We've got quite a tongue twister for you: Czech tech death. But instead of desperately trying to pronounce this repeatedly, you may as well listen to some fresh and selected tracks of progressive and technical death metal - Inception Of Fall are serving both sub-genres to the same extent. Builders Of The World is IOF's first EP and that's the most astonishing fact regarding this release. They sound like a well-rehearsed team; each member is very well versed in eliciting just the right tones from his instrument so that the quintet's collaborative work can shine as a homogeneous whole. But the best thing about Builders Of The World is that the progressive and technical elements are never thrown in just for their own sake but to offer a welcome change from the straightforward death metal core. by Starvynth

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Håndgemeng - Grim Riffer [Stoner / Sludge] Striking down from the north, with their stoner/sludge/doom metal direction and predominantly hardcore-executed vocals, are the Norwegian four-piece Håndgemeng. Grim Riffer is their newest offering that is being promoted. This EP release isn't their first music product they have put out, however a big improvement from what they've produced so far. After slow, mellow instrumental beginning, Grim Riffer continues in much heavier manner, strongly inclined to the slow-mid tempo altering pattern. Håndgemeng are definitely not the one to spare on the heavy distortion of, both guitars and bass, and the support of down-tuned, pounding drums. Along with the violent sounding vocals, this certainly makes an intriguing piece of music art, where you shouldn't feel the lack of robustness. by Abattoir

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