Written by:	RaduP, musclassia, nikarg, Starvynth
Published:	07.12.2020

Clandestine Cuts Volume 10, Issue #11
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 radu_patroiu@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 #10
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 10 #9
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 10 #8

And now to the new music...

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This isn't the first time we've covered Holy Death here, that was in April, but even though since then they also released another EP, right now Deus Mortis continues to finesse the band's blend of death and doom metal, continuing to be more than either slow death metal or doom metal with growls. Frontman Torie John's hardcore infused vocals add an extra dimension to this album that works really well with the monolithin riffs and pounding bass to create that larger than death sound. And for a man that seems to have formed this band right as the outcome of a near-death experience, I can say that Deus Mortis sounds like looking death in the eye and walking away. Oh, there's also an Entombed cover in here, which is pretty appropriate as we wish that L-G Petrov will also look death in the eye and walk away.

by RaduP

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Wicked Sisters are a fledgling act from Sydney, Australia with a couple of mini-releases under their belt already, but Wired Backwards should help them start to generate some momentum. Simple but effective, Wired Backwards is a fun little chunk of industrial metal, between the eerie guitar tone and the driving beats, but it does find time to venture into other territories. "D.O.G." takes a breather halfway through before slowing things right down for a menacing doom dirge, showing that Wicked Sisters can effectively pull off the industrial sound regardless of tempo. The distinctive guitar tone is the star of the show here, although the percussion contributions are also enjoyable, fitting well at fast and slow speeds; the warped, churning sound of the guitar gives a cool cyber aesthetic to the music here, whilst still possessing the heft necessary for the doomier passages to work. With only 2 proper songs, Wired Backwards is a brief effort, but it's an enjoyable one, and I'll be interested in hearing any more substantial records the band produce.

by musclassia

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10,000 Years describe themselves as a 'crushing stoner metal' band and they are hailing the Green King. I am sure you all get the point. Relying on fat and sludgy riffs, a massive low end, and carrying all the fuzz your ears can endure, this EP is posing as a packed-with-distortion and unmistakeably Sabbathian specimen of groovy stoner delight. And they have a song called "Lee Van Cleef", which gives extra coolness points. If Sergio Leone made a spaghetti western film today located in some pot-drenched, fog-heavy wormhole somewhere in outer space, he could have collaborated with 10,000 Years instead of Ennio Morricone for the film score. The power of the riff is surging through each of the five tracks, the bass is overwhelmingly mean and nasty and the drums pound away with dexterity, contributing to the overflowing groove. My pick for best song would be "Into The Jaws Of The Green King", but check out the whole thing and I bet you'll enjoy the molten fuzzy lava pouring into your ears.

by nikarg

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Russian one-man project Frostnatt has had a prolific 12 months; Når Vinteren Kommer is the fourth EP released within that timeframe. I can't speak for the previous bunch of releases, but Når Vinteren Kommer is a really solid atmos-black effort. There's nothing here that will surprise listeners familiar with black metal, but novelty isn't a requirement when the riffs are this enjoyable. The title track firmly sets the tone for the rest of the record, a mid-tempo song with relentless tremolo riffing, memorable guitar motifs and subtle yet effective synths. The guitar tone is a big plus to this record; it stays away from lo-fi muddiness, but still retains power and emphasis, allowing the riffs and melodies to sink their hooks into listeners. There are hints of diversity during the record, primarily coming courtesy of "Nordavind", which leans in more of an epic atmos-black direction (similar to Summoning in tone, if not necessarily riffing style) whilst having hints of blackgaze. The other songs are very similarly stylistically but are able to convey different emotions, with the more measured percussion on "Snøfall" giving it a greater sense of melancholy than the title track. Når Vinteren Kommer offers no surprises; instead it offers quality riffs and atmosphere in abundance.

by musclassia

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Belgium gave us Bütcher's 666 Goats Carry My Chariot earlier this year but have you listened to Voices yet? Schizophrenia's music brings to mind the second Sepultura album of the same name (even the band logo is very similar) and it features the right aggression / melody blend that we find in the late '80s Sodom and Kreator records, with savage vocals that outright destroy. However, the Belgians' most obvious influence is Demolition Hammer which pretty much means skull-fracturing riffs and drumming of crippling velocity. Voices doesn't try to be atmospheric or original or progressive; it just combines high-speed aggression and mid-tempo groove with devastating intensity and constitutes a brutal thrash attack from start to finish. And it is so loud that, if you hear voices in your head, they will definitely shut up.

by nikarg

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In order to dissolve potential confusion regarding the release of this demo on Poroniec's Bandcamp: the Polish black metal duo from Krakow did neither break up nor are there any future plans regarding the elimination of their band name. Rather, Nie Było Mnie Nigdy ("I Have Never Been" in English) is the solo work of Poroniec's multi instrumentalist Ferment and since his band mate WrzaaASqn offered to provide guest vocals on one of the six tracks, it can be assumed that everything is fine with the participants' common main band. If you are familiar with the music of Poroniec (which you should, their two demos are hereby highly recommended) you may notice that both projects are not very different from each other. Modern black metal of the atmospheric kind is the base frame of Nie Było Mnie Nigdy and it contains all the ingredients that also Ferment's first band has to offer. Captivating and energetic riffs, a punching but clear production, a very solid vocal performance, an attractive alternation between calmer parts with tremolo picking and the icy rage of black metal riffing touching blastbeat realms - it's all there. Yet the differing vocals are by no means the only differentiating element, it takes a closer look at the two bonus tracks to reveal a totally new side of the project's main protagonist: "In Front Of Me" is a cover of renowned Israelian psy-trance duo Infected Mushroom and "Przykro Mi" renders homage to the Polish electro-pop act The Dumplings. Odd choices, maybe? No, perfect choices for a view beyond the (black) horizon.

by Starvynth

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