Written by:	Nefarious, nikarg, RaduP
Published:	March 04, 2019

Clandestine Cuts Volume 9, Issue #2
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. 9 #1
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 8 #5
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 8 #4

And now to the new music...

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Wulfhound - EP Listen at Bandcamp It's getting dark as I am trapped in this snow-covered forest far away from any human presence. I see riddles that my brain creates but they are disguised as labyrinthine riffs and psychedelic stoner/doom fuzz. While my limbs are getting numb from the cold, I look up to the dim sky hoping for someone to come and save me but all I can hear is a droned voice in the distance and some faint screams that remind me of a 1970s elf I used to worship. Or is it the wolves' arctic howls echoing from the west and foreshadowing my death? I am thinking that I cannot die now; I was born at night and its dark embrace gives me a false sense of safety. But I am slowly and gradually getting completely soaked up by this hypnotic doom. Towards the end I quit and let myself go... My only wish is for my final scream to rise up to the highest tower and be heard by wolves and humans alike before it metamorphoses into a formless molasses and reunites with the forest. by nikarg

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Tomorrow - Fragments Listen at Bandcamp There is something fairly apt about the band's name when you consider how long it has taken for Tomorrow to release Fragments. 23 years after their debut EP first came out (although only a few copies on cassette were distributed to friends & 'zines at the time), Tomorrow have returned from the shadows to deliver us their sophomore release, a 4 track 17 minute EP of top notch mid-tempo doom that is as melancholic as it is engaging. Fans of sorrowful traditional doom such as Warning will find a lot to love here. I'm not sure the reason behind such a long wait between EP's, but damn it was worth it. I just hope their next release will be a lot more forthcoming. by Nefarious

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PowerPlant - EP Listen to Bandcamp Damn, this is some seriously heavy, groovy psychedelic stoner doom! This EP is the debut release from Poland's PowerPlant & it is powerful indeed! Filled to the brim with fuzzy, catchy riff's, commanding baselines, hypnotic leads, pummeling drums & strong vocals that all blend together seamlessly to form a multi-layered & charismatic 33 minute musical experience. In such a saturated genre, PowerPlant really do break through the haze of smoke & stand out amongst their peers. All hail the plant! by Nefarious

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Vacant Body - Vacant Body Listen at Bandcamp Do you have 9 minutes of your time to listen to some Aussie Marduk-produced blackened death metal? Perfect. Vacant Body come from the land down under to deliver a really quick dose of meat-and-potatoes mid-paced extremity, and due to Magnus Andersson's hand in production, it sounds as pristine as you wouldn't expect a band's first demo to sound. With two songs and obviously one ambient intro, this ought to be but a starting point for someone from whom we will hear again. by RaduP

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Raven's Tongue - Prison Listen at Bandcamp Progressive metal has kinda had a few branches lately, the more chuggy and syncopated djenty stuff, the more retro power or Dream Theater inspired kind or the more atmospheric and mellow side. In the latter category, we find Raven's Tongue's debut, which is so beautifully rough and imperfect as you would expect from a demo, with production flaws that don't seem distracting but rather pinpoint inexperience. Female-fronted and Polish-speaking, Raven's Tongue also feature some nice syncopated and slightly post-rock and alternative rock inspired moments to the usual Karnivool or Riverside worship. by RaduP

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The Voices & Aries - La Tua Mano Dà, La Tua Mano Prende Listen at Bandcamp Even if you're not a religious person, you must have once felt that awe you feel in a grandiose cathedral or a small wooden church, when a choir is singing a latin or a slavonic liturgy. What if you could reproduce that with a guitar, some synths and obviously a few voices? You would get the collaboration between The Voices and Pierluigi "Aries" Ammirate. With a title that is Italian for "Your Hand Gives, Your Hand Takes" and very little actual metal other than the droning guitar, since most of the work is done by the baritone vocals, which, unless you're fluent in Italian and you can actually tell what they're saying, could be reciting a liturgy or sing an opera about a Renaissance love story. by RaduP

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