Written by:	Nefarious, nikarg, RaduP, Starvynth
Published:	August 24, 2019

Clandestine Cuts Volume 9, Issue #7
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 #6
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 9 #5
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 9 #4

And now to the new music...

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By Fire And Sword - Freedom Will Flood All Things With Light Listen at Bandcamp These metal preachers from Boise, Idaho claim that they are "here to spread the riff gospel of vengeance, glory and fury". The theme of their debut EP -and the band itself for that matter- is based on American christian cults and the music can be described as traditional heavy metal with some doom and US power metal thrown in. Now, I know that the New Wave Of True Heavy Metal scene has become oversaturated (and this is probably the understatement of the year), but do me a favour and check out the grippingly charismatic sermon delivery of The Rev. Tim Tom Jones and the brilliantly epic music performed by Brothers Jeffrey, Michael, Zachery and Michael Francis, and then try telling me that this is not some of the best heavy metal you've heard in 2019. by nikarg

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Mortal Incarnation - Lunar Radiant Dawn Listen at Bandcamp The Japanese trio of Mortal Incarnation is a discovery of this lad who recommended their demo here a while ago. Lunar Radiant Dawn contains two tracks of extraordinary death metal that spits rotten and chugging riffs, doomed and wailing leads, dissonant chaos, raging blastbeats, cavernous roars and terrifying howls, all so immaculately put together in a way that makes the fact that this is merely a debut demo completely incomprehensible. Songwriting, atmosphere and performance are all top-notch and get carved deep in the listener's memory; in fact, the last two minutes of "A Dismal Propagation Into Decay" will linger in your mind way too long after the song is finished. by nikarg

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Leegte - Abandon Listen at Bandcamp It's not too easy to find interesting black metal demos, since most of them sound pretty cookie-cutter raw stuff. Something about Leegte seemed very entrancing. The lack of band pics in corpse paint maybe. There isn't much info on them other than the Bandcamp page which states that they're from Belgium. What really won me over is the droning sound that their music creates. With production that is a little bit rough around the edges, it creates a slob of sound that feels like spiraling through a vortex, in which the vocals really sound like the blizzard. The one thing most discernible of the wall of sound are the atmospheric guitar riffs. Abandon really shows a lot of potential for a band on its way to master the black metal ambiance of extremely high density. by RaduP

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Erroneous - Despondency Listen at Bandcamp Generally, when looking for stuff to write about here, I find a lot of stuff that I sort through based on whether I like the cover art. But it's not a one on one correlation, so even some stuff with absolute killer cover art can be wack. So clicking play for the first time is a gamble. And the Edvard Munch painted cover art is killer. And clicking play I found myself an absolute jackpot. Erroneous's Despondency is a riff-heavy slab of blackened doom that sounds absolutely amazing for demo. What matters most is that the surprisingly good production makes sure that the riffs hit as hard as they can under the black metal shrieks and that the drums feel equally powerful. And the performances do not disappoint at all. I was absolutely baffled to find out that it's a one-man band, no fucking way that it can sound this tight just like that. by RaduP

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Abyssal Crypt - II Listen at Bandcamp How could it be otherwise, II is of course the second offering of London's very own OSDM worshippers Abyssal Crypt. Following 2018's acclaimed selftitled demo, the new EP II goes one step further. The threesome's goal certainly still is (blackened) old school death metal, but a gentle listener will find a variety of new and more distinct signposts on their way. Take the opener "Condemned To The Crypt" for instance - a slow and doomy, haunting dirge and one of the most memorable death metal ballads since Hypocrisy's threnodies "Apocalypse" and "Reincarnation" - but grittier. Peter Tägtgren's melodic death metal veterans are not the very worst comparison to describe Abyssal Crypt's style, but to be fair, it rather is a blend of the Swedes' raw and early years and the great songwriting skills of their mid-era. Add some fairly guttural vocals performed by an Australian brutal death shouter (Jackson Sciano, Solum and ex-Facegrinder), and you will have a rough impression of Abyssal Crypt's sound featured on II: catchy, crushing and compelling. by Starvynth

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Silence Thereafter - Hollow Listen at Bandcamp Blending post-metal with atmospheric black metal is not necessarily the very latest of all ideas, but once in a while, a new player will come along to do it right or to even introduce a slightly higher standard than the current one. "Once in a while" may be right now and the newcomer could very well be Silence Thereafter from Mantova, Italy, since their three-track EP Hollow has all it takes to become a new benchmark for this particular genre: lots of memorable melodies, raspy but powerful vocals and an accurately balanced contrast between dreamily mellow passages and uplifting (post-) black metal riffage. Formed in 2018, Silence Thereafter is still a very young band, but their members have already been around as particians of the Italian metal underground for over a decade and Hollow is a clear proof that the experiences gained have paid off. But how digestible is it? Take a well-hung and properly prepared piece of Harakiri For The Sky, add a good portion of Spectral Lore, season with a dash of Deafknife/Ultar and serve it with the best vintage of Downfall Of Gaia to get a vague idea of the outcome's taste and it's long-lasting and well-balanced flavour. by Starvynth

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