Written by:	Nefarious, RaduP, nikarg, Starvynth, Troy Killjoy
Published:	September 18, 2019

Clandestine Cuts Volume 9, Issue #8
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 #7
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 9 #6
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 9 #5

And now to the new music...

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Mortius - Shepherding The Weak Listen at Bandcamp And we come back to death metal again obviously, mostly due to how cool the lo-fi aesthetic of death metal demos is. You know for certain that there will not be anything too original in the material, but 15 minutes of passionate and raw death metal can be quite a rewarding experience, since you don't know exactly what you're gonna get. It could be some filthy deathgrind, some muddy death doom, some thrashy stuff. In Mortius's case, we won't find any revelation, but 12 minutes of some thrash-inspired death with some pretty dynamic songwriting and a rather modern sound as opposed to some more OSDM worship. The production does cut a bit from the punch some of the riffs could've had, being surprisingly pristine (audible bass and all that) but still slightly raw. by RaduP

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Leif - Gate Listen at Bandcamp Leif is a black metal project from Germany that has released two EPs with the same cover art -just using different colours- in the space of two months. Nardol which came out in May is just another atmospheric/instrumental black metal release with not much to write home about. Gate, on the other hand, has vocals that nicely fit the much more engaging melodic black metal music with three tracks that are showcasing some really tasty tremolo picking adoration. The mood shifts from fiery and aggressive to more depressive and emotional, but it is the melody that never leaves which makes this EP an accessible and instantly satisfying listen. by nikarg

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Consilium - No Sanctuary Listen at Bandcamp It looks like we have ourselves another female-fronted epic doom metal act besides Smoulder to sharpen our swords to this year. Complemented by Adam Burke's stunning cover art, No Sanctuary is the more trudging version of the style with dark mood-capturing drums, slow-burning riffs, calm-before-the-storm clean guitars and ominous melodies that lead to grandiose crescendos. Consilium features Maudlin Of The Well's Greg Massi on crushing guitars and bass, but it is Paris Thibault's undiluted, straight-from-the-heart stentorian voice that soars over the instruments and gives you the goosebumps you'd expect of a female Messiah Marcolin. If you are lucky enough to catch the band live, you might get a chance to see them performing a killer cover of "Stargazer". by nikarg

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Aeons Of Silence - Contact Listen at Bandcamp Contact is the second EP from Costa Rica's melodeathers Aeons Of Silence and the quintet's latest release. Rummaging Cartago's sons' facebook site, you will stumble upon a list of influences including such illustrious bands as Hypocrisy, Kalmah, Keep Of Kalessin, Ne Obliviscaris, Shade Empire, Iced Earth, Thy Catafalque and Serbia's dark ambient project Metatron Omega. Okay, but how does that wild mix sound in reality? Well, basically it's a blend of the above list's first three members and the result is easily accessible melodic death metal with some elements of extreme power metal thrown in. So if you happen to be a fan of Omnium Gatherum or early Norther, then the five well produced tracks of Contact may be exactly what you've been seeking for: enjoyable 22 minutes of modern melodic death metal. by Starvynth

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Windthrow - Treacherous Beckonings Listen at Bandcamp Swedish black metal may not have such an obviously pigeonholed sound as it once did, but this one-man project certainly does its best to give you a concise, if not archetypal, offering of what that descriptor used to mean. Galloping guitars and sweeping melodies carry the album from its quick-fire beginning straight through to the end with only moments of contemplative pause in the form of stringed interludes, but the closing track is really what makes evident the skill set of Robin Pettersson -- along with his vision. The production somewhat stifles the constantly blasting drums and lessens the impact of his deathly growls, but these minor faults are easily forgiven and overlooked as you become swept away by some impressive soloing and catchy rhythm sections that hearken back to a time when black metal first began experimenting outside of its raw, lo-fi origins. by Troy Killjoy

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Uklarhet - Uklarhet Listen at Bandcamp What do Carpathian Forest, Old Man Of The Desert, Infernus Presence, Taliesin, Beltane, Aeon Winds, Bare-Sark and Kurgaall have in common? Well, they play black metal and each of them have recorded a cover of The Cure's very first hit single, "A Forest" (1980). But I'm pretty sure you will find one of the most original black metal versions of this particular song right here, on Uklarhet's self-titled EP. Uklarhet (Norwegian for unclarity, cloudiness, obscurity) are from Warsaw, Poland and they're performing a rather pure form of atmospheric black metal: no intros, no keyboards, no acoustic passages and no folk elements. In spite of that, or exactly because of that, Uklarhet is the most "complete" EP within this particular genre recorded by an unsigned band I've stumbled upon for ages. You have gallopping riffs, memorable melodies, lots of tempo changes and diverse vocal work and everything is forged together by the band's flawless songwriting skills, a top-notch production and four full-blooded musicians perfectly complementing each other. What else do you need? by Starvynth

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