Written by:	Nefarious, nikarg, Troy Killjoy, Starvynth, RaduP
Published:	December 29, 2019

Clandestine Cuts Volume 9, 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 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 #10
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 9 #9
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 9 #8

And now to the new music...

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Dusk - The Toll [Heavy Rock] Listen at Bandcamp Dusk is a female-fronted band from Vienna and they play heavy, hard-hitting rock and proto metal with a sound that comes straight from the late '70s and early '80s. It contains four songs with fiery riffs, wild solos filled with rock 'n' roll energy and memorable choruses, and the production quality, while not being lo-fi by any means, is staying away from too much perfection and is rough around the edges as it should be. Denika's voice is mesmerizing, singing the lyrics with the passion and confidence of an already established rock star. The Toll is overtly retro and a celebratory riot of the undying classic riffing and pure hard rock spirit. by nikarg

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Please Stand By - Trauma [Deathcore / Metalcore] Listen at Bandcamp The life of a reviewer is always made easier when bands have a clear and distinct vision for what they want to sound like, which is exactly what Please Stand By do. They have an intimate understanding of the deathcore scene and contribute to it with an almost by-the-numbers EP, but they do manage to fit in notes of experimentation and a bizarre title track featuring some awkward voice acting and humorous chants of a scorned, heartbroken ex-boyfriend. It's perfectly angst-ridden and gimmicky, and although the music is performed at a high level, you can read through the lines and pick up on the band's sense of not taking things too seriously. Trauma EP is exactly what Blink-182 would sound like as a deathcore project, and that will either command your attention, or repel you entirely. by Troy Killjoy

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Buzzard Cult - Buzzard Cult [Stoner / Grunge / Punk] Listen at Bandcamp Buzzard Cult is a three-piece based north of Atlanta, Georgia and their self-titled debut EP is a cleaner and clearer recording of their Shope Lake Sessions demo, without taking anything away from the grit and rawness of their sound. The band's influences include Lucero, Nirvana, Black Flag, Melvins, and Drive-By Truckers, so you can expect some pretty varied and enjoyable tunes. From the door-kicking opener "No Turning Back" to the wah-wah of "Night Is Dark" and the bluesy heaviness of "Lazy Mind", this EP surfs on tons of fuzz and heaps of punk attitude, and is as unpolished as they come. by nikarg

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Post Luctum - After Mourning [Death Doom / Melodic Death Metal] Listen at Bandcamp Rebuilt from the ashes of Sour Milk Theorem (now that's a rather odd name for a band rooted in doom and death, isn't it?), we have Post Luctum from Hollywood/California, Maryland, a one-man band by and with Ian Goetchius. Admittedly, it took me quite a while to figure out that neither of his bands has any ties to Los Angeles, California and that Post Luctum is Latin for After Mourning, which is - surprise, surprise - the title of this new project's self-released first EP. But that's enough geography and language lessons for now, let's focus on the music which can be best described as a blend of early Swallow The Sun and the works of multi-instrumentalist and composer Tuomas Saukkonen, founder of bands such as Dawn Of Solace, Wolfheart, Before The Dawn and Black Sun Aeon. Actually this could very well be a forgotten and so far unreleased Swallow The Sun EP from the year 2004, but with Tuomas on vocals and with his individual touch providing the drive, ferocity and energy that all later albums of his successful fellow countrymen are desperately lacking. Consequentially and much to my delight, After Mourning offers the best of both worlds: you have the deep lyrics and the depressive, dark atmosphere that is so distinctive for Finnish doom metal in particular, and you get the stirring catchiness and memorable hooklines that are usually a typical property of Scandinavian melodeath. by Starvynth

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Her Fault - S.Y.T. [Black / Doom / Sludge] Listen at Bandcamp Weird how slow black metal is just mid-tempo sludge, which is also what Belgian quartet Her Fault are doing with their debut EP, S.Y.T., but don't ask me what that album title stands for, I have no idea either. So with a black and white picture of the flames of hell, one can expect some really hellish music, but S.Y.T. doesn't pride itself in being filthy in its sludge, but rather extremely bass heavy and somewhat drone-like in the wall of sound that sounds closer to a stoner band than a sludge one and with a constant black metal element, especially in the vocals, but never too pummeling. The production itself isn't fantastic, which is to be expected for an independent debut EP, but it does just enough with the wall of bass heavy sound to create something quite expansive. It feels like it holds back a little bit, but that's hopefully prone to change. by RaduP

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Boreal Hymn - Tundra [Atmospheric Black / Folk] Listen at Bandcamp Everything from the band name to the album title to the genre tag to the fact that it's a demo of this genre in 2019 should indicate that this is generic and derivative. But something about it having a cover art be a photo made by Guðmundur Óli Pálmason (Katla., ex-Sólstafir, Kuggur Art) and having his seal of approval did win me over. And now I can't fucking believe that this is a debut demo, both in how good in sounds from a technical point of view and from how great the songwriting on the record is. In just around 20 minutes, Vancouver duo Boreal Hymn take what should by now be a tired genre and perform it in such a way that is so mature and well made that I can't wrap my head around it, it jumps from Heilung to Falls Of Rauros to Moonsorrow with such ease that it's actually really scary. The folk instruments, clearly reminiscent of Germanic Norse folk like Heilung and Wardruna, the atmospheric black metal riffs, the choirs and that absolutely crystal clear production sounds like something that really should not be a demo. If this were a full length studio album, it could put most of our future 2019 Pagan/Folk/Viking nominees to shame. by RaduP

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