Written by:	RaduP, musclassia, nikarg, Starvynth
Published:	January 04, 2021

Clandestine Cuts Volume 10, Issue #12
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 #11
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 10 #10
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 10 #9

And now to the new music...

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In addition to being a kick-ass Ulthar album, Cosmovore is also the name of a German death metal project (apparently it means something like "Universe eater") of lineup unknown, but it's got a Beksiński cover art, so that should attest to its quality. And indeed with the cover art and the name in consideration, it isn't surprising that Cosmovore go on the more dissonant cosmic (which is like the next level from cavernous) death metal, with suffocating atmospheres, constant blasting, and guitars and vocals that sound monolithic and otherworldly, and definitely not the benevolent kind. Their sound may not be that original as it would've been a few years ago, but they already showcase a mastery in crafting vile dissonant death metal, so much so that you almost wish the 26 minutes would do a bit more of an effort and extend into a full length.

by RaduP

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Procession Of Spectres was founded by Marc O'Grady and released a split EP back in 2015 with Líam Hughes's project Indrid Cold. Fast forward five years and Procession Of Spectres is now a full band featuring Marc on guitars and Líam on vocals, along with three more talented musicians from the Irish scene. Significant progress has been made compared to that old split EP in every aspect. The band now delivers a vicious, yet quite diverse, slab of black metal adorned with atmospheric passages, hypnotizing doom/death moments, dissonant harmonies, exquisite vocal deliveries with use of both harsh and clean vocals, and top notch musicianship. Deathspell Omega is the obvious influence here but the songs have a lot more than that going for them and, with three tracks clocking in at over 25 minutes, this is extremely well crafted and performed black metal. The recording is also of the highest quality with every instrument being clearly heard, which makes for an even more rewarding and immersive experience.

by nikarg

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If that artwork looks familiar, it's probably because you read the September edition of Clandestine Cuts, in which I wrote about Warmongering Luciferians (Chapter1). It's not taken long for Chapter2 to follow it; certainly, Katla didn't waste time on something as insignificant as coming up with a different artwork for this EP, as it's identical to that of its predecessor. Warmongering Luciferians (Chapter1) featured dirty sludge with slow, groovy riffs and fierce vocals, and Warmongering Luciferians (Chapter2) shows no deviation from that formula. The harsh roars and trudging guitars on the title track get things off to an appropriately nasty start, and "The Feast" follows in the same vein, although the clean break midway through this track does allow Katla to include some dynamic variance here, as do the more muted moments on "Gatekeeper", the most varied track here. This EP might be slightly grimmer and slower than its predecessor, but it's similarly vicious and groovy: nothing revelatory, but definitely fun.

by musclassia

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Blood Star is probably having an advantage, not only in capturing attention, but also in tried and tested songwriting, with two of the members (the guitarist and the drummer) being part of Visigoth and Spell, which are among the biggest names in the most recent wave of retro heavy metal. The vocalist has lent her vocals to a few Visigoth songs in the past, so she's up to standard as well. And it shows, the two songs on this EP are as blistering and catchy as one can hope heavy metal to be, pushing a powerful chorus and main riff but never entirely on them, instead building and building the harmonies and giving a lot of NWOBHM vibes. The band has since also released a two-song covers EP of Uriah Heep/Dokken songs, so there's that.

by RaduP

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Dimensions is the second demo by Silent Tyrant, the one-man band of a very young and very talented musician named Caleb Patrick Warren. Remember the name because he may well be a big hope for the future of thrash metal; he was only 18 years old at the time of the release of both his self-titled first demo and this one, and he has handled all instruments, vocals, lyrics, and production. The band's sound combines old-school technical thrash metal with U.S. power metal and is full of fascinating guitar playing in the form of intricate riffs and blazing solos. The vocals are not Caleb's strongest quality and it would be wise to find a singer with a voice as potent as his own guitar playing to break big in the metal world. And he deserves all the success, since this high level of labyrinthine, progressive and melodic exploration of thrash territories is not common these days. Fans of Realm, Toxik, and Heathen's debut should feel right at home with this one.

by nikarg

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Do you still remember issue # 8 of our Clandestine Cuts series? Well, among other artists, it featured a young black metal project from Austria called Narziss and our short write-up covering their first EP Akt 1: Wille closed by expressing a strong desire for a quick follow-up. Luckily, this request was more than just wishful thinking, because only four months, a minor but necessary name change and two bonus tracks later the successor has come into being and already its very first notes do not fail to clearly demonstrate that Narzissus' intention is to pick up right where Narziss left off: raw and gritty black metal, but gifted by a clear and transparent production, with top notch guitar playing, truly mesmerizing harmonies, mercilessly battering drums and a pleasently bassy, rich sound. The vocals are as sinister and roaring as on the debut EP, the main rhythms are as crushing as they used to be and the band's special feature - an exceptional skill in creating an extremely dense mournful atmosphere even without keyboards - is not only still there, now it's omnipresent.

by Starvynth

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