Written by:	nikarg, RaduP, musclassia, Starvynth
Published:	March 07, 2021

Clandestine Cuts Volume 11, 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 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. 11 #01
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 10 #12
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 10 #11

And now to the new music...

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This is hands down one of the best EPs you are going to listen to this year; especially fans of the Peaceville Three, October Tide, early Katatonia and Opeth are sure to find it extremely satisfying. Taking their name from the protector of cemeteries in Latvian mythology (Kapu māte), Mother Of Graves may easily be on their way to become the next big thing in melodic death / doom metal simply because they do everything right. In Somber Dreams delivers spellbinding riffs and heart-wrenching melodies shrouded in a gloomy and despondent atmosphere that is immersive and irresistible. The band performs with praiseworthy dexterity and, while not doing anything particularly unique, they do have their own identity and their sound is flawless, courtesy of the one and only Dan Swanö.

by nikarg

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To say that Planet Cruiser are really big fans of the 70s is a pretty big understatement, but Riders Of The Edge is more than just spaced-out fuzz. The Black Sabbath influence is massive, but there's a lot more in terms of hard rock, space rock and progressive rock that goes into making Riders Of The Edge the trip that it is. Even in terms of the Black Sabbath influence, it's more than just the doomy jams that go in here, with the blues and the psychedelic folk contrasting the groovy licks, soaring vocals, and the admittedly copious amount of fuzz. And it's all pretty uplifting or introspective. Planet Cruiser is channeling what The Sword have since lost. It's even there on the cover.

by RaduP

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Holy Figures sound like a post-hardcore band that really likes Deftones. The Deftones influence isn't all-engulfing, but you can hear the alt/shoegaze tendencies express themselves pretty clearly, on some songs stronger than others. There are probably better alt/post-HxC names to namedrop (the band themselves mentioning Far and Jawbox, but I'm unfamiliar with both of them), but the sound that Holy Figures forge here moves from dreamy and ethereal to anxious and bittersweet. The production helps a lot in conjuring a lot of its feeling, and the group clearly needs a few more years under their belt, but this has all the makings of a band to look out for.

by RaduP

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Magogaio is a one-man project from an individual credited only as KR on Bandcamp that hails from Stirling, the "Gateway to the Highlands" of Scotland. Much like Stirling is the brooch clasping the Highlands and Lowlands together, Memorial brings together the euphoric energy of blackgaze and the delicacies of post-rock. The 3-track EP features two lengthy tracks that include memorable melodic blackgaze riffs, post-rock daintiness, blackened shrieks and everything you would expect from an upbeat blackgaze/post-black track, but there's also some interesting keyboard sections mixed into both songs. Meanwhile, "Sorry" abandons metal altogether, sounding like a mix between post-rock and post-punk. It serves as a nice bridge between the two big boys, but does also hint at closing track "In Limbo" being on the lighter side than the opening title track; however, the incredible delicacy of some of the clean guitar passages on "In Limbo" only serve to heighten the impact when the screams and blackgaze riffs return. This track is rounded off with the most exuberant keyboard section on the record, concluding Memorial in particularly majestic fashion. Probably one of the tonally lightest records ever featured in Clandestine Cuts, it's a real delight of a debut recording from Magogaio.

by musclassia

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What do you expect to listen when you see a drawing of a coffin with bat wings, impaled by three swords, and with an inverted cross carved on it? Prog? Of course not. Enter the mosh pit of hell as Gravedäncer (with umlaut and all) introduce you to their first demo that mixes first wave black metal with traditional heavy metal and thrash, with four primitive bangers and a cover of Venom's "Welcome To Hell". Ripping Metal is nothing less than what its title declares; it is a lesson of how they did it in the old days but it is also really interesting how these Brazilians master the sounds of Venom, Judas Priest, and Hellhammer all at the same time. This demo is addictive, fun, mean, and raw.

by nikarg

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Imagine you would be a Franco-Canadian metal musician and your real real name happens to be Yves Allaire; which pseudonym would you pick in order to foreshadow the thematic and musical focus of your various death, doom and black metal (Nordicwinter, Kalseroth, Graven Dusk, among others) projects? There is only one phonetically correct answer: Evil Lair. Sinistral Doom is Mr. Lair's latest brainchild and everything you can hear on the project's first EP originates from his personal creativity and over thirty years of experience as a extreme metal musician; he even designed the cover artwork, which captures the sombre mood of the music very well. Beyond Twilight's Embers is a prime example of perfectly crafted and thought-out atmospheric death/doom, dull passages and compositional weakness are sought in vain. As for the vocals, the author stays true to his musical roots: no clean singing, but deep, sinister and almost guttural death metal growls. Take the intense vocals, the mournful guitar riffs, the melancholic keyboard sounds and the beautifully sad piano and you'll have the perfect soundtrack for 2021: bleak and gloomy, but with a small glimmer of hope.

by Starvynth

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