The Metal Storm Demo/EP Spotlight
Brand New Independent Metal Lives Here.
Welcome to the Clandestine Cuts!
Welcome to the Clandestine Cuts!
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!
(Do you think your band has what it takes to be featured in the Cuts? Email demos at metalstorm dot net to submit your music.)
In case you're new to this, go back and enjoy our last few issues:
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 15 #3
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 15 #2
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 15 #1
And now to the new music...
Zabrahana is a new progressive metal band from Thessaloniki, Greece, that remains cryptic about their name, urging us to “embrace the enigma”, at least for the time being. Musically, they embrace the ‘softer’ prog sound of bands like Pain Of Salvation, Steven Wilson, and Riverside, but there is also the influence of Tool and Opeth to be traced in their music. The production helps to distinguish the different instruments, and to highlight both the technical and the melodic aspect of the music. Fronted by a very talented lady, who sounds like the perfect mix of Anneke Van Giersbergen and Amy Lee, and with very competent musicians that perform in excellence on all four songs of this EP, Whales Dream In Purple is a release of adventurous songwriting and emotional depth that should appeal to every prog fan, but also to the post-metal audience.
by nikarg
Void Revenant - Celestial Procession (Ireland)
[Progressive / Technical Death Metal]
What new nightmares lurk within the void? The Void Revenant is here to report! With technical guitar-work spinning an interweaving extragalactic web, and the spaces between the stars filled with the echoes of blackened rasps and deep growls, the style of this Irish band exemplifies a fluid blending of black metal's coldness and death metal's viciousness. As soon as I saw that recognizable Adam Burke artwork with its interstellar theme, I was going into this EP expecting a wickedly fast fury of riffs reminiscent of Vektor. Instead, while there is surely an ever-morphing mass of guitar-work here, Void Revenant play at a rather smooth, mid-tempo pace, patiently ensnaring the listener with a hypnotic mix of chugging rhythm and unnerving progressive melodies, creating an intimidating atmosphere to match the lyrics of cosmic horror. A very promising start for this new band, and an enjoyable trip to the stellar abyss for lovers of sci-fi metal.
by F3ynman
Sacred Scroll - Between Death And Dreams (USA)
[Power Metal]
Sacred Scroll is a one-person project, with Joshua Branum being responsible for all the music and lyrics, and handling vocals, guitars, synth, and drum tracks. The music on Between Death And Dreams is European speed/power metal of the early days, reminiscing of the ‘80s works of Helloween, Blind Guardian, and Running Wild. This means that, while the music is soaring, triumphant, and uplifting, the riffs are also hard-hitting, and the lead guitar work is the main point of reference. The session bassist, Nick Mamere, is prominent in the recording, which adds a grittier touch to the general sound, and the EP feels as though it would be much improved with a real drummer. Nevertheless, the two main songs that follow the acoustic intro are fairly engaging with choruses that stick in the memory, thundering solo work, and fantasy-themed lyrics that embark the listener on an epic sonic journey.
by nikarg
Oobris Ios - Vospat (Canada)
[Dissonant Death Metal]
Canadian cosmic voyagers Oobris Ios have an established lore for their music; 14 billion years ago, an entity named the Singularity was killed, and its followers scattered across universe, producing dimensional reverberations that manifest as the songs featured on Vospat. It’s interesting to learn that convergent evolution has caused dissonant death metal to emerge across the cosmos just as it developed on Earth, although the involvement of members of bands such as Wilt and Dissolution may explain how this first recording from Oobris Ios sounds so accomplished. Across 6 brief (2-3 minutes) songs, the trio dive into cavernous depths (“Sagot Los Ros Obvis Vin”), unleash compelling yet esoteric dissonance (“Dostratis Satod Duvon Xagon”), and venture into the intergalactic with subtle melody and sinister transformed vocals (“Arait Sagot Kenopa”). Vospat strikes a very appreciable balance of jankiness, memorable riffing, and fierce heaviness on this odd, but by no means inaccessible, debut EP.
by musclassia
Dark Watch - The Mortal Codex: Eulogy I (USA)
[Deathcore]
Time for a quick three-track deathcore snack to load up on some heavy protein for the day. Dark Watch, the Seattle-based five-piece featuring vocalist Austin Dickey (of For The Likes Of You fame) and guitarist/writer Jacob Hansen (formerly of I Declare War), should appeal to a wider audience thanks to their crushing metal-like compositions, carefully placed power-metal-esque guitar leads, and subtle symphonic arrangements, leaning heavily into the ‘modern’ direction the genre has taken in recent years. Everything in between is chaotic good, breakdown-laden and straight-up deathcore power juice. Pushing the EP to a higher level is the absolutely insane vocal delivery, where screams and growls are crawling from hell with a malignancy so intense they could put the fear of God in an atheist. Amen, and may your speakers forgive you.
by Thryce
Nílim - Nílim (Ireland)
[Doom / Drone / Sludge Metal]
There once was a doom band named Nílim,
Whose riffs droned like a sorrowful hymn.
In April they dropped
A 20-minute EP, self-titled and topped
With two tracks so heavy, so crushing, so grim.
Needless to say, the Irish one-man band Nílim naturally hails from the city of Limerick. The band name is a shortened form of the Irish Gaelic phrase “Ní fhuilim” (“I am not”), which serves as a brief but very fitting description of the music itself. Minimalist and stripped of all distracting ornamentation, Nílim conjures a blunt and unrelenting form of doom whose monolithic riffs tunnel straight into your mind, allowing no room for resistance.
by Starvynth
