SYN:DROM With Flesh Unbound
by Jorden Rex
Staff Writer
SYN:DROM is unquestionably a Death Metal band. They have not brought in elements of Hardcore, or Grind, or tried to incorporate clean vocals in the choruses. They’ve kept it pure Death Metal; and that’s admirable. It is rare to find that level of dedication to one genre, where a band has not allowed popular culture and trends to start bleeding into their sound.
Their latest release, “With Flesh Unbound,” is 34 minutes of double bass, blast beats, and blistering guitar work. They are clearly big fans of the “1st and 4th finger hammer-on” trick, which gives a definite Cannibal Corpse feel to the whole album. The drum work is not far off from Cannibal either. The only thing that doesn’t sound like Cannibal that much are the vocals; while clearly in the Death Metal camp, they employ a little more chorus effect and overlap than is typical. They also use some double tracking at times, giving the vocals a more robust sound.
That being said, “With Flesh Unbound” is kind of a monotonous album. There are no real stand-out sections, and most of the songs sound pretty similar. That’s not to say it doesn’t sound good, because it does. Production quality is top notch, and if lesser musicians tried to pull this off, it would just sound like crappy Death Metal striving to be like Cannibal; but SYN:DROM is clearly comprised of very talented guys, and their stuff is technically on par with Cannibal. It’s just not as interesting. The only part of the album that’s different from the rest is the Intro (Devoured). It is slow, with an almost tribal feel; reminiscent of “Roots” era Sepultura.
So, in summation, it’s not a bad album, it’s just uninspiring. Certainly worth picking up if you want examples of very technical guitar and drum work. Just don’t expect anything terribly unique or distinctive.
Label: ViciSolum Productions
Web: www.myspace.com/syndromweb , www.syndromweb.net
Band Line-up:
Jonny Pettersson – Vocals
Roger Bergsten – Guitar
David Karlsson – Lead Guitar
Daniel Mikaelsson – Drums
Daniel Asen – Bass
Track Listing:
1. Intro (Devoured)
2. Scorned Messiah
3. The Marked One
4. Obsolete Gods
5. In Utter Contempt
6. Trapped Beyond
7. A New World Order
8. Smashing the Face of Belief
9. Hands of Vengeance
10. Winds of Disease
Hardrock Haven rating: 5/10