Only Inhuman

Sonic Syndicate is an upcoming band that has massive potential. Their first album was an independent killer release that no one saw coming. They were quickly signed by Nuclear Blast and with their first release for the company; listeners are going to find a few changes in the music.

Musically, the band has changed slightly and moved towards a more approachable sound. The guitar work has been simplified a bit. Only Inhuman is full of interesting riffs overlaid with some decent leads. The two guitars are brothers and the chemistry can be felt in the music – much of their material sounds like one man may have recorded all the guitars. Their styles are similar enough to give the album really good flow and cohesiveness but this is also a double edged sword. The lack of personality in the individual guitars is very present. The solos also seem to be lacking…period. The solos are sparse and far between on Only Inhuman.

The bass work is actually one of the best elements of this album. Karin Axlesson is quite the bassist. Her work is top notch even though her times to shine have been cut down quite a bit. She accompanies the rhythm work quite well and really keeps the band grounded when the music gets a little overwhelmed in the layers.

The drumming isn’t anything special – but it works well for the album. His work has a little flare but is quite overridden with other elements in the music and falls to the back. One really has to listen to catch some of the good drum parts that are on here.

The overwhelming part of this album is the keyboard lines. The keyboards are a massive part of the melody that is presented on this melodic death/Metalcore band. The keyboards take over most of the musical parts and really are the driving force on the album. I would have liked to see a little more interaction with the guitar melodies and the keyboard melodies but really the guitars are just complimenting the keys on Only Inhuman.

The next point that I come to is the addition of a second singer to the line-up. The addition of Roland Johasson does give the band a new layer in vocal melodies. What I don’t understand is that on the previous album – their one singer (with the occasional help from Karin the bassist) did a perfectly fine job at singing. I for one didn’t think that the band needed to add a singer for better vocal patterns. Nonetheless – his vocals are fine – he has a mediocre range and he really pushes the band towards a Metalcore sound rather than the Melodic Death Metal they played before. Their other singer, Richard Sjunnesson does his job well once again but really takes a step back for Roland to shine – which he only does sometimes. Had the two interchanged a bit more and maybe a larger role for Roland – I think the vocals would have been a lot better.

In the end, Sonic Syndicate put out a pretty disappointing follow up to Eden Fire. The music is less complicated and keyboard driven. The lyrics tend to be more personal this time around and with a new melodic singer to compliment the old harsh singer – the band seem to be heading in a more approachable path. One that may find them on the edge of a dying fad.

Songs to check out: Aftermath, Only Inhuman, Flashback.