Only Inhuman

Sonic Syndicate's follow up their acclaimed Eden Fire release, which I wasn't a big fan of, and expectations were running high, perhaps too high in reflection. That being said, it paved the way for their third and final with that line up, which I believe to be their best.

The guitar/bass/drums were never going to be the best thing since Star Wars as people thought of Dragonforce, nor was it going to replace Metallica as the ancients of metal, but it's definitely not the worst thing you'll hear if you're into the rest of the music in this genre. In terms of influences, it's going to be the same as every other -core band going - a bit of Iron Maiden going for the riffage, then some Soilwork/Children of Bodom/In Flames for regional influences and for the inclusion of keyboards and the harsher vocals. Really and truly, everything is simple and effective.

I found Sonic Syndicate after their Love and Other Disasters album, so I was expecting something along the lines of that, if not heavier, and wasn't too disappointed when it wasn't quite on par with it. Sure, it has a lot of recycled riffs, lyrical content/demonstrations, and the lack of new/original topics is a bit...well, annoying is the best way to put this, but yet for everything I can find fault with this release, there's something else that proves its redeeming factor. All About Us could've gone down in a complete hailstorm, but despite the fact I was unaware it was a cover of a TATU song released some 10 years ago, it still proves to be a halfway decent song. Aftermath, Blue Eyed Fiend, and Callous are all radio-friendly metal, yet for all the short comings I could find in them like basic song structure, repetitive riffs, and the oh so familiar lyrical theme of love and failed relationships resulting in suicide, they were just too damn catchy. Roland and Richard clearly have something with wool and our eyes.

I just couldn't justify giving it the whole 80% or going lower largely because I enjoyed listening to this release, and to this day it remains a staple in my Itunes/Ipod along with Love and other Disasters and is almost always in favour of the other 2 (3 if you count the Unguided) releases.

Callous, Psychic Suicide, and Flashback are perhaps the cremé of this fleeting crop. Rare gems among an otherwise bland genre.