If you tot up the amount of bands past and present the sextet of artists this lot have been involved in you are going to hit the 50 mark. Prolific they certainly are and they should be on the whole well known to most. I guess you are going to have to lump them in with that super-group tag but considering who is involved the calibre throughout makes this unavoidable. Joey Jordison (ex Slipknot) Frédéric Leclercq (Dragonforce) Attila Csihar (Mayhem) Sean Zatorsky (Daath) Stéphane Buriez (Loudblast) and Heimoth (Decrepit Spectre / Seth) are the players and throat-slingers here and that should help put something in context and give you an idea of what to expect here on their debut album.
All is not quite as expected though and on 1st encounter a 23 track album running at 67 minutes may appear quite a daunting prospect. Fear not though as 10 of the numbers are instrumental bridges working as a cinematic interludes between the main tracks and giving the album a sort of narrative theme. These should not be sold short as they really add to the atmospheres within. Opener Materialization for example is a sinister and brooding throwback to 80’s stalk and slash movies heralding the carnage to come. ‘March’ does a militaristic drum roll that could even take listeners back to that famous opener of Mayhem’s Deathcrush and ‘Lullaby’ is a perverse black glove-clad giallo theme. The other nightmares will unveil themselves to you on the route of your journey.
I guess you are wondering whether to expect, death metal, black metal or even blackened death metal here? The answer is pretty easy as it is the death that is the central focus and as the drums roll in and the brutal backbone with growling vocals all hone in on ‘Splendour And Agony’ you are in no doubt that it’s of the particularly meaty variety. It’s the Daath hollering Zatorsky at the front vocally on the whole with Attila left to sinisterly invoke demons in the background. The technical guitar flourishes and solos flail and scorch at just the right places and Jordison hammers out a relentless and pounding performance. Those worrying about commerciality due to some involved here need not worry; indeed short sharp and punishing numbers like Inverted Cross would give the likes of Cannibal Corpse and Morbid angel a run for their money. It’s not as difficult to fathom as the similar ideas of Nader Sadek either, the album is really quick to get to grips with despite the running time and amount of material involved.
A couple of tracks do stick out in particular, there could even be a couple of singles out there (yeah not in the UK). The rugged groove and catchy chorus of ‘Army Of Chaos’ is an obvious example and it’s only going to take a couple of listens until you are head-banging and roaring away to it. Following an Omen etched choral part and Carpenter sounding keyboards ‘Sacrifice’ is another to stab away with grating guitars and an old-school demeanour which even tempers things and simmers into a doom-laden pace of utter dread. As far as I can determine its ‘Anfang des Albtraumes’ which is the track that really allows Csihar to get his morbid bite on and vocally it’s a grim piece with plenty of atmosphere and pulverising parts to it.
I guess it would be hopeful thinking regarding this lot playing much in the way of live shows due to just how active they all are but the material certainly warrants it. Although reading about it on paper this one could have gone either way it has plenty of legs and lots going on to keep you occupied; Sinsaenum have pretty much nailed it to the wall!
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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