» Cdreviews  
« back

Sonic Syndicate - Only Inhuman

Published May 18 2007


*
=Staff's pick

Aftermath
Blue Eyed Fiend
Psychic Suicide*
Double Agent 616
Enclave
Denied*
Callous
Only Inhuman*
All About Us
Unknown Entity
Flashback


Genre Melodic Death Metal
Richard S./Roland J.
Vocals
Tracks 11
Roger Sjunnesson
Guitar
Runningtime 42 Min.
Robin Sjunesson
Guitar
Label Nuclear Blast
Karin Axelsson
Bass
Release 18 May 2007
John Bengtsson
Drums
Country Sweden
-
Keyboard
Similar artists Soilwork, Blinded Colony

When Nuclear Blast arranged a so called "band-contest" last year, they had to go through over 1,500 contestants before they found their winners: Sonic Syndicate, a young and fresh metal band from the small town of Falkenberg on the Swedish west coast. The band had already released their debut album Eden Fire on a smaller American label the previous year, but was now offered a deal with the German giants. It's a bit like the famous Idol-concept, although we can assume that Sonic Syndicate have had more time than a few weeks to record their second album. In spite of this, Only Inhuman feels a bit rushed.

It's no wonder that Nuclear Blast saw potential in Sonic Syndicate. Their sound is clearly adapted for airplay on radio and TV, with the oh-so-popular concept of harsh growls mixed with clean vocals, here performed by two go-ahead vocalists - Richard Sjunnesson and Roland Johansson. From personal experience I can certify that they are an energetic live-act worth seeing, so why is this album disappointing? The major malfunction with Only Inhuman is that the songs are so hard to distinguish from each other, which makes this listening-session rather tiresome after a couple of minutes. It's like the band didn't take the time to flesh out every track with its own character, and instead went for a safe bet. The highly distinctive touch that was found on Eden Fire - and songs like Enhance My Nightmare and Soulstone Splinter in particular - are nowhere to be found. And why isn't the bassist Karin Axelsson allowed to do background vocals anymore? Also, the production (done by Scar Symmetry's Jonas Kjellgren) may be well made, but it's also rather impersonal.

There ARE great moments here, which prove that Sonic Syndicate hasn't completely lost their touch. The chorus of Psychic Suicide hits like a homerun, while the title track has great riffs and a melody that is difficult to get rid of. The single-ballad Enclave is rather pretty as well, even though it is little more than a poorer version of In Flames' Come Clarity. Somewhat curiously there is a cover of the Russian pop-duo Tatu's hit All About Us nestled in among the other tracks, which is an interesting choice and breaks the monotone cycle for at least three minutes. Even if the original is about a hundred times better.

Only Inhuman is definitely not a bad album and can be nice to listen to for a little while at a time. But compared to the promising Eden Fire, the lack of personality on Only Inhuman is disturbing. I still have a little faith left in Sonic Syndicate (they're only human, after all), but would rather see that either Avatar or Blinded Colony carried on the legacy of Swedish melodic death.

Performance
Originality
Production
Vocals
Songwriting

6

4

6

6

5

 
Summary



5 chalices of 10 - Niklas


Related links:

www.sonicsyndicate.com
www.myspace.com/sonicsyndicate