Sin-thesis

Desolate and haunting black metal from Russia, this is yet another impressive debut full-length I've heard of late. They've got a fairly straight approach to their style, yet the guitars create the perfect level of discord and sheen to create a real depth of darkness.

The album begins with the barbaric "V & R/Supreme Murdered Moral", a wasteland of thundering drums and dissonant, evil rhythms, furious and unforgiving. "Weaved of Worms" is a sinister, driving track, but with just a few shifts of bass and chords it takes on a cruel and wondrous atmosphere. "Awakening in Sin" begins with a killer old school black metal riff, somewhat melodic but still filthy. Other highlights of the album include the menacing "Black Night of Soul/Eschatological Hallucinations", the slow instrumental black/doom of "Necrofaith Song/Voiceless Decadence" and the ripping "Black Rapture and Furious Hunger of Darkness", which would be a good way to describe this whole album. Some of the dissonant riffing textures here almost struck me as a black metal Voivod.

I will warn that those outside the realm of black metal purism might find this album a tad monotonous, it does use a lot of similar blast pace in many of the songs, but then that is one of the reasons I enjoyed it. It's fast and hypnotic, a true black metal record in which one can lose oneself thinking of all the negative imagery it conjures. That it also has some great, subtle riffing textures is what catapults far beyond average. These guys are intelligent and know exactly what they're doing, they can immerse you with a simple twist of notes. The result is pretty devastating, perhaps not among the best of the year but certainly worth tracking down. An excellent debut.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Russian renegades Storming Darkness come to the foray with the advantage of a colourful national history of political turmoil and bleak, cold natural landscapes as inspiration sources.

Essentially Sin-thesis is template black metal, but unfolds in a satisfying listen. The fuzz of original Gorgoroth comes to mind amid some simplistic pace and riff changes of vintage Darkthrone. What’s remarkable here is, on occasion Storming Darkness reveal a haunting collection of riffs, with an almost arcane and medieval presence. An obvious bonus in black metal terms.

However, before we start drooling and sucking preverbal cock, you have to realise that (as in many cases these days) it is too easy to jump to praising hyperbole just because a cool riff peaks out of the mire half way through a song, as this is a trick just used to gain gravitas for adjacent weaker material. “Black Night of Soul/Eschatological Hallucinations” is a bit lacklustre, lacking a stand out focus and will probably not blip on many people’s initial-listen radar.

At times when say, the song embraces the rhythmic waltz of Dissection or they unfurl good mournful passages such as those in “Steps for Hell” and “Necrofaith Song-Voiceless Decadence,” the album is durable enough to attract themselves a bit more attention.

In an attempt to keep things in the context of more prolific black metal bands, Sin-thesis maybe a bit too faithful to the Swedish/Finnish sound and as a result, by the time you get to “Black Rapture and Furious Hunger of Darkness!” it’s Déjà vu time!

Not to be thrown to the bargain bin immediately, Storming Darkness just need a slight deviation in direction or inspiration and a touch of variety and you could have a very satisfying record on your hands. Keep an eye out!