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01. Day Of The Dead
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Verdict: 7
Sonic Syndicate - ST
Sonic Syndicate once was a young and hungry modern metal act with huge potential and a cool style. They delivered great albums like Only Inhuman and Love and Other Disasters and built a reputation as a hard working act as they toured extensively in support the albums. From the outside it sure appeared like Sonic Syndicate was destined for big things.
But lead vocalist Roland Johansson (a truly blessed vocalist singing most of the clean vocals) decided that he wanted to opt out since he didn't want to tour in the extent the band required. Just a year after Roland Johansson left the band the remaining original vocalist, Richard Sjunnesson had a fight out with the rest of Sonic Syndicate over the bands musical direction. A lot of hard things were said in the process, and it was quite ugly. Shortly after Richards departure the Unguided saw the light of day, in many ways a clone of the early Sonic Syndicate. The Unguided consist of Roland Johansson, Richard Sjunnesson as well as the guitarist Roger Sjunnesson and the SoSy drummer John. At this point it sure looked like Sonic Syndicate was dead and buried, a band supporting a pop album alienating large portions of their fan base at the same time as The Unguided was having the time of their day. It must have been an awful period for the remaining members of Sonic Syndicate. After the obligations for We Rule The Night was concluded the band took some well deserved time off. Karin became first time mother and Robin... well he got a shitload of tattoos and grew a beard.
Fast Forward to the summer of 2014, it is time for Sonic Syndicate to prove if they have what it takes, a failure is not an option at this point in their career and I believe that Robin has felt some fear for this moment. There simply is no way out of this situation, if the album flop, then it's about time to look for a daytime job.
The new Sonic Syndicate album measures up quite well. John is one hell of a drummer an in the middle of the huge production he drives the bandwagon forth with his steady beats. Nathan Biggs does a stellar vocal performance and if he holds up live singing both the clean as well as the screamed parts only time will tell, there sure isn't a lot of breathing opportunities around. But most important ingredient is that the melodies are of a surprisingly high quality. Robin Sjunnesson must have dug deep inside to produce the compositions on the self titled album. I guess I believed that Roger Sjunnesson, Richard Sjunnesson and Roland Johansson would leave Sonic Syndicate somewhat crippled but the new album by Sonic Syndicate really is well worth listening to.
Even if you have your heart somewhere in the Unguided territories you should know, the new album by Sonic Syndicate is good, really good!
I don't know if it is me but there sure seem to be a special vibe surrounding the entire album, maybe the animosity towards the former members leaves a mark on the music. It seems like Robin Sjunnesson has driven himself to new heights as a composer in the process, and if he keep up the good work Sonic Syndicate will recover and have a bright future.
Robin Sjunnesson comment the new album :
"We decided to go with this one as a “Self-Titled” release. Mainly because as an album we have put everything we’ve got into it. All of our experience as musicians, the evolution of the music, the sound from all eras of the band, and also the road we have taken as people. This is us, this is Sonic Syndicate in all its beauty and destruction. It shows our strength, our love for melody, our scars, our energy. The cover art is a definite representation of that. In the background, a battle-torn city laid to waste, four figures emerging together with only each other to depend on in an environment so harsh, only those with a tough heart, body and soul can survive. The tone throughout this album is definitely darker, and as my Swedish family would say “With a red-line running in the middle” so we put this into the colour-scheme. We could not be more proud of this album, and we thank our fans for the support, it's because of them that we’re here. This album is for you.”
The band recently posted a series of trailers in which every member of the band talks their favorite track of the new, fifth album. Watch guitarist and songwriter Robin Sjunnesson pick his favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvQyAyxXXiw