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| Above: Sinthetik's Concrescence EP |
From: Aurora/Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Album: Concrescence Remastered
Release Date: March 22, 2013
Genre: Progressive/Experimental/Psychedelic Metal
Songs:
1.Beginnings- (short intro)
2. Cause- 8/10
3. Effect- 7.5/10
4. Lucidity- 9/10
5. Surreal- 7/10
6. The Transition- 8/10
7. Zen- 8/10
Overall: A solid 8/10
Thoughts:
In general, as someone who has never listened to Sinthetik before, I must say that overall I was quite impressed with the album. I felt that the album sounded very polished rather than raw, and I really liked the clean, seamless way all the songs sounded and flowed. I'd also have to say that the album was reminiscent of a mixture of Dream Theatre meets The Human Abstract.
When I started to listen to "Concrescence", I was instantly sucked in. The first track on the album, "Beginnings", served as a 27 sec. introduction, which wasn't necessarily a song. However, it sounded very mystifying to me and kept me wanting to hear what would come next. Particularly, I was really fond of how such a calm introduction flowed into the second track, "Cause". It's as if the song was a wake up call from the slow, quiet introduction, getting the listeners blood pumping and head banging.
"Cause" was like a burst of energy. It's where the listener finally gets to see the heaviness and guitar riffs that Sinthetik has to offer. From 2:25 until the end of the track, there was a repetitive guitar riff, but its repetitiveness wasn't mind-numbing. The riff transitioned into different points of the song, layered by different lead guitar and drums, and went from softer parts of the song, to heavier. The familiarity kept the song sounding catchy and toe tapping, while the riff added a dimension of interest to the song without boring the listener.
Next was "Effect". On a side note, the ordering of the tracks was clever as "Cause" and "Effect" were chronologically placed. Not only was there good audio flow, but good track name flow too. Anyway, between "Cause" and "Effect", I preferred the latter. "Effect" did have a nice bass intro, with good passionate clean vocals, but with less excitement than "Cause". Perhaps this is just personal choice, but I do feel that "Effect" just didn't measure up to "Cause" since it didn't have that same toe-tapping, head banging effect on me.
My personal favourite song on the album was "Lucidity". As the album's longest song at 6:48, this song never failed to keep me listening and enjoying. This is also one of the two songs on the album (as with "Zen") to feature a female guest vocalist. In the middle and towards the end of the song, the female vocalist sang, making a nice contrast between the powerful, high female voice with the heavy fast-paced instrumentals in the background. Another aspect I really favoured about this track is the quick abrasive choppiness of the drums. Some may find this unsettling, but it was one of the reasons I enjoyed "Lucidity", along with the songs many dips and turns of pace and rhythm.
"Surreal" was my least favourite song on the album, but that doesn't mean it was bad. In contrast to the other songs, I found it rather repetitive and a tiny bit boring. The best part of the song was at 2:15 - the guitar solo. Call me a sucker for a guitar solo, but this gave "Surreal" a bit more of a wow factor. After all, who doesn't like a good guitar solo? It isn't a typical solo with crazy, elaborate shredding, but it is a point in the song where the guitar riffs and chords shine, with no vocals and simple drum beats.
Again with the guitar solos, "The Transition" had my favourite solo on the album. Additionally, the synth at the conclusion of the song was as nice touch as there isn't much of it (if any) used on the album except for here. I compare it to the aftermath of a heavy storm - hearing the wild solo and heavy metal of the song, and ending it peacefully (well as peaceful as metal can get).
All in all, I really enjoyed this album and had very little negative comments to say. I would definitely recommend it to any rock or metal lover.
Click here to download the album: http://www.mediafire.com/?751nl1kzk6akagm
Check out the band's official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SINTHETIKOFFICIAL?fref=ts
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