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REVIEW – I have tried over the years to give Sinister a fair shake. I will admit my fandom for the band was during the years of Rachel on vocals. “Creative Killings”, I would put in my top 50 of all time death metal albums. Now, I will not say I did not pay attention. I have heard the albums since “Savage or Grace”, but not one really stuck with me afterwards until. Then in 2017, I heard “Syncretism” ,and it sort of renewed my faith that the band can put out great albums. Now, 2020 is here. The bell is fucking ringing and the band comes out of the gates fucking swinging on their best album ever. Aad Kloosterwaard and his growl owns this fucking album. The band sounds angry and so fucking hungry. This is not a band that is coasting off a legacy, this is a band that is out to prove that they are the kings. In a year of albums by Code Orange and Testament with critics shaking their boners claiming they are believers again. I have a message, how can you fucks overlook this monster?
“Deformation of the Holy Realm” is a statement that needs to be made right here and right now. While not perfect, for what it offers this album is a orgy of violence. While the lineup has changed since 2017, the power has not. This album continues the path of “Syncretism” and at times has a sense of immediacy that makes the listener even more passionate about the music. I feel all metal has always had to have that opening track that is instrumental that embraces you for the roller coaster ride coming. This cd is no different. The opening is like a calm, it is like slowly creeping up the top of the roller coaster before the drop. You feel a safety and embracing that you know is misleading. Once the bells sound, the shit goes down fast and furious. We get the title track to this cd and it is pure insanity. This song is going to cause a lot of damage in mosh pits worldwide. If you are a long time fan or a new fan, this song is going to make you pay attention very fast. This song is all over the place but yet the vocal delivery brings the chaos to this reality. In some odd way, this cd has a melody in its frantic pacing. The third track “ Apostles of the Weak” shows us that this band put a lot of thought into the attack it delivers. This band is smart to follow their passion instead of being complacent.
That is the biggest positive to this cd. This cd at times is a showcase of some great talents. The guitars and drums on this album stand both positively and negative out over the vocals at times. I feel Aad has this guttural roar that has so much energy and passion that without changing it up it feels a little one sided attack. I wish he had more depth and personality in his vocals. This cd if you listened to the whole thing at once with stopping, it would be hard to figure out which song is which. I feel Toep should share some of the blame as well. The drumming is great but I felt the fast tempo he is going with for the majority of this album just was missing something. I feel there are wasted moments that could have come across very epic but were sacrificed for the guitar work. That is the problem though with Death Metal as a whole. Bands do not see an appeal to change their sound in fear of being labeled sell outs. Which critics like me, would be the first to blast at them. So, this genre is a double edged sword for the fans and critics.
If we blast them for having an album that does not have diversity but blast them for changing up their sound, how can the band win? As a whole, I really loved this album. This felt like a great statement for a band that has been in the underground for far too long. The sad part is this album shows why they will always be in the underground and not in the mainstream. While I feel this is the best album they have ever released, the problem is that this is still a full on Sinister cd. This cd did not let me down though I wish it had more depth and personality. This band has been around for 30 years and has had so many member changes. They still have the energy and passion to give any band of this genre a run for their money. This is a cd that the fan base can be proud of and wear like a badge.
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