Time for some brutal death metal from Sweden. Syn:drom are kind of newcomers, as they formed in 2004, and after two demos are now debuting with a full length album titled 'With Flesh Unbound'.

Syn:drom are not about "Stockholm sound", but they have taken their influences from the other side of the Atlanctic, from US of A to be precise. Syn:drom rely on faster tempos (a lot of blast beating, but surely some mid-paced stuff for balancing it nicely) and twisted riffing. Names such as Hate Eternal, Nile (the speed influence from these two, but also some more epic guitar work and song structures), Cannibal Corpse (warbling trademark CC riffage) and Immolation (the aura above some songs) are valid markers on the map of death metal to describe the sound of Syn:drom. Surely, Swedish spirit does rear its ugly head at times, so Syn:drom bear at least slightly characteristic form.

Albeit 'With Flesh Unbound' lasts for just under 35 minutes, it gets fatiguing towards the ending. The reason is simple, and very typical: The songs lack of variety sometimes and it gets irksome because of the use of similar methods to make it brutal. The band do not give much breathers for a listener, so it is like a tornado sweeping over your house. Ace songs are nicely dropped around the album, not just in the beginning. The first song proper, 'Scorned Messiah', is a carnage! Beautifully varying with tempos and different riff structures. 'The Marked One' is simply no-rest-until-the-end affair with characteristic guitar work. 'Obsolete Gods' features some death/thrash riffing, that adds some melodiousness to the song. 'Winds of Disease' isn't about going slow, but it's the albums most epic song perhaps, with its menacing atmosphere.

Throat-shredding, beasty vocalist fits in like a fist in the face of god. Instrumentalists' performances are pretty technical, at least speed-wise. The drummer gets thumbs up for his cymbal work, which is tinkling. He's not slow in any other drums either.

Production-wise, this is good stuff all around. Everything is audible (like making snare drum sound tight to lift it up from the noise) and well-balanced and it really does slay. Jon Zig painted the simplistic cover, while the booklet misses the lyrics, which is a shame. It's just redundant, which isn't the way it should be. Customers want more!

Syn:drom have proved they can play. They can also slay. But the biggest chore about this album is its familiarity and the song material, that is not in par with recognised bands'. But they do possess a lot of promise, so let's hear what they can bring us next time around.

Rating: 6+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
04/24/2010 16:55