If you looked at the band name and album title and thought “you what,” you were not alone. On popping down the local record emporium and asking for the new album by Syn Ze Sase Tri, I would expect you to get some odd looks and possibly security called as the poor counter staff think they are being confronted by a gibbering drugged up fool. Putting things in context though we have a Romanian band who were formed by Corb formerly of Negura Bunget. Apparently after touring around the stunning ‘Virstele Pamintului’ Corb left the band to concentrate activities around this release. It was actually recorded in 2009 with the assistance of Hupogrammos and Sol Faur and is a work thematically about the bands ancestors, beliefs and gods. The band name translates as ' I'm with triple six’ but we are told not in Satanic way but as a supreme number bridging the worlds between man and their gods. The album title enforces this meaning ‘Between Two Worlds.’ With all this in mind I had very high expectations for the album.
First indication is striking battlefield cover art and promo pictures of band garbed in chain mail. Spin who also played with Negura is in on rhythm and acoustic guitars and the intro ‘Prophecy’ has a definite mystic, bordering on transcendental feel to it ala Negura but is let down by Hammer House Of Horror sounding library effects. Keeping with English name translations we are then dropped into ‘The Last Day’ which is far removed from any further comparisons to their better known countrymen. There is an epic feel behind the music which is heavily orchestrated via swirling keyboards taking on a madcap carnival etched feel in line with Dimmu Borgir with a touch of Arcturus about them. Vocals are rasped in their own tongue but the musicianship certainly strikes as having the up-front focus here due to its bombastic nature. ‘World’s Maker’ cranks out the austere organ fugue which has pompous chorals joining in before they are all swiped away by the battle hungry clamour. Vocals are more prolific here but the song is doing little to engage and when the next starts up with more clichéd sound effects and trilling keys I am beginning to wonder if this somewhat tired sound is going to provide me with any real wonderment or simply coast along through its remaining numbers until finally running out of steam.
It’s a bit of a mixed bag I’m afraid and as much as I wanted to enjoy this I can only take it at face value as the work of a band treading a path I have ventured down many a time before without adding any real elements of surprise. It’s competently played and everything although the mix is not to my liking which could be down to the digital format I have presented to me for review but even after repeated listens I am still struggling to find anything particularly special about this or even memorable after it has finished.
Perhaps we have been spoilt with some absolutely blinding material from the band Corb just left. Indeed whilst trying to get to grips with this Negura Bunget’s new EP ‘Poarta de Dincolo’ landed and completely overpowered on the very first play. I know which I would rather listen to and unfortunately it is not this.
http://www.myspace.com/synzesasetri
