Artist: Sinith Hall
Title: Synthetic Perceptions
Type: Album
Label: Self Released

Not a name I have previously been familiar with, I approached this album perhaps expecting the worst. Of course, there was little chance that the production would hamper proceedings these days; nearly all demos and self released titles these days boast a sound that would have shamed professional releases a mere decade ago. Suffice it to say that there is a simple test that I apply to my review cds – and that is that if they include all the requisite inserts, I place them in a jewel case to sit alongside the discs that I have paid good money for. I am happy to report, dear reader, that “Synthetic Perceptions” now sits proudly upon the “paid for” shelf.

If I mention the terms “symphonic” and “progressive” alongside the notion of extreme metal, there will doubtless be those of you, who like me, in general terms find these tags odious. Don’t worry – the symphonic touches here extend to some extremely capable keyboard use that enhances rather than detracts from the rest of the band, while the progressive elements extend to a knack of writing songs that seem to lurk on the outer fringes of what a “normal” metal track might be constructed to be. The core of Sinith Hall lurks somewhere between an extremely capable melodic death metal band, with some stripped down Anathema-esque minor melodies and sparse clean singing in the vein of the Scandinavian melancholists. Multi-layered delights, such as the wonderful closer “Santosha” await the careful listener – complete with moments of extremity, atmospheric guitar solos (which, courtesy of Nick and Eric on guitars pepper the album, adding much flavour to the content) and quieter, more solemn almost acoustic passages.

That such a good band can remain unsigned in a period where the overall standard of releases tends towards the ever more mundane seems to be a complete strategy. The carefully wrought blend of aggression and atmosphere takes me back to the halcyon days of The Blood Divine, who, although not a direct predecessor, musically, seemed to have much the same feeling and vibe to them. The dual vocals of Tom and Eric – one a gravelly, graven rasp, the other possessing a cleanly sung hymn like quality to the tone allow for a great sense of dynamics to run through the album. That an unsigned band could produce such an anthemic track as the eastern tinged “Austere” is amazing in itself. Get this before they get signed and get a bonus 400 underground cred points. Excellent work, gents.

http://www.myspace.com/sinith_hall