:: Sonic Syndicate - Only Inhuman

Sonic Syndicate

In 2006, German based independent label Nuclear Blast Records held a competition, with the grand prize for the winning act the offer of a recording contract. After sifting through one thousand five hundred contributions from around the globe, it was announced in July 2006 that Swedish act Sonic Syndicate landed first place. Founded in 2002, the relatively young sextet built up a strong underground following in their native Sweden following the release of their well received debut album ‘Eden Fire’ in 2005, but they still remained somewhat under the radar for most. Now back with their sophomore effort ‘Only Inhuman’, and with the backing of Nuclear Blast Records behind them, Sonic Syndicate have finally been given the opportunity to reach that wider audience they’ve been clearly aiming for.

From the opening bars of the first song ‘Aftermath’, it doesn’t take much to figure out where the band’s influences come from. Acts such as In Flames, Soilwork and Darkane are clearly heard within the band’s approach to melodic death metal, with huge sounding keyboards, the dual vocal approach and the catchy as hell choruses all the tell tale signs needed to come to that very conclusion. ‘Blue Eyed Fiend’ pretty much follows the lead of the opener without any great departures, while ‘Psychic Suicide’ and the very Soilwork sounding ‘Double Agent 616’ quickly pass by without really making an impression that wasn’t already felt on the former tracks. The slower/ballad like ‘Enclave’ is a fairly standard effort that sounds a little too by the numbers to sound original in any way, while ‘Denied’ does show a fraction more variation from the rest of the album, making it an obvious choice for a first single. The latter half of the album is very much like the tracks that preceded them, with the only track to really stand out as something remarkably different being the band’s cover of Russian female pop duo T.A.T.U.’s hit single ‘All About Us’, which really isn’t saying all that much.

With a slicker production (courtesy of Scar Symmetry guitarist Jonas Kjellgren) and a greater keyboard presence, ‘Only Inhuman’ is quite a change of sound for Sonic Syndicate over their previous effort, and clearly catering for a certain demographic. But having said that, ‘Only Inhuman’ doesn’t really give anything that the likes of In Flames, Soilwork and Darkane haven’t delivered in the last five years, rendering it solid, but ultimately unnecessary.