Sinister - Afterburner
Nuclear Blast - NB 1617-2 - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
After two and a half years out of the picture, embattled death metal quartet Sinister have returned with new members and an album that sees them reinvigorated and ready to take on the world. Afterburner positively bristles with hostility and renewed vigour, blending old school Cannibal Corpse-esque brutality with some tasty, well-placed quasi-tech riffage. Former frontwoman Rachel has gone, and erstwhile drummer Aad has stepped up to the mic, turning in a sore-throated display of guttural, rumbling roars that complement the soaring savagery of the material on offer perfectly.
If you're looking for shades of light and dark in your death metal, you'd best stay away from this release - while Sinister manage to keep the songwriting varied and memorable throughout Afterburner, the feeling throughout the album is one of sheer aggression and malevolence. Whether it be the disquieting clean guitar melody over samples from Patton ('When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that used to be your best friend's face...') that leads to a flesh-crawling solo and then to an insanely rapid blast and tremolo-picked section in 'Men Down', or 'Presage Of The Mindless's down-tempo weighty crawl, the atmosphere is brutal throughout. Which is just how I like it.
As with labelmates Kataklysm's latest platter, there may not be anything technically new or mindblowing about Afterburner, but for sheer, powerful, death metal aggression, you can't go far wrong by picking up a copy of this. While not Sinister's finest album, it shows the band shaking off their creative stagnation and becoming a vital force in the death metal scene once more.
7/10 (UM's Review Rating Scale)
Sinister's Official Website
Nuclear Blast's Official Website
Nuclear Blast - NB 1617-2 - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
After two and a half years out of the picture, embattled death metal quartet Sinister have returned with new members and an album that sees them reinvigorated and ready to take on the world. Afterburner positively bristles with hostility and renewed vigour, blending old school Cannibal Corpse-esque brutality with some tasty, well-placed quasi-tech riffage. Former frontwoman Rachel has gone, and erstwhile drummer Aad has stepped up to the mic, turning in a sore-throated display of guttural, rumbling roars that complement the soaring savagery of the material on offer perfectly.
If you're looking for shades of light and dark in your death metal, you'd best stay away from this release - while Sinister manage to keep the songwriting varied and memorable throughout Afterburner, the feeling throughout the album is one of sheer aggression and malevolence. Whether it be the disquieting clean guitar melody over samples from Patton ('When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that used to be your best friend's face...') that leads to a flesh-crawling solo and then to an insanely rapid blast and tremolo-picked section in 'Men Down', or 'Presage Of The Mindless's down-tempo weighty crawl, the atmosphere is brutal throughout. Which is just how I like it.
As with labelmates Kataklysm's latest platter, there may not be anything technically new or mindblowing about Afterburner, but for sheer, powerful, death metal aggression, you can't go far wrong by picking up a copy of this. While not Sinister's finest album, it shows the band shaking off their creative stagnation and becoming a vital force in the death metal scene once more.
7/10 (UM's Review Rating Scale)
Sinister's Official Website
Nuclear Blast's Official Website
