Sinsaenum seems like such an odd proposition on paper. Taking members of power metal giants DragonForce and festival toppers Slipknot, and throwing them in with extreme metal figures from Mayhem, Loudblast, Seth and Dååth just doesn’t make much sense upon first glance. But this group has come out of the gates since 2016 with a number of excellent releases, including debut album Echoes of the Tortured and last year’s punishing Repulsion for Humanity. Last autumn they embarked on their first tour cycle, albeit without co-vocalist Attila Csihar, who has been busy with other commitments. Accompanying them in the London leg of their tour was Swedish death-thrashers HateSphere, and French melodeath upstarts T.A.N.K.
Opening the night was T.A.N.K [8] (also known as Think of a New Kind), who made a strong impression on the early arrivals to the Dome. 3 albums into their 11 year career, they’ve honed their very Soilwork-inspired brand of melodic death metal and have managed to form a tight cohesive unit, setting a good standard for the rest of the night as they ploughed through their discography, strongly focused on their most recent album Symbiosis. The band tells me they are currently at work on album #4, and if their performance tonight was any indication, a return to the UK in support of that album would be well anticipated.
.Following on from T.A.N.K was HateSphere [7], who maintained the high energy with their death metal tinged thrash. Their very brutish approach has its appeal, but doesn’t really tread much new ground, so it failed to truly grab this critic’s attention like the previous act did. The band has clearly worked together for a while though, with all the cohesion and stage presence of a band that knows exactly what they’re doing and how to get the maximum impact from their performances. As the band had only just dropped a new album, Reduced to Flesh, shortly before the night’s concert, the setlist was heavily dominated by tracks from that album, and they put forward a solid case for checking it out.
However, the band we had all come to see was, of course, Sinsaenum [9]. Even with Attila missing, the group is menacing and owns the entirety of the stage, with Fred and Stephane covering Attila’s vocal parts. There is an even split between the two albums, as well as takes from their Ashes EP and a Melvins cover for good measure, with the biggest crowd reactions coming towards the end of the set, when the big guns of “Final Resolve” (complete with extra percussionist running onto the stage to chip in), “Ashes” and “Army of Chaos” causing bedlam in the pits. Even after all his well documented health issues, Joey Jordison still sits as one of the world’s best modern metal drummers, hitting every beat perfectly in unison with the guitars of Stephane and Fred, while Sean Z is a commanding force on the microphone. With Jordison’s other band Vimic seemingly in a state of perpetual limbo, we can only hope that the other members’ schedules allow for Sinsaenum to maintain the level of activity they’ve shown to date.
Sinsaenum‘s new album, Repulsion for Humanity, is out now via earMusic. Follow the band on Facebook.
Hatesphere’s new album, Reduced to Flesh, is out now via Scarlet Records. Follow them on Facebook.
T.A.N.K are currently working on their new album, for updates, follow them on Facebook.
