The third album by Sinsaenum has been a long time coming. While work had tentatively started in 2021, the sudden death of drummer Joey Jordison meant that progress on 2018’s Repulsion for Humanity swiftly ground to a halt for several years, and it was unknown if Sinsaenum would even continue without such a key figure in the band. However, fast forward to 2025 and the lineup has held firm with the addition of former Breed77 drummer André Joyzi, who had previously served as Jordison’s drum tech. This has allowed them to finally complete their third full-length outing, In Devastation, a musing on loss and mortality that further expands Sinsaenum’s sound and still absolutely crushes.
Right from the introduction to opening title track, it’s clear that In Devastation is a different beast to the more blackened debut Echoes of the Tortured and more death-groove driven Repulsion for Humanity. The electronic flourishes indicate that this effort will have a much more modern sound, and the blackened elements are back but not to the extent of their debut album – perhaps following the template of their Ashes EP as opposed to the more stripped back sound on Repulsion for Humanity. Since leaving DragonForce and becoming a full time member of Kreator and Loudblast (the latter along with fellow Sinsaenum guitarist Stéphane Buriez), Leclercq’s songwriting has improved significantly as new influences have been brought to the table, and the album fully shows off that array with the full on assault of the title track and “Obsolete and Broken”, but also with more progressive and melodic elements – particularly on “Last Goodbye”. The production job by Lasse Lamert is impeccable and allows total clarity for all these new aspects of Sinsaenum’s sound to shine through, with nothing really drowning the other elements out but new flourishes becoming more apparent on repeat listens.
Speaking of “Last Goodbye”, lead vocalist Sean Zatorsky really gets to show off his vocal range here, with the track primarily utilising clean vocals in contrast to the rest of the album. The dramatic delivery sounds almost like Corey Taylor at times but very much has its own identity, with clean vocals something you don’t really hear much from Zatorsky in his other projects like Dååth. André Joyzi really steps up on drums too. Considering his background has largely been in alternative metal with Gibraltarian latin metallers Breed77, London-based Japanese group Esprit d’Air and System of a Down tribute act Chop Suey, there could be reasonable cause for concern that he may have been out of his element succeeding Joey Jordison in a blackened death metal band – however, he fits in seamlessly with some excellent performances, particularly on the blackened rager “Cede to Thunder”.
One slight complaint is that while there are some interesting new ideas for Sinsaenum to explore on In Devastation, some of the biggest shifts are somewhat underused. The only proper venture into melodeath comes and goes with “Last Goodbye”, and the acoustic guitars on “Shades of Black” are essentially forgotten as soon as the intro ends. They feel like ideas that could definitely be used again throughout the album, but could be forgiven given the ambition to cover as much ground as possible in only 10 tracks. While it’s welcome to hear his voice more often compared to Repulsion for Humanity, there is still a sore lack of Attila Csihar on In Devastation once again. That is understandable given his heavy schedule with Mayhem and other projects, but his dramatic delivery really could have added to some tracks – the gothic “This Wretched World” is the only time when he is afforded this opportunity, taking co-lead vocals over melodromatic keyboards.
However, that doesn’t mean that when Sinsaenum go back to basics, it’s not good. The second half of the In Devastation exemplifies what they do best, and allow the guitar duo of Leclercq and Buriez to let loose with some excellent guitar leads complementing tight grooves and head smashing riffs, with “Buried Alive” epitomising this. The diversification of their sound doesn’t mean they can’t just turn around and pummel you with groovy blackened death metal at its most primal when they want to, and it’s what brings In Devastation above the previous two albums in terms overall quality.
It’s taken longer than initially planned due to the tragedies that influenced its content, but in In Devastation, Sinsaenum have arguably found their newest peak. Essential extreme metal listening in 2025.
In Devastation is out 8 August 2025 via earMUSIC. Follow Sinsaenum for news and tour dates on Facebook.
