http://www.globaldomination.se/reviews/sinate-beyond-human

Sinate: Beyond human
10/10/08 || Bobby Peru

A few years back a friend of mine, who at the time handled the bass duties in Suicidal Seduction, came home from a show they had done in Västerås (that's Västerås Sweden); or some other shitheel town. We had just gotten to know each other, and I had scarcely even heard his band which in retrospect was a pretty fucking good "no bullshit" death metal act, that played death metal the "old school" way, and a review can be found here. Had I realized that they were and did just that, I just might have accompanied SS to fucken Västerås, and had I known what they were about to experience, I would have killed someone to have been there; fucken front row. Because, when he got home from that show he went on and on about this band from New Zealand they had opened for, and he played me some. I was instantly blown away.

Actually Suicidal were supposed to be the main act that evening, but this at least to everyone present, totally unknown band were in town to record their second album, so they did a surprise appearance. It must have been one hell of an appearance, because my friend who let's just say falls a bit short when it comes to the humility-department said this: "They pissed all over us, which kind of sucked". If he describes a show in that manner, SS probably not only got pissed on, they must have been close to drowning in that piss. The band was Sinate, and from the very first notes I heard, I knew this was something I could actually grow to love, and that doesn't happen too often these days. Anyways, Sinate hail from New Zealand, which as far as I know has contributed just about as much metal to the world as their old occupiers Britain has contributed to the world of dental care, so it was about time some good shit like Sinate finally surfaced.

Sinate has the very original approach to metal of incorporating both death and thrash metal, and mix it all together to this very unique entity, which sounds like nothing I have ever heard before. All jokes aside, I have to say that Sinate have managed to render themselves quite a unique blend and a great sound to go with it. From the opening title track "Beyond Human" the guitarists shred the "old school" death metal way that Malevolent Creation and Deicide perfected in the early nineties, and they brake and twist with the same kind of precision that only the best thrashers out there manage to do. There are many bands who claim to be a death/thrash-act these day but not all do it well, and certainly not as well as Sinate. They are up there with the best of them in those both senses of metal; and that is fucken that.

The songs never get boring or tiresome to listen to, and nothing ever feels out of place, not even a single fucking note or riff, these boys are all about "old school", "old school" death and even older thrash, the mix however doesn't come across as old at all. And that singer, what a man! He may not have the deepest and meatiest of growls but the range that this man possesses is as impressive as a fucking microwave-oven, which when you think about is pretty god dam impressive. He has a sort of squeamish, screamish approach to his vocals that is right there on the edge of all that is horrible. He sounds brighter than most singers I have heard and actually liked within these kind of genres. His range is just so fucking impressive that he almost has me fooled into thinking that he's some asshole hardcore-singer gone astray (thus, the edge of horror), and in need of a beating. Then his voice takes another shape and the growling/screaming ties everything together and makes it all beautiful. His screams are right at the brink of distortion, but somehow he manages to keep it in check. At times I actually suspect that there are several vocalists on this one, but there most likely aren't. I will say it again just to make it absolutely clear. I find his voice to be something really special. If those HC-singers out there sounded anything like this they could actually be worth listening to, or at least not make me wanna rip my fucken insides out upon hearing them.

Of all the good genres out there, Sinate seem to have about the same taste as yours truly. At least when it comes to the inspiration that one should allow to show in the songwriting process. I firmly believe that there are only so many of them you should incorporate in order to maintain some sort of credibility, and that is something Sinate and me seem to have in common. If you are a fan of either thrash or death metal you will get your quota filled with Sinate. The thrash parts are reminiscent of both the American way of doing things but the Deutsche are even more present. The death metal is, like mentioned before, of the Americanized kind, and that's just the way I like it. Sure there are some lighter notes on this release but at least they don't cluster your mind with the urge to dance a fucken jig, but rather scream of joy or horror. Let's just say that the lighter notes are vicious and not penis, or yet another metaphoric way of describing them would be that they are thrash and not trash (I'm finally learning). They off course have some pointless solos, just like most solos are, but at least they don't feel totally out of place, so I'll forgive Sinate for those and leave it at that. The bass is not only well performed but the performance is actually audible and gives that extra punch to make the already groovy tunes even groovier. The drummer seem to be, at least according to me, quite technical and gives the music exactly what it needs with some great fills and a nice groovy energy; and he sure seems to punish those skins like a madman.

Check Sinate out now and thank me later. I haven't heard their latest release but a listen at their MySpace shows a lot of promise, and they don't seem to have changed their recipe of thrash and death metal too much. If anything they seem to be evolving towards a more technically challenging area within those, oh so great, genres.

Sinate had their release party for "Beyond Human" at a venue called Christchurch. I don't know about the place, but it sure sounds lovely. I can only imagine the hails and applauds they pulled down if, and they fucking better must have, performed "The Last War":

"Demons of Hell Rise up against the righteous
Prepare for the kill Show them the meaning of darkness
Satan has called Gather your weapons for battle
Evil is on board Unleashing the forces of chaos"

"Satan's taking control It's the last war
Conquest over gods world This is the last war"

8 Refreshing takes on thrash and death metal out of 10.