Hungarian extreme metallers Sin of God are back with their third album, but there has been a considerable gap since 2016’s ‘Aenigmata’ as there are almost shades of Napalm Death in that the only survivor from that line-up is drummer Botyánszki Balázs and instead of a quintet it is now a quartet. Arguably this is a brand-new band, and should be treated as such, so this means this is either a stunning debut or a move from where they were as it is unlikely with such a change in membership they would sound the same. Given I have never heard much Hungarian metal (although back in the day I used to be sent a lot of folk and prog from that country) I have no idea how this band stand up against the pack, but what I can say is this album crunches in all the right places yet the band have a strong understanding of contrast, which is sadly lacking in this style of music.
To truly appreciate speed there must be slow, to appreciate heaviness there must be light, and even vocally there are times when singer Tamás Schupkégel is a little less gruff and allows to understand the English vocals, while in other places one would need a translator for whatever language he is singing in. A special call out must also be made to Sam Winslow as the mix and mastering are just right. The result is a death metal album which doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t and instead of following the crowd have made their own sound which is never too extreme to frighten away traditional metalheads, never too slow to worry those who enjoy grindcore (260 bpm in places), never too soft for those who want their death to hit hard, and the result is a very special album indeed which is head and shoulders above many in the genre.
We can only hope this line-up stays together, hits the road and then gets back into the studio as here is a Hungarian band who could make a name for themselves well outside their country of origin. For fans of Aborted, Bloodbath, Cattle Decapitation, Cryptopsy, and Psycroptic.
Rating: 9/10
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/sinofgodhu
https://www.exsrmusic.com/
