Elemental Disharmony

Known as an ultra technical death metal band from Australia, Synperium have sent this latest CD, ‘Elemental Disharmony’ for review. I reviewed their previous works, ‘Transfiguration’ back in 2008 and thought that EP was mind blowing.
Let’s see now how Synperium have progressed over the years.

Parasite – The introduction to this album can only be described as revolting. The initial sound you hear is like a death roar sounding more like a gag / heave into the toilet bowl. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually do like the overall sound of the track, however, that initial sound being the entrance to this album is quite... odd. If it were more of an appealing and lower toned death roar I would’ve been more accepting. Though this particular roar is more like the beast has lost his balls. Ok, moving on from this. The guitars are all over the place, tearing it up, yet they are not too confusing to the listener which makes it acceptable. Being a ‘technical’ death band, one must expect many changes in the song’s structure. The drums are quite intense throughout this track and they are the instrument I admire the most. Overall, this is not an appropriately placed track. This would’ve been more suited to the middle of the album somewhere. Alas, it’s an ok track but I was hoping for something a little better.

Empty – The introduction to this song would’ve made a much better placement for first on this album. The guitars basically chomp into the track whilst the drums go all out double kicking through the rhythms. The vocals also have that lower tone I was talking about in their deathliness. This is far better sounding and not as chaotic as the previous track. This is the kind of music which appeals to the fans of Synperium. It’s heavy, low toned and furious and still encompasses their unique style.

The Insurmountable Burden – This next track starts off in a technical rant. The guitars tear through the notes as if trying to find the sound they’re after. Once realised, they fall into a rhythmic feast for the fans to start thrashing away to. If a band ever wonders why the audience simply stand and stare and not get into it, it may because of the influx of technical metal bands out there not allowing the audience the flow needed to indulge in the rhythms they require when seeing a band. One cannot happily jump around and bang their head to music which is all over the place. One can only stand and stare. So if you want audience participation, then make your music flow rhythmically. There are only parts of this track which are permissible to the listener. But if that listener is studying musical theory then I’m sure this would be splendid to study. Overall, this track does not flow. It has the ability to be enjoyed in parts, but it is too messy for me to endorse.

Stormchaser – Brutal can only describe this next piece. It at least flows all the way through even with its technicalities. This is the kind of style I think Synperium are most suited to; deathly, low toned, technical yet back set rhythms. It’s one of their shorter tracks at 03:51 but it is one of their better tracks thus far. The vocals are really deep and low toned. The guitars keep a basic rhythm for the listener to get into and still pull off their technical parts with an evenly balanced expression. If only all their tracks could be so technically simple and tolerable.

Without Knowing Beyond – A reversed cymbal lures us into this next track and it is soon met with an ensemble of furious guitars and drums. The vocals are again relayed with that low toned death style. This song is much like its predecessor though it focuses on the technicalities a lot more, thus not allowing it to flow so well. However, it is not nearly as bad as tracks one and three. They tend to get into the technical side of things quite heavily yet bounce back into the flow fairly quick. So in one respect it’s a tad messy but in another it simply keeps you on your toes. Basically, let’s say you had a really confusing and shit kind of day, then you went to see this band and jumped in the moshpit, this track would truly help you to get all that frustration out. To sum it up, it is a good, confusion induced stress release.

The Eye... The Epicentre – Here we have a track which has been appropriately named and placed on the album. It is a short filler at 01:17 and thus the shortest track on the album. It starts out sample-like and quickly becomes a beefy rhythmic metal ensemble which plays without a distinct end and merely a slow fade.

Elemental Disharmony – That brings us straight into the title track on the album which starts out furious and confronting. The music is chaotic and demonic with low toned, deathly vocals. The overall sound is almost constricting like it is surrounding you and closing in upon you, ensuring all angles are covered. No matter which way you might try to escape you are confronted with their beastly stature. This song is fast paced and presents much opportunity for moshing. As chaotic as it is, it still manages to flow well. I should also note the sound engineering on this album is quite good and everything seems well balanced.

Hype Machine – This next song starts off with what I would refer to as a metal march. A style of guitar and drumming which aptly leads the banging heads in to its musical spell. Once gathered, the crowd is immersed in a wall of flame. The drums are seemingly never tiring and are constantly hammering away with an ungodly amount of stamina. From 02:46 the music turns into a frenzy. Again, musically it is quite chaotic but it is an interesting culmination of structure which makes this appealing. Perhaps I am becoming a little more attuned to the style, but it is sounding a little more technically palatable towards the end of the album.

Path Of Destruction – This next track starts out quite volatile. Sometimes you can make out what the vocals are saying, but mostly they are undecipherable. As cluttered as the notes may be, they are managing to string themself along in a flowing manner. Again, the drums are relentless and truly make this band leave one hell of an impression on you. If you try to focus on each instrument separately as I do, they are the one instrument which stands out the most. The guitars are so busy trying to capture various notes it gets tiring to follow. The vocals are great when they are low toned but they don’t stand out as they are quite monotonous in their delivery. Overall it is a decent enough track. At the end of it all is an atmospheric sample which closes off the track.

World Of Ruin – Here we have the final and longest track on the album at 06:12. It starts out quite volatile in structure and hard to follow. The chorus is easy enough to follow and is my favourite part of the song just for that reason. The rest of it however, is too technical for my liking. There is nothing catchy about it and nothing memorable. The chorus is the only palatable part because it has those elements a listener needs; catchy, easy to follow, easy to get into. The song ends quite abruptly and perhaps because I couldn’t follow the song properly I never saw it coming. It is brutal though, just not in an appealing way.

In essence, if you love technical metal then you will truly love this. I however, cannot stand technical metal. Music to me should be easy to get into, easy to follow, with catchy tunes, awesome guitar riffs and double kick drumming. This album has plenty of great drumming technique and double kicks but the rest of the music did not quench my appetite. The guitars are too messy, like they are trying to catch a flea which keeps jumping away. There are no awesome guitar leads and the vocals were mostly good but quite monotonous. This may only be because the music was not complimenting anyone but themselves. Technical metal is a very egotistical style of music and I loathe it. To me, a good guitar lead is ego enough. It is a most welcomed ego. If it were a background lead playing throughout each track then fine but I don’t like technical rhythms and riffs messing up the rhythmic structure. Sometimes it can work because there is a basic count behind the chaos. Sadly though, people get so involved in how many changes they can make within a second that they forget about the overall sound and how it’s being presented to the listener. If you are making this type of music for yourselves then why make an album for the public? Basically, some of the tracks were good but mostly I just wanted it to end. I’m not even going to compare with the EP I reviewed. The CD I received is a promotional CD, not the in-store version, so I cannot comment on the album cover nor its content. My final comments are, if you are truly into technical metal then go buy it, but if you can’t stand technical metal then keep away. Alas, only you can know what music you like once you hear it so check out the links below and
discover them for yourself.

LINKS

Synperium Myspace

Buy Synperium from Metal Massacre

Buy from CD Baby