For some reason, there are bands who write generic music who are condemned by people who have decent enough taste, then there are bands that write similar songs but they just do it so much better. Paramore is truly just another pop band, but they are extremely easy to enjoy. Sonic Syndicate is more or less just another metalcore band from Sweden, yet I still keep coming back to them. They debuted on Nuclear Blast with the main songwriter at the meager age of 17. It was generally a mediocre album but nonetheless mildly impressive. The follow-up, Only Inhuman, showed the band use less open C riffs and implement more melodies, guitar/keyboard wise and vocal wise, which ended up succeeding in some standards, but still retained the common mistakes of repetition and bland songwriting in a few areas. Now they bring us this supposedly new album Only Inhuman 2, I mean Love And Other Disasters.
The album opens with some static and an In Flamesy riff, and then burst into their usual fast galloping pattern followed by drawn out chords, same stuff we heard on the last album. All the sudden you’ve reached Jack Of Diamonds and realize the first 3 songs sound exactly the same. The only redemption I will offer is that the video for Jack Of Diamonds is glorious… I’m serious, go watch it now. Anyhoo, it literally takes 3 songs just like this to get to something new and interesting, though it might only be interesting because you had to get through the first 3 songs. My Escape could be this album’s Enclave, just more radio-friendly and less catchy. The next song is pretty much the same thing…
Don’t be completely discouraged yet lads, once Power Shift kicks in, you finally realize this wasn’t a complete waste of time. The quality this song has that the first 5 missed is, for one, the lack of the thought “What song did they just rip off?” and two, that kind of driven riff that makes you bang your head….but then Contradiction starts (coincidence?); another ballad that you’ve heard before, with an attempt at arena rock mixed with something you’d hear off the new Atreyu album.
I find it hard to believe that a band who won the Nuclear Blast record contest has remained essentially stagnant for 3 albums. The only thing that makes this record is enjoyable is the incorporation of more keyboards, the consistency of the record, and the catchiness; then the vocal melodies, you’ll recognize, are the exact same as on Only Inhuman. The screaming has improved, so I guess that’s something.
If you still feel compelled to check this out, then download Power Shift, Damage Control, and Affliction because they’re the only songs worth hearing, and if you don’t like those then you should avoid this album. Just to be nice I must say those 3 songs are really good…though the rest of the album is a mix of catchiness and drivel, and I’m rather upset because I expected something better than Only Inhuman. This may turn out to prove this band has nothing left to say, so hopefully they prove me wrong. Karin is still hot, so maybe there still is hope.
