Expiation 2012

"2012 welcomes Italian deathsters Synapses, whose band name insinuates that their music is challenging and technical. And that is indeed what it is, as their debut album Expiation clearly shows.

Each song drawing on a plethora of riffs, many of which include dissonant chords and/or rhythmically challenging textures, Synapses' brand of death metal id definitely of the more advanced kind. True to the genre of tech death metal, there is also a dose of brutality injected into the music on the debut album, featuring more primitive old school death-grind riffage and more different types of blastbeats than I ever knew existed.

The level of musicianship is incredibly high, and the degree of precision with which Synapses deliver their music is almost beyond what is humanly possible – especially the velocity and precision of the drumming is pretty much beyond belief. The album lacks guitar solos, and that is a shame I think, as they could have added a further layer to the music where the band could have further showcased their technical abilities. Also, while impressive and rhythmically varied and challenging, the album does tend to get a bit monotonous in the long run, leaving the listener yearning for something else than syncopated rhythms and technically impressive drumming. This is probably one of those albums that are best enjoyed a couple of tracks at the time.

Still, we are dealing with quality death metal here, and if you are into machine gun bass drums and wing chun punch snare drums and riffs galore, then do not hesitate to give Synapses' powerful debut a listen.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)"