Sinister: Syncretism (2017)

Dutch band Sinister is one of the great, overlooked bands from the early 1990's death metal explosion.  A lot of that is due to geographical isolation.  There just has never really been a massive metal movement from The Netherlands, particularly in regard to extreme metal bands.  There are a lot of symphonic and power metal bands, but not a ton of great death metal bands, though those that do exist (Asphyx, God Dethroned, Pestilence) have been incredible.  And yet, Sinister still flies under the radar.  This is Sinister's 13th album, a surprising total for a band that has not achieved much of any notoriety.       

Sinister has always possessed a particularly evil, hostile sound and that is on full display throughout this release.  This is one of the band's strongest albums in years.  In fact, the band sounds rejuvenated after a couple of somewhat weaker releases the last few years.  A large part of that would likely be the addition of new members at guitar and bass.  The band's aggressive, grinding riffwork hammers on the listener, and the pounding drums and brutal vocals add to the experience.

Even after all of this time, Sinister still has something left in the tank.  They are veterans of the death metal scene, but still sound as fresh and vital as they did in the early 1990's.