Yours truly was lucky enough to get his filthy paws on the highly limited tape edition of this excellent rehearsal demo by the US black metal entity known as SYN. The band is entirely new and these guys have only been jamming together and churning out wicked and well-written tunes for a few months now, but you can easily tell that they have heaps of experience in terms of how to arrange songs and conjure up a most foul and yet strangely epic atmosphere. In fact, the keyword here is atmospheric, because the three compositions that constitute the demo all reek of it, and the entire affair comes across as utterly organic and vibrant. Sure, the quality of the sound and the production values reflect the fact that these skilled dudes recorded the tracks with a rather simple setup in their home studio. Everything was recorded live with the three members of the outfit playing together, and it is as raw and honest as they come, which is a huge part of the demo’s charm. You want blistering riffs and epic melodies complemented by creative drumming and sickening vocals? Look no further than this one! Speaking of vocals, I do wish that they were a tad louder in the mix, but again, this is basically an unfiltered presentation of a band rehearsal, so minor issues and problems like that are to be expected.

Fortunately, “Rehearsal Demo” is also available as a free download via Bandcamp, so there is absolutely no excuse not to head on over there right now to check these this raging thing of ugliness out. The three compositions presented here are great and lack neither aggression nor substance, but it will be even more interesting to hear and see what their future material will sound like as there is a massive amount of potential to SYN. On a final note, I must admit that I am quite thrilled about this particular band as it has been a while since I found myself being so enthusiastic and excited about a US black metal horde. Keep an eye out for SYN! Favorite track: “Litanies of the Fallen”.

https://synusbm.bandcamp.com/album/rehearsal-demo

https://www.instagram.com/syn_usbm/