ANACHORET – Syndrom

The German one-man entity named Anachoret released this solid and deftly executed opus all the way back in February this year, but yesterday it showed up in my mailbox, so I reckon a few short sentences about Syndrom are in order.

Drawing heavily on second-wave black metal, DSBM, and to a lesser extent claustrophobic post-metal, these six lengthy and layered compositions are performed with conviction, and main man K.C. has brought personality, talent, and expression to the whole endeavor. Varying in tempo and mood to keep things interesting while also ensuring that everything forms a part of a larger hole and sounds cohesive from top to bottom, this is a suitably dramatic piece of work that neither comes across as overblown nor annoyingly cliched. It may not be revolutionary per say, but fans of the genre ought to make a note of it and check the record out. Splendid stuff for a cold day in October.