Sanhedrin - And On Into Eternal Nether...Of Forgotten And Stricken Souls

Self Released 2011

1.And On Into The Eternal Nether 2.Of Forgotten And Stricken Souls

3.Leviathan Restrained

‘And on Into The Eternal Nether’ is an intro, but at nearly three minutes long almost acts as the opening track. Streaming water and rivers are accompanied by melodic acoustic and electric guitars, the guitar solo being played sounds very heavy rock / metal due to it being very melodic. Dark, spoken passages are also used minimally and add to the dark atmosphere being created. This opening track leads straight into ‘Of Forgotten And Stricken Souls’, a very melodic Black/Death metal offering, riffing remains heavy and melodic with a definite ‘Swedish’ Black/Death metal influence on show, fast tremolo picked riffs providing a lot of harsh melody and creating a real intensity which gives the track it’s Black Metal edge. Keyboards are introduced into some of the slower sections which then develop into a really sombre feel, spoken vocals again introduced and adding to the dark atmosphere. Melody is at forefront of the bands song structures and is used heavily throughout, being mixed frequently with some heavier, slower death metal style riffing, a great contrast and used effectively throughout. An absolute beast of a track, clocking in at over ten minutes, it’s a great example of what the band have to offer, showing off their many influences. The music ranges from slow mournful death metal all the way through to harsh, scathing yet melodic black metal. A real amalgamation of styles which when mixed, works well. For such a long track it remains interesting throughout, especially when the pace is upped and the harsh melody introduced, very catchy yet brutal. A style captured brilliantly by the likes of Dimension Zero which isn’t far off what Sanhedrin are producing.

‘Leviathan Restrained’ closes the demo and as with the intro, isn’t really a track proper, more of an outro, being a piano instrumental. Nothing really new and slightly unoriginal but probably a fitting end to a demo filled with such atmosphere. Musically, there are no complaints, the only ‘actual track’ featured is excellent and a great example of what the band are capable of. The intro and outro seem somewhat pointless and unnecessary; more songs would have been the preferred option. Featuring one track of well played atmospheric death/black metal which is worth a spin, but you’re probably better off listening to their album (review to follow) as there just isn’t enough on offer here.

7 out of 10