(Andy Synn celebrates the return of Portuguese Post-Doom prodigies Sinistro)
As a reviewer I happen to think that context is pretty important.
I don’t just mean the usual types of context you might expect – references to the band’s background and influences, considerations about how an album stack’s up to the group’s previous work, etc – but the context of how your review is going to sit in the wider world.
Questions like “is this review coming out at a good time?” or “who else out there has already written about this?” are ones I think are important to ask, especially since I only have a limited amount of time to dedicate to writing here (I do have a life outside the site, you know).
Case in point, knowing I only had time for one more review this week I had to decide whether to write about Blood Incantation‘s new album or the new record from Sinistro, both of which are set for release this Friday.
But considering that practically everyone is going to be writing about Absolute Elsewhere this week (and I may still pen some thoughts about it myself at some point) I thought it more prudent to dedicate my efforts to reviewing Vértice instead, since my words are likely to have more impact on the latter’s success.
Now, if you’re at all familiar with the name Sinistro it might be because their previous album, 2018’s Sangue Cássia, was one of my top albums of the year (and I might even go so far as to say one of the best albums of the last 10-20 years… it really is that good).
At the same time, however, the group’s profile isn’t exactly massive (it doesn’t help that they went quiet for almost six years) which means this might be your first encounter with the group’s distinctive brand of “Post-Doom” Metal, which sits somewhere between the gloomy glamour of Tiamat and Paradise Lost and the moody magic of Amenra and Obscure Sphinx.
And while overall the group’s sound still inhabits the same moody waters, the intervening years between Sangue Cássia and Vértice have, inevitably, involved a few changes… not least of which is the addition of a new vocalist, with Luxembourg native Priscila Da Costa stepping in to replace the departing Patricia Andrade.
You will, I’m sure, soon discover that this isn’t the only thing that has changed – although it is certainly the most noticeable, as Da Costa’s delivery is noticeably more dramatic and demonstrative compared to her predecessor’s more sultry and seductive style – with song’s like bombastic opener “Amargura” and striking second track “Elegia” (which has already become a firm favourite) showcasing a shift towards more overtly doomy approach that favours the likes of Swallow the Sun and the aforementioned Paradise Lost (with the latter in particular seeming to borrow a fair bit of inspiration from the group’s late 90’s era).
There are certainly still traces of the band’s more Post-Metal inspired atmosphere here and there, no question (the lilting ebb and flow of “Pontas Soltas” in particular could almost have been taken directly from Sangue Cássia if not for the way Da Costa’s performance adds a more melodramatic flair to things) but it’s clear to me, especially when listening to the massive, mournful guitars and cinematic symphonics of a song like “O Equivocado”, that Sinistro had no intention of simply repeating themselves with this album.
It’s a good thing too, because consciously attempting to recapture that same lightning in a bottle brilliance would only have ended in failure and disappointment (and, in my opinion at least, put a lot of unnecessary pressure on Da Costa, rather than letting her find, and establish, her own place in the band), whereas by doing things this way they’ve given the album – which concludes with the thunderously heavy, and utterly haunting, strains of “Templo Das Lágrimas” – a chance to stand and be judged on its own merits.
Sure, comparisons to its prodigious precursor can’t be avoided entirely (I’ve made some myself, as you can see), but ultimately that added context just let’s you know that Sinistro still have more to say, and more to offer, without being limited or defined by their past success.
See, I told you it was important!