ALBUM REVIEW: Sinsaenum – ‘In Devastation’

Since Sinsaenum’s last album in 2018, there’s been significant loss to face. The most directly affecting was the death of Joey Jordison in 2021, not just the band’s drummer but one of the most celebrated figures among contemporary metal, full stop. Beyond that, however, was the passing of guitarist and founder Frédéric Leclercq’s father, another considerable blow to what was initially conceived as extreme metal’s new premier supergroup.

In Devastation arrives as not a mournful album, but one in which the ripples of that can certainly be felt. Between such key upheavals and the natural shifts that come from their last album being seven years ago, it’s definitely the most melodic that Sinsaenum have sounded on a full body of work. Maybe even to where it can’t be called ‘extreme’ metal anymore. It certainly doesn’t feel that way when the release strives for grandeur and opulence, and maybe even the shreds of deeper, unfiltered humanity. That said, Sinsaenum have, by no means, fallen behind. With how much has been amassed, channelled and exuded across In Devastation, Sinsaenum might now be the most fully-formed version of themselves.

First things first, then—it’s not even worth entertaining the notion of this being a ‘sellout’ album. It’s a stupid idea, for a start, and it’s also just blatantly wrong when In Devastation still has ample metal cred to throw around. Do you really think a band boasting alumni of Mayhem, Dååth, Loudblast and Seth would opt to downplay what they’ve got? No, they wouldn’t, and even when playing closer to melodeath this time, there’s little slacking to be found. Shades Of Black alone could be a load-bearing example of how this can work, as both the album’s melodic apex, and a song that could desertify a patch of land from the slam of its size and weight. It’s a little reminiscent of Parkway Drive of all people, and that’s meant as a compliment, regardless of how divisive their own melodeath forays have been. Sinsaenum pull it off just as well.

Even so, that’s predominantly an outlier. As a whole, there’s an execution across In Devastation that plays out like the older, heavier metal crowd coming over and lending their influence. It’s especially true in the vocals, where the immense roars of Sean Zatorsky and Attila Csihar clearly originate from metal’s darker, frigid badlands. Not to say they can’t actually sing when the time comes (see a fittingly Slipknot-esque Last Goodbye), though that’s also the minority to melodic metal so greatly empowered by lion-cries like these. Conversely, for the solitary vocal black mark, This Wretched World sees fit to embrace its showier side with the organ-like synths and vocal lines crowbarring in a theatrical diction. It’s…pretty bad, actually, when there’s no way it belongs on an album like this.

If there’s a bugbear that prevails on In Devastation, it’s moments like that, where small production quibbles or off creative decisions are peppered around, and are noticeable for how disruptive to Sinsaenum’s uniform solidity they are. The good news is how they’re never too bad; they might confound when you notice them, but even in cumulo, they don’t add to much beyond that. A screechy synth tone on Destroyer; a bit of clunk between measures on Buried Alive; the odd patch of shallow production on Cede To Thunder and This Wretched World; none are ideal but they don’t actively linger. Besides, Sinsaenum prove a dab hand at plugging a killer solo into practically every song on the album which even goes so far as patching up some weaker cloth when necessary.

On the whole, though, this is what you want from a melodeath album crafted by seasoned players. New, fresh insight is hard to come by and you’re not getting it here (especially in the lyrics, although “Pain, the prophet of emptiness” is a stupidly hard closing refrain on Last Goodbye), but the experience pays off in spades. A more punishing pace on Cede To Thunder and Over The Red Wall prove that a more traditional death metal backbone can work in a context like this; meanwhile, there’s almost a trad-metal feel to Spiritual Lies in the same mould, like a Judas Priest song cranked up to guzzle even more gas and spew even more fire. It’s a big, elevated-feeling album, and far from coincidental in being so. Acclaimed audio engineer Lasse Lammert handled the production and mixing with a noticeably sharp touch; as for a new drummer, Jordison’s shoes are stepped into by Andre Joyzi, hos former tech and a deliberate choice to keep the spirit of Jordison’s work alive.

It’s difficult to say whether something like that rubs off on In Devastation—going purely off the style of album this is, it’s debatable—but regardless, there’s a shock of tenacity that makes its way through. Amid the tragedy and grief, Sinsaenum have come out swinging, powering through in the memory of their brother and delivering a pretty great metal album in the process. It may even be their best, seeing how fundamental the power emanating from In Devastation is, and how its supply never comes even close to running out. For metal of this stripe subsequently emblazoned by its creators’ legacy and hardiness, you couldn’t ask for much else.

For fans of: Soilwork, Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity

‘In Devastation’ by Sinsaenum is released on 8th August on earMUSIC.

Words by Luke Nuttall