Syn Ze Sase Tri
Între Doua Lumi
7.3
Here’s something of interest to Negura Bunget fans, as well as fans of symphonic black metal. Syn Ze Sase Tri is the band where Negru of Negura Bunget got two members for Vîrstele Pamîntului after his spilt with the rest of Negura Bunget, namely vocalist guitarist Corb and guitarist Spin. And while neither is with Negura Bunget now, here is their original band’s debut CD on the always high-quality Code666. However, while most Code666 releases tend to be challenging or avante-garde, Syn Ze Sase Tri and their debut are actually pretty …"normal".
Of course, hailing from Romania and with members that served in Negura Bunget, there will be certain expectations: It will sound Romanian, and it will sound like Negura Bunget. Unfortunately, only the former is fully true, as Syn Ze Sase Tri has a tangible Transylvanian sound and themes rooted in the region's bloody history. Corb sings in his native tongue, has a vampyric croak and rasp with fleeting moments into pained wails and chants as he did on Vîrstele Pamîntului, and the symphonics are far more rooted in Eastern European instrumentation and tones. But the music is not on par with Negura Bunget. Even with the ethnic undercurrent, injections and samples (wolves howling, battles, church bells, etc.), Între Douã Lumii is much more of a simple and less sprawling, less engaging but still enjoyable take on Cradle of Filth- and Dimmu Borgir-styled symphonic black metal. Just listen to “Ziua din Urma” and “Fauritorul Lumii”.
And for actual fans of the style, that’s not a bad thing, and Syn Ze Sase Tri delivers the goods, though never quite take it to a superior level. That being said, it’s not till about 4 songs in with “Gand Blestemat” and “A Vietii Roata” where I start to really feel the band find more of an identity, with some more varied riffage that conveys the themes and ethnicity of the band much more tangibly, though still a little rooted in Dimmu.
That all being said, with maybe the exception of “Spirit Etern”, I’m never really wowed or blown away by Între Douã Lumii. And the production -- while certainly imbueing dilapidated, once-regal fortresses of old -- is a bit underwhelming considering the attempted grandiosity of much of the music, though that could feasibly be attributed to the MP3s I was reviewing. Still though, while certainly not nearly on the level of Negura Bunget, it's an intriguing release with some promise to add something to the stale genre should they spread their ethnic wings a little more.
