Syning – “Syning” album review – Terratur Possessions – December 2021 AB

The release I am about to review below came out earlier this year on Terratur Possessions, but only now it felt like the right time to talk about it properly. Syning is a Norwegian trio, whose members also play(ed) in other well known black metal bands, like Whoredome Rife, Keep of Kalessin, Manii/Manes or Knokkelklang, just to name a few.

“Syning” contains 3 (lengthy) tracks and it perfectly captures the essence of black metal, in terms of obscurity, atmosphere and emotions, in just 34 minutes. There is a perpetual sense of desperation which comes out of Syning‘s music, like an impending doom that will crush and destroy you at some point during the songs.

The 1st track, “Atter igjen kommer mørket krypende“, can easily be considered the closest to a traditional black metal track, with B. Einride doing what he knows best, and that is furiously blasting his drums. But after this outburst of speed, the band deliberately slows down the tempo on the second track, “Et siste skrik“. That results in pure darkness crawling towards you from the speakers as everything around you is enveloped in a bleak and murky atmosphere. This suffocating ambiance is mainly caused by the slow pace of the music, in which the obsessive, sometimes even melancholic guitar riffs and doom-like drum patterns mix with the menacing vocals and the sinister organ/keyboards parts. The album concludes with “Fortapt“, a somehow minimalistic, ambient track on which classical guitar meets keyboards/effects and haunting vocals. Perfect!

The music on “Syning” is uncomfortable and unsettling, so what better way to enhance this sensation than adorning the album with a black and white cover which suggests a bleak voyage towards the inevitable end, a voyage in and towards death.

The strongest point of this record is the way these 3 musicians have incorporated elements from their other bands, merging them in a way that gives Syning a strong feeling of originality. And that is what makes this album so interesting in the first place.

Syning – Syning Track List:

1. Atter igjen kommer mørket krypende

2. Et siste skrik

3. Fortapt

Syning Line Up:

Cernunnus – Vocals, guitars (acoustic), effects

Levninger – Guitars

B. Einride – Drums