I’d given up on Sinister after the release of Bastard Saints in 1996 and didn’t pay much attention to them after that. I’d heard Creative Killings and wasn’t fond of it at all, not due to the vocals of Rachel Heyzer, just the material itself lacked the punch of early Sinister recordings. When I found out the band had split after 2003’s Savage or Grace I wasn’t bothered by the news as I felt the band’s best days were behind them anyway. That was until I heard Infinited Hate’s Heaven Termination. Infinited Hate was the band the parting Sinister members formed after Sinister’s split. The album really surprised me and got me digging up my old Sinister discs to listen to, and remember, how great the band was.

When I finally got around to reviewing the album, I remembered Sinister had reformed and Nuclear Blast had sent me a promo copy to review. After digging through many piles I found the disc they’d sent, 2006’s Afterburner and gave it a spin. One thing I hadn’t realized, when listening to the disc, is that the line-up had juggled considerably since 2003. Gone are vocalist Rachel Heyzer and guitarist/bassist Ron van de Polder and Aad Kloosterwaard has stepped away from the drum kit, leaving the "new" line-up consisting of Aad on vocals, Alex Paul returning on bass and guitars and Paul Beltman of Fondlecorpse on drums.

While the last decade of material from Sinister was less than stunning, the band’s early works are among the best releases from the early 90’s death metal scene. 2006’s Afterburner sees the band returning to writing good, catchy material that doesn’t grow stale after a few minutes, each song is worth listening to from beginning to end, the material is well performed, well written and sounds really good!

This is the Sinister album I’ve waited 10 years for and it was well worth the wait! Many of the band’s more recent offerings were plagued with a lack of originality, and especially a real lack of solid song writing that can not only carry a song for 5 minutes, but carry an entire album for 45 minutes! The drumming is solid, but not overpowering, the riffing is top notch, very catchy and varied, the bass is nice and thick and meaty and the vocals are perfect! It makes me wonder why it took Sinister so long to get their shit together and finally "get it right" but I’m glad they did!

If you’re a fan of old school death metal, this album is absolutely worth your time and money! It amazes me that the bands that were kicking my ass back in high school are still around bashing my brains in 15 years later! I hope this trend continues! Great shit!



Written By: Teufel