Album Review: Sanhedrin - The Poisoner

Sanhedrin fancy themselves as "pure metal alchemists". I don't like that description, since alchemy was a psuedo-science that set humanity back as people who could have been doing good were fooled into chasing after a treasure that could never be created. Great music can be created, regardless of the elements used, so I think the description carries a negative connotation that isn't necessary. Doom and classic metal can certainly be combined without the need for black magic. You could say Candlemass has been doing it their entire career, but let's not bother bringing them up unless we have to.

Maybe a better way to describe Sanhedrin would be along the lines of 'foreboding classic metal'. There is an ominous feeling to the buildup of the opening "Meditation (All My Gods Are Gone)" you wouldn't get from a band playing traditional metal, but the gallop in the verses, and the melody of the chorus, are right out of that playbook. What you get from them is part The Oath, part Argus, and just unique enough to stand out on its own.

The feeling of the record, as it should be, is a bit rough around the edges. The guitars have a wash of fuzz that has become timeless in doom, while Erica Stoltz' vocals aren't a polished take. She is cut from the same mold as Johanna Sadonis of The Oath/Lucifer, meaning she has that echoing tone that sounds just a hair other-worldly. If you're playing dark and dirty music, it's the right approach. She wouldn't work as well on cleaner music, and the music wouldn't work as well with a 'better' singer. They fit together.

Songs like "Wind On The Storm" and "Blood From A Stone" sound a fair bit like darker, slower takes on early Iron Maiden material. Their riffs don't plod, and there's enough of a hook to invite you to raise your horns. That's when the band is at their best. They need the energy that a bit of pace gives them. When they slow down for the title track, that's when things slip. That track is seven minutes trying to find an epic tone, but it doesn't feel weighty enough to last that long, and each part the song is built from isn't as sharp as their shorter numbers. It feels like it almost belongs to a different band than the majority of the record.

There's even some Dio influence that comes through on tracks like "The Getaway' and "Saints And Sinners", which are among the best the record has to offer. They are a mixture of 80s traditional metal and more of the modern occult rock sound, and they show it to be a potent combination. The former can be too cheesy, and the latter no fun, but together they make a sound that has real potential. And for most of the record, the band is able to hit that sweet spot between the two. They only veer off course when they try to stretch the songs to the seven minute mark. They work better in shorter bursts.

But overall, "The Poisoner" is a good record that makes the darker side of traditional metal sound fun. They don't have the ear for melody Ghost did even on their debut, and the riffs aren't as memorable as Trouble is famous for, but it works as a pretty good package.