Artist: Syn Ze Şase Tri (Romania) Album: Între două Lumi (2011) Genre: Symphonic Black Metal After yesterday’s Code666 band Ravenwoods, we figured it a good idea to follow up today with yet another band signed by the Italian cult label. In this case it’s a five-piece Symphonic Black Metal outfit from Transylvania, Romania. With a home base like that, there’s enough blood and death infused inspiration at the band’s feet, and indeed they gratefully make use of all that legend has to offer.

It already starts with the album cover showing a knight on a heavily armed horse, covered in blood, surrounded by wolves and mounting a pile of blood-covered skulls. Despite that it’s not among the most original covers I’ve seen, it is among the most frightening ones. That warrior figure is a topic the band has focused its efforts around since its formation in 2007. The ways of their ancestors, the Dacian warriors, have been the subject of many of the group’s lyrics.

Între două Lumi is their upcoming (April 1^st) debut release. We’ve got it, we’ve heard it, we’ve formed an opinion about it.

But, before we spray it, have you been wondering what all this Romanian means? ‘Syn Ze Şase Tri’ means ‘I’m with Triple Six’. These things go way beyond me, but apparently it’s not meant in the Satanic way, but referring to “the supreme number, a limit between the human world and the world of the Gods in ancient mythology”. They could have told us it refers to 666 piles of dog feces and we would have believed it too. However, the fact that ‘Între două Lumi’ means ‘Between Two Worlds’ does seem to strike some consistency with the band’s explanation. So much for our beginner’s course in Romanian, let’s listen to some fuckin’ Metal!

We figured it a good idea to start off with the musical accompaniment today. We found a clip on YouTube, for the album’s second track, titled Ziua din Urmă, The Last Day. It features imagery from an animation called Heavenly Sword. We’re not sure whether it’s an official video, but fuck shit does it match the music!

Syn Ze Şase Tri has flavored its Black Metal with Symphonic that strike an epic note of battle with evil. A heroic battle, though one that’s bound to be lost. Unfortunately the symphonics that paint the picture are simulated, or even worse, programmed. Needless to say I’m inherently not a big fan of programmed music (or I would’ve listened to fuckin’ gay Trance or something), but the problem here is also that it just sounds fake. Sure, it’s meant to deliver evil scenes to your mind, and in effect it manages to do that too, but then I simply realize it’s all just coming from a computer and that rather mitigates its effect.

Though we can understand the band’s reasons for opting for a ‘puter – money’s a scarce good to most Metalheads – it still bothers us and keeps us from experiencing the record as it was meant to be experienced. It’s a nag, but a nag we had to vent.

And actually, it’s a bit of a pity, because everything else on this record shows great potential for those that are into battle-and-death influenced Sympho Black Metal. There are despairing atmospheres and moments of excruciating pain, alternated with moments of slight hope and heroic fighting.

It’s an endless battle, and a seemingly lost one, but then track no. 9 turns the tables. It’s more upspirit, though still the outcome is unknown and shroud covers the road ahead. The song features some acoustic guitar notes and softly-played – too softly for my likings; I can hardly hear it at all – guitar solo. Then, towards the ending the light comes peeking through the darkly clouded sky. I guess that means victory, and the fact that the album’s final song Rugă, meaning Prayer, closes off with what seems to be a big grateful thanks to the Gods lends its support for that idea.

Still, apart from these two tracks – and the introduction track – the album is pretty much an onslaught of battle, death, blood and despair. That’s a Black Metal thing, true, but where yesterday’s subject, Ravenwoods, showed its understanding of the need for variation, Syn Ze Şase Tri has not, making the overall result just slightly boring after a while. Therefore, this is an album to be consumed in pieces! Listen to it in bite-sized chunks and it’ll do the blood-lusting Black Metal fan good.

My Grade: 6.5/10
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Tags: black, review, Romanian, symphonic

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