Sonic Syndicate Album: “Eden Fire”

Let me start by saying that this album is incredible! It is completely different from their later "metalcore" mainstream releases on Nuclear Blast records (Only Inhuman, Love and Other Disasters). This album is "melodic death metal" in its truest form. Let me explain:

1) Roland was not in the band at this point, so all vocals are done by Richard aka no clean singing on this album other than on the single "Jailbreak". This track is probably the closest to their sound on their later albums.

2) They had a keyboard player in the band at the time, so all of the tracks (especially 5-10) are very keyboard driven (including keyboard leads) reminiscent of Amorphis and Children of Bodom (slower tempo though). "Prelude to Extinction" is the standout track featuring a piano solo towards the end. "Crowned in Despair" even has an "industrial" feel to it.

3) Karin sings background vocals on "Enhance My Nightmare". Very haunting sound to her voice.

4) The tempos on most of the tracks (especially 2,5-10) are slower remisicent of old In Flames and Amorphis and almost have a "doom metal" feel to them.

5) The album definitely has an overall darker feeling to it than their later albums.

So, overall, if you're a fan of Scandinavian metal (anything from "symphonic metal" to the Gothenburg bands like myself), you will be pleasantly surprised with this album. I can also see fans of the later Sonic Syndicate albums not liking this one. This album and their later two are worlds apart. It definitely deserves a listen by everyone!

This is probably my favorite album by them the whole thing is just pure gold

i would definitely recommend this to anyone that likes melodic death metal or any type of metal.

Sonic Syndicate has been on a horrible downward spiral from day one. Each album is significantly worse than the previous. I recently stumbled upon a new music video by them that was some sort of emo-pop. Maybe some people enjoy that, but to my ears, its just awful. They even seemed to be overly reliant on showing off the sexy bassist to distract listeners from the bad music. What most people don't know is how far they have fallen. This album, their first, is not just good, its excellent.

Last I checked you could listen to the whole thing on myspace so go listen to it rather than have me try to describe it. If pressed I would say that it has a deep, atmospheric sort of feel to it with a touch of industrial and cybernetics...if that makes any sense. A standout aspect of this album is the frequent use of keyboards. I'm still a little iffy about keyboards in metal. They can quickly kill the intensity by sounding silly or childish. Despite my prejudice here, I think they really pulled it off. It has even opened my eyes a little to what the instrument is capable of.

Top song picks for the album: History Repeats Itself, Misanthropic Coil, Crowned in Despair.

this is the best cd ive ever bought. every song can be listened to over and over again and will never get old. where ever you can find this cd pick it up you will not be disappointed. BUY THIS CD!!! These guys/girl have so much more talent than anyone being played on tv.

This is the first release from this band heavy vocals kick-butt band from Falkenburg Sweden. Sounds like killswitch engage but better. I have spoken to the bass player from this band and she said they will be coming to USA for 2009 tour.