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VELD
S.I.N.

Listenable (2018)
Rating: 8/10

Since forming in the mid-90s, European blackened death metallers Veld haven’t been the most prolific outfit on the planet, having released all of their five albums this side of the millennium. And it’s been three years since 2015’s Daemonic: The Art Of Dantalian release.

S.I.N. is a welcome return to form from this band that supplies flurries of brutal, technical death metal where jagged leads prod and stab amidst a seemingly sea of controlled chaos.

Heavy blasts of torment, wild, staggering outbreaks of aggression and heaps of blackened moodiness come in thick and fast tirades as the fetid vocal slurps work their way through the network of uneven rhythms. When they play fast, Veld are a truly punishing outfit whose style is both abrasive and yet somehow enveloping in spite of the complexities on offer.

This is some serious extreme metal as malicious structures cavort in nasty fashion with undercurrents of stark, grey subdivisions as the likes of ‘Everlasting Hate’ and ‘Grand Day Of Demise’ swagger with a mocking arrogance; the combo creating vast metallic walls of punishing noise, always remaining cold and pallid in its despondent, unflinching stare.

The leads that twist and turn through this barbaric maze have the effect of jabbing syringes as tracks such as ‘Hatred Forever Dispersed’ brim with deeper, curving, slower tempos whereby an almost unique style of playing is experienced.

Veld don’t really sound like anyone else, but they are not exactly flamboyant either. The band’s frowning and at times negative viewpoint is certainly reflected with those countless musical barrages whereby we get hammered by the cold, ashen rush of ‘Sacred War Of Lawlessness’ and jarred to a crooked state by ‘We Will Forever Be’, which contorts and buckles to showcase angular results of methodical but seemingly emotionless threads; this miserable lot bulge with attitude and scorn as thrashy, machine gun percussion keeps pace with those pointy yet gaunt guitar hammers.

Veld exist as a steely, grinding machine of hate and power, with inklings of Behemoth and that sort of gushing, frothing black / death foam where thick barriers of muscular despair and horror fuse as one. But the intricacies are also evident, the listener no doubt finding it difficult to take on all that exists with one gulp. The gargantuan arrogance of ‘Perfecting Slavery’ coughs up severely clever arrangements, while the brutal ‘Throne Of SIN’ scathes with its frenetic precision.

The fact Veld has toured with the likes of Behemoth, Mayhem and Decapitated sort of speaks volumes for the tirade that is offered on this jagged shard of pulverising metal. Death metal fans will also be aware of guests like Romain Goulon (ex-Benighted / ex-Necrophagist) and Karl Sanders (Nile) featuring on what is essentially a destructive and angst-ridden composition created by frontman and band leader Kirill “Killry” Bobrik.

Neil Arnold

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