Well, this is a nice little trip back in time. I quite liked sinister around the time of their album after this but as a young fellow, I couldn’t afford to keep up with everything and this was one of the bands that kind of fell by the wayside. Sinister Cross the Styx came out in 1992 a little behind the major wave of American death metal which is probably why it didn’t get as much attention but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good!
The album opens up with a cool intro and then the mayhem starts. This is crushing old school death metal. The recording immediately hits you as. a little on the raw side but that just adds to its charm! “Perennial Sufferring” starts this beast off and the lads seem to be combining the more abrasive parts of death metal and thrash into one mean beating machine. “Sacramental Carnage” offers no let up and besides a bit of a slower intro to “Doomed” this is agro death metal through and through.
Sinister aren’t doing anything particularly original but they do it well. It’s also extremely satisfying to listen to straight off the bat. Great riffs, infact I would go so far as to say very addictive riffage and very easy to either band your head or thrash around the living room to. The vocals are deep, gutteral and have great projection, his style really suits the band while the drummer plays a very exact and hard hitting style which just hammers home the brutality perfectly.
Overall, this is a great snapshot of a really cool era of death metal. Even the “Second Tier” (Not to be mistaken as second rate) absolutely crushed it back then! For what this band was at the time this is the perfect album for them to release. Best of all this was just an indication of what was to come! Do your self a favour and check this one out!
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