The experimental mix of death metal and industrial elements have produced some really interesting results over the years, with some of the best examples coming from Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad, The Berzerker, The Amenta and Zyklon. But there’s also been a fair amount of failed attempts at fusing together the two genres, with Canadian outfit Synastry the latest act to fall into the latter bracket.

Despite having been around for a number of years (three of the core members have been playing together since 2002, with Synastry officially emerging in 2005), and independently releasing their three-track EP Pallets Of My New World a couple of years ago, Synastry fall short of delivering anything truly outstanding on their debut full length effort Blind Eyes Bleed.

The band (who comprise of vocalist Jimmy Anastasopoulos, guitarist Pavel Ikonomov, bassist Garen Vartivarian and drummer Kegham Kesserian) offer up quite an interesting introductory instrumental piece for the album (which is simply known as “Intro”) which promises an onslaught with its dark and foreboding atmosphere. Unfortunately, the impact of the track is abbreviated with its short running length. And for all the drama the instrumental builds, it amounts to nothing with the start of the opening track “Pallets Of My New World.”

Musically, Synastry seem to lack a little bite and sharpness that’s commonly associated with industrial death metal acts, with the industrial influences dominating over the song itself. While on the vocal front, Anastasopoulos manages to produce a great death growl, it soon becomes clear that his monotone growl varies little throughout, with the lack of variation quickly becoming a major flaw in the band’s sound. The single/first promotional video clip “As The Dust Settles” is certainly one of the stronger songs featured on the album, but it’s the Static-X-influenced “Precious Time Bomb” and the Coal Chamber-sounding “Beast Of Myself” that drag down the early half of the album.

Both “Betrayed By My Flesh” and “Psychosocial Constructs” show a little more imagination from the band (particularly on the guitar solo front), while ex-Arch Enemy vocalist Johan “Liiva” Axelsson’s contribution to “Visions Of Anger” and The Agonist’s Alissa White Gluz’s duet on the ballad like “In Your Eyes” are by far the album’s standout cuts.

The songwriting is solid for the most part, but the vocal and industrial elements leave the album feeling inconsistent, with both areas needing a lot of work in order to balance the mix out for the future. Overall, Synastry’s debut is good, but it’s hardly what I would call a masterpiece.

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