Emissaries Of Syn – Off Message (2015)

May 17, 2015

Wow, this is an unusual one! Take death metal tunings and riffs, the swagger of crossover-thrash era d-beat and the lyrical content and delivery of punk and hardcore, and you’ve got Emissaries Of Syn. Imagine all this “dark hardcore” type of stuff that is being peddled by Southern Lord given an injection of British authenticity and humour. It’s like Black Breath but with Mitch Dickinson from Unseen Terror on vocals.

This EP kicks off with “Einstein’s Monsters”, a cheeky, nuclear-themed number, but the whole thing really gets going for me with the excellently-titled (and extremely catchy) “The Only Way Is Ethics”. Current political issues are touched upon in “Spare Some Social Change” and “Help Define Heroes”; the former dealing with the current austerity issues of Britain and the latter dealing with the somewhat sensitive subject of the armed forces.

The playing is spot on; the drumming is savage, the guitar work spotless and that good ol’ 80s meat-grinder bass sound is more than welcome. If you think the clean, political punk vocal delivery doesn’t match the heaviness of the music, just give it a chance – everything will click into place!