Hellnoise Metal Blog

Melodic Death Metal

Sweden 2004

Self-Released

Playing Time 17:02

Tracklist:

01. Zion Must Fall

02. Misanthropic Coil (MP3 downloadable on the site)

03. Lament of Innocence

04. Prelude to Extinction

Fallen Angels, led by the three relatives Roger (guitar), Robin (guitar), and Richard (vocals) Sjunnesson, already provided us two previous demos. ‘Fall from Heaven’ (2002) was their first recorded demo and of arage quality. ‘Black Lotus’, released in 2003, was of much better quality and clearly showed the direction Fallen Angels had chosen: melodic death metal. ‘Black Lotus’ certainly pointed out the potential of the band, and so I was thrilled to hear another demo was going to be released.

Right from the beginning of ‘Extinction’ you can hear an unmistakably apparent influence by bands such as Dark Tranquillity and In Flames This doesn’t mean they sound like every other melodic death metal band out there. They bring a mixture of pure melodic death metal combined with influences of their roots, power metal. The simplicity of power metal can be mainly found in the guitar lines. They are stripped down to the use of powerchords mostly. Although, the solos break throught that pattern sometimes. Then I wonder, why such short solos? It doesn’t bring out the abilities of the guitar players at full.

You can hear the keyboards are improved, becoming an essential part of the music. Throughout the demo there’s a lot of experimenting with the keyboards, especially in the songs ‘Lament of Innocence’ (which starts out with a loopy keyboard sound) and ‘Misanthropic Coil’ (where the keyboards provide the layered melody throughout the whole song). This keeps it interesting for the listener, it is also important when the guitars may start to sound repetitive. Thight and effective drums, but the double bass sometimes comes out a bit too soft, that’s probably because the production sound isn’t always above the average. Also the vocals can become somewhat boring after a while. They show little variation. Maybe something to work on.

Nevertheless, Fallen Angels definately knows how to compose good songs: catchy guitar riffs, tempo changes, varying song constructions, … It is all there, and that’s why ‘Extinction’ is certainly a demo to check out! They have proven to be talented enough to make themselves differ from the mass. Hopefully their next release will finally be a professionally produced, full length cd!

8/10 Points – reviewed by Lyra

official Website: http://www.fallofangels.com

The swedish band FALLEN ANGELS formed in 2000 and have had already several member changes. The band consists out of 6 members at present:

Richard Sjunnesson – Vocals

Robert Sjunnesson – Guitar

Robin Sjunnesson – Guitar

Anders Mårtensson – Keyboard

Kristoffer Bäcklund – Drums

Magnus Svensson – Bass

Their style can be called Melodic Death Metal and reminds of In Flames, Children of Bodom and Dark Tranquility. The qualitiy of the songs are not that impressive (singer Richard Sjunnesson speaks of garage-quality), nontheless are the songs ear candy. The raucous bawling and partly even shrieks are accompanied by melodic guitar and beautitful keyboard sounds. Which always suites me fine. The 4 Songs are mostly fast and violent. The songtexts are sung craspable and clear, but that Richard Sjunnesson is capable of more, is he demonstrating on the demo Black Lotus, of which I could unfortunately only hear the previews. The singer is competent (look up the live videos on www.fallenangels.com) and the rest is also wonderfull to listen too. There is really no damage to listen to it at least once!

8/10 Points – reviewed by Hellnoise

It all started in 2002, when Roger, Richard, and thirteen-year-old Robin wanted to start a band together after taking a break from playing in various other bands. They previously had a band together with a few classmates, but wanted to start a new project and take the music in a different direction. This new project became known as Fallen Angels, and played heavy metal influenced by Iron Maiden and Helloween. Fallen Angels completed their first gig at a school talent show in March 2003. They made it to the final but sadly didn’t win the competition. Still, the band was satisfied enough with the great response from the crowd and everyone else involved in the competition. Shortly after, the band had made themselves a name in their hometown of Falkenberg, on the west coast Sweden.

In under a year, Fallen Angels recorded three demos. The 2nd and 3rd demo the band decided to record at Studio Mega (The Crown, Beseech, Lake of Tears) and shortly after started to play shows throughout Scandinavia. In December of 2004, Fallen Angels signed with Pivotal Records in the USA to release their debut album “Eden Fire”. With their debut album on the way the band felt they had to decide on their final name. They had been searching for a band name for quite a while and thought Sonic Syndicate sounded more like them! The name was much more unique and is also a statement to enhance their musical direction. With time booked in Studio Mega in the spring of 2005 and the release date set for September 13, the band was rolling! With their sound of Swedish melodic metal and American hardcore Eden Fire has started to prove that Sonic Syndicate is a band that will break everything in its path. Eden Fire has been compared worldwide to acts such as In Flames, Children of Bodom and Killswitch Engage and the list goes on.

The band continues to prove themselves with their high energy show in the national and local scene. Perhaps most notable was this years Sweden Rock Festival teaming up with bands such as Arch Enemy, Evergrey, Entombed, Def Leppard and many more.

The band has one thing in mind when they hit the stage and that’s to play like it’s their last show ever. A boring show is not an option, end of subject!

2006 continues to steamroll with full impact. The band has joined forces with Nuclear Blast Records for their upcoming 2007 release and has been confirmed to play this years Swedish Metal Expo in Stockholm, Sweden.

Sonic Syndicate are:
Richard Sjunnesson – Vocals
Roger Sjunnesson – Guitars
Robin Sjunnesson – Guitars, Vocals
Karin Axelsson – Bass, ocals
John Bengtsson – Drums
Roland Johansson – Vocals

official Website: http://www.fallofangels.com