Sinister has gone through plenty of changes throughout their career. Line-up changes, label changes, style changes, even status changes from breaking up and reforming a few years later. There is no denying that, over the years since their inception, the band has been a bit of a staple act in the Death Metal style for the past twenty-some years, and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon given the recent revitalizing breath that the group has discovered. Legacy of Ashes is proof of this, taking the ground work of their previous album, The Silent Howl, and building a much more energetic technical Death Metal assault.
Since it's release, many have been indifferent towards Legacy of Chaos, and for good reason. The band never really managed to find their staple sound, always moving between groove and technical based Death Metal. However, in recent years, the group has definitely been focusing more on a technical approach, but with today's sound, it almost sounds a little more generic then signature, but this band has been off and on with this style since the early nineties, so it's hard to sit down and call Legacy of Ashes a release that is generic, or even idol worship. Sure, the introductory track "Herd of Damnation" isn't that spectacular, but it does set up the atmosphere of the recording nicely, though it would lead those unfamiliar with Sinister into expecting more something along the lines of a Symphonic or modern Black Metal recording thanks to the spoken word audio sample and march drums with accompanying heavy guitars. But, what follows is crushing, solid technical Death Metal that may not be the most unique, but it's done well and will leave even the most seasoned veteran of the style banging his or her head against the furious and energetic music being played, and well done gutterals that are tight, adding a nice little commanding and menacing vibe to the album, but not overdoing it.
While the album is energetic, the band does manage to keep the technical aspects to the proper dimensions. There's no show-boating on Legacy of Ashes, and the band doesn't take the technical aspects to an over-the-top or overkill level. "Anatomy of a Catastrophe" is the prime example of this, taking on more of a groove technicality that focuses on some technical chords that feel more Meshuggah-like at times, but boast enough Death Metal aggression to them to make them stand apart. The faster pace of the song just adds to that atmostphere of this track, and the heavy instruments against a more polished-sounding production works out great to make this feel like a modern record that will crush the listener's soul. The slower moment of this track, as well as on the slower songs such as "The Enemy of My Enemy" are simply destructive, and really adds to the soul crushing atmosphere the band brings into the album.
There's nothing really bad about Legacy of Ashes that needs to specifically be pointed out, but there is the issue of repetition to discuss. While the music here is just solid technical Death Metal, almost all the songs are performed with the same level of technicality as the rest. While "Anatomy of a Catastrophe" and "The Hornets Nest" are both kick ass songs, the foundation is essentially the same, even with the slower parts of the songs. The only difference in the slower part of "The Hornets Nest" is the lack of a spoken word audio sample, which the band does incorporate onto a few tracks of Legacy of Ashes, but less then on their previous recording. The song's faster paced music is basically the same type of chords being played, and there's often no real difference between the songs. "The Enemy of My Enemy", as well as the title track "Legacy of Ashes" are a nice change of pace, bringing in a general slower pace, which this album definitely could have used more of, but not too much more. Of course, you won't really get tired of this on the first time through the CD, or even the second or third time. The music is punishing, heavy, and well performed, so despite the less-then-unique tracks like "The Hornets Nest", "Anatomy of a Catastrophe", "Righteous Indignations" and many others, the songs are still good enough to keep the listener content, as well as coming back for future spins.
Most of those repetitive faults seem to stem at and past the half-way point of the album. As stated, "The Enemy of My Enemy" is simply a crushing track from start to finish, but it's not the only more unique song of the release. The first real song of the album, "Into the Blind World", is a much faster track that has a technical aspect rather unique to the rest, almost breathing more of a groove basis similar to their earlier material then that of the earlier mentioned Meshuggah brand of technical and groove Metal. "The Sin of Sodomy", however, is where that technical blueprint starts to get mimicked, though this song is easily one of the heaviest and fastest tracks off the recording, and well worth giving some serious attention because of it.
From "Into the Blind World" to the monstrously abusive closing track "The Living Sacrifice", Legacy of Ashes is a strong album that's only fault is that the band seems to employ the same kind of technical guitar work, and a lack of slower tracks. It's clear the band has finally settled on one Death Metal approach, and they perform that style with ease, or so it would appear on this release. Despite it's faults, there's plenty of reasons to come back for repeat spins later on, as the music is simply intimidating and crushing, while being addictive at the same time. Legacy of Ashes proves to be an album well worth checking out, and if you're new to Sinister, it's a great jump on point to experience the more established sound of the band.
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