Revisionist – ***
Lost Crown – ***
Enemy Victorian – ***
You Thy ____ – **
Sinking Forward -**
Atrium – ***
Empty Harbor – ****
Mint Drive – **
False Pass – ***

Sannhet are a three piece, Brooklyn based, instrumental metal band, no really.  It’s weird, listening to metal without a screaming banshee with a beard at the helm, I’m thinking Lemmy or very cool dude from Metallica, etc. but it is it odd.  I’m not sure if it is because I’m listening with headphones that the event is quite overwhelming and yet unfulfilling but the absence of vocals leaves you waiting for meaning and an insight into the song, why would a track be called ‘You Thy____’ if there are no lyrics to frame the title?

So I’m left groping around for words to use for each song and therefore comparing the sound to more familiar tones.  Unfortunately I’m not a metal-head so metal comparisons are few and far between and Death Metal from Metallica is about as deep as I’m going to get. Don’t have a go at me if Metallica aren’t Metal, (they are aren’t they?) but I did see them at Glastonbury last year and that’s what I call metal, as the album series says!

In the end I’m left with names like Bauhaus, the wonderful Jesus and Mary Chain and Killing Joke as comparisons and ways of describing the echoing guitars and grungy ‘1984’ Orwellian feel to some of the tracks (Mint Drive, False Pass, etc.).  My highpoint on the album is ‘Empty Harbor’ (Brooklyn based remember) which is the first pause in a rather intense period up until the track which peaks up to that point with ‘Lost Crown’.  ‘Empty Harbor’ pulses into life and builds to a crescendo of echoing  guitars, similar to those guitars in ‘Love like Blood’ by the aforementioned Killing Joke.

I quite like this album though, it is thoughtfully constructed and nicely produced.  I could have imagined a car crash of sound and a headache from this but it is well layered for my headphoned ears.  I’m certainly going to delve into their début album ‘Known Flood’ and I’ll be on the look-out for news of Morrissey joining these guys at a future date!

Released Mar 2015