Andrew Danso

DeEvolution wants to be more intellectual and zany, than it does heavy and ballsy - but to little surprise it pulls apart on both substances. On the one hand you have gifted musicianship, with the guitars being used more as weapons by means of free hand arpeggio sweeping at every gasp for air, or to bridge a gap before a chorus kicks in. And on the other you have song structure and a vocal to bed in, that if planned and executed correctly, will make theses tracks feel as if they’ve got substantial depth, and not just the shallow fancy bonnet. There are almost two sides to everything in life, and thus the obvious con which follows technical brilliance is the disregard for heart. Cynthesis bold technical exploits serve to highlight that beyond the shredding, and fancy drum rolls, they don’t have much else to say.

The problem with DeEvolution is that Cynthesis haven’t been honest with themselves. They’ve tried to make this into a progressive package, packed full of thoughtful philosophy, and plotted story telling. But in reality the faux philosophical rambling, is simply a way to break up the instrumental brilliance which the band really want to crack on with. The result is a wooden record, packed full of pompous instrumentation, and no soul to go with its brain.

6/10 PowerPlay issue #133