Sinister has been a part of the Dutch metal scene for almost 20 years. With numerous line-up changes under their belt it is hard to keep track who’s who in the band these days. Former drummer Aad Kloosterwaard has been on vocals on the last couple of albums and he’s the only original member left. That being said, very little has changed in the way Sinister played their death metal. They never went down the same road as Gorefest or Pestilence and remained brutal. This much to the satisfaction of hardcore death metal fans. The Silent Howling is another Sinister chapter unleashed upon mankind.

 

On the previous albums there was a sense of an own style, certainly in the days when Mike van Mastrigt was handling vocal duties. Hailed once as the European answer to Deicide, now I sense some Machine Head influences in their songs like ‘The Kill to Come’. It contains a riff that is very similar to their song ‘Davidian’.

They also tend to have a more melodic way of playing, there are a number of clean sounding riffs that could have easily been on a Metallica album. On the previous album, Afterburner, there were already hints of this new musical direction.
 

I think old school fans will be slightly upset by this, but it would be unfair to label The Silent Howling as a total disappointment. The seven tracks boast all the trademarks of a noteworthy death metal release. Recorded in the Soundlodge Studio in Germany it has a crystal clear production. Because of the average length of the songs, its title track runs over 10 minutes long, the album has a hard time to constantly grab my attention. I don’t want to say that it is boring, but I know these guys can do better. Diabolical Summoning and Hate are a testimony to that.