Album Review: Sijjeel - Affiliation Of Horrid Containment
Reviewed by Dan Phipps
It's fairly common for bands to toy with their sound from one album to the next, and it's also extremely common for new ideas and sounds to be used within the craft of a new release. However having those new sounds and ideas fit into what the act is creating and having it fit seamlessly is always the challenge. Yet this challenge is what Sijjeel have set themselves with the release of the bands sophomore release Affiliation of Horrid Containment.
Sijjeel created an extremely well written debut record of sold brutal death metal. It had all the makings of what I feel makes the style special and within Affiliation of Horrid Containment I really hear how the band have looked to expand on the sound and bring more into it. You hear a really dark side of the band, I hear alot of really sinister sounding harmonies within the writing and they are right there slap band in your face, saying here we are, we will pummel you with brutality and make the experience a more uneasy experience whilst doing it.
That's what I feel really helps this stand out, we have not lost the intensity of what Sijjeel showcased on Salvation Within Insanity yet they have also learnt that variation and challenging yourself to expand on what you bring to life with your art are as an important aspect of brutal death metal are as important as just ripping your listeners face off especially when it comes to a follow up record. Production wise front man Floor who operates GLDCHN studios does a superb job in ensuring the record is clear yet not super clean, which is why alot of those harmonies really stand out. If the release was a super slick sounding record I feel that would have been lost. This also helps showcase why Floor is in high demand for his work.
Affiliation of Horrid Containment is a really high level release. It might take a few listens to really take it all in as there is lots going on throughout the record and even myself needed to really sit back and take in everything being brought to me on this record. It's dark, it's brutal, it has some savage riffs, clean drum programming, a nice punchy bass and some nasty ass vocals. What more could you want right?
