Here at Me Gusta Reviews we get quite a few requests from lesser known bands – most of which are unsigned – and while most of them are mediocre, we do get the occasional one that surprises us. The latest to do so is a four-piece progressive metalcore band which goes by the moniker ‘Sacred Serenity’ and hails from Spring City, Pennsylvania. Their full-length album entitled Synapse was released earlier in 2012 on June 30th.
Sacred Serenity draws influences from many bands in several different genres and it’s quite noticeable on Synapse. Instrumentally, it sounds like a mix of Soilwork and In Flames with breakdowns that are very reminiscent of August Burns Red and Veil Of Maya. The riffing is somewhat standard for the most part, however, there are spectacular leads and/or solos heard on every track, but to a greater extent on “The Disgrace Of Man”, “20th At Midnight”, and my personal favourite, “The Last Of Us”. Also, the intro to start the album on “What We’ve Become” features a fantastic acoustic guitar.
It’s hard to pin down the vocals and try to make a connection between a few bands because the range is pretty wide and the style is fairly unique. The mid-to-low raspy vocals sound a bit like Bury Tomorrow and they are very strong. The highs are also pretty strong, but they could use a bit of work. On the other hand, the cleans heard throughout the album are a very nice touch and probably my favourite part of the entire album. The other two aspects, the drumming and bass, are good, though the drumming near the end of “The Last Of Us” is incredible. I wish that there were more moments like that because it’s obvious that the drummer is very talented. Similar to the drummer, the bassist doesn’t have very many moments. With that being said, he does a solid job keeping everything extra tight by laying down some nice basslines to fit with the rest of the music.
All-in-all, Synapse impressed me greatly. From the first note to the last, it was a very fun listen although it could have used a bit more variety on the kit. In addition to more variety on the kit, it would be nice to continue to hear clean vocals on future releases because they are exceptional.
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