ALBUM REVIEW: The Poisoner – Sanhedrin

Following on from the release of their debut full length record back in 2017, SANHEDRIN have returned with their second album The Poisoner. The trio from Brooklyn, New York, have been together since 2015, when they released their self-titled EP, and have maintained their current lineup since day one.

Kicking things off for The Poisoner is Meditation (All My Gods Are Gone). The intro builds up fairly gradually through the guitars of Jeremy Sosville, and maintains a steady tempo as front woman and bassist Erica Stoltz delivers a strong vocal performance. There’s nothing overly complicated in the sound as SANHEDRIN stick to good old fashioned heavy metal, and put together a strong opening track.

While the opening track is fairly steady in terms of its pace and has more of a gentle rhythm to it, the following song Wind On The Storm picks up the pace and the bass becomes more prominent throughout. Stoltz is even more powerful with her vocals in this one as the track goes more down the thrash road, and the riffs and solos become more complex to really fit in with the change of pace.

The Poisoner‘s title track features right in the middle of the album, and embraces another change of pace, slowing the record right down with just the gentle chords setting the scene and the vocal style becoming more melodic. Running for just over seven minutes, The Poisoner lingers in ballad-esque territory before the speed picks back up, and as the track reaches it’s climax the tempo returns to the up-tempo, classic heavy metal style you’ve been hearing for much of the record thus far.

For those looking for something more on the heavy scale, your prayers are answered with The Getaway which right from the off delivers some absolutely bone crushing riffs and really gets you headbanging within the opening seconds. It gives an air of that classic heavy metal sound we’ve all come to love and is an excellent all-rounder for heavy metal. There are only eight tracks on this record, which really is enough to get a sense of what SANHEDRIN are all about. There’s enough to cater for those who are more casual listeners of heavy metal as well as those veterans who venture more into the subgenres, and the band have done well to incorporate the vast majority of those elements into the album.

Each of The Poisoner‘s songs is different enough that they can all be easily distinguished, while showcasing the talent of the trio and how they are able to adapt to the different aspects each genre throws at them. The Poisoner is an album with a lot of promise and certainly has the potential to make the world sit up and pay attention to SANHEDRIN.

Rating: 8/10

The Poisoner is out now via Cruz Del Sur Music. 

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