Sin Theta – Sin Theta – EP Review

Newcastle’s Sin Theta specialise in progressive thrash and progressive thrash (often with more emphasis on the prog than the thrash) is exactly what they deliver on their damn fine, self-titled, debut EP!

The middle-eastern, mantra-esque, chants which provide the backbone of Sin Theta’s “Intro” builds anticipation before the likes of the aggressive “Nefarious”, with its mid-tempo stomp and Hetfield-esque downpicking, crushes all in its path. “Thy Bloody Kingdom, Thy Bloody Deeds” then proves itself to be a ferocious mix of Nuclear Assault meets Pantera, which fully satisfies a metal lovers penchant for pile-driving grooves and blistering pace.“Obsolescence”is then a meaty semi-ballad that drives ferocious grooves into your gut – while tickling your cerebrals with plenty of progressive metal flourishes  – and expertly builds apprehension and expectation via a Nevermore-esque haunting intro. It’s a monster of a metal track that stomps and growls its way through 5 and a half minutes of prime metal sounds and is Sin Theta‘s undoubted highlight.

With thunderous percussion, soaring solos and versatile vocals recalling the classic sounds of Pantera and Metallica (at their most accessible, it must be said), Sin Theta’s overriding power lies in their supreme balance of moody melodic subtlety and awesome, earth-shaking power. Sin Theta is a mathematical term (trigonometry to be precise) and there’s a tri-vector of influences at play here. With thrash, prog metal and groove metal perfectly balanced, Sin Theta are also perfectly poised to deliver a monumental debut album.

These guys are fantastic musicians, pure and simple, and with the likes of Marc Jackson behind the kit (current Acid Reign, ex M-Pire Of Evil), Guy Laverick handling guitars (Chaos Theory) and Craig Elliott on bass (Def Con One), this is a band with a lot of bite and plenty of pedigree. 8/10