Sijjin - Sumerian Promises • GRIMM Gent

Sijjin is a three-piece band featuring former members of the German black/death/doom outfit Necros Christos. Shortly after announcing the sudden split, Malte Gericke (bass, vocals), Ekaitz Garmendia (guitars), and Iván Hernández (drums) formed a new band in 2019 under the banner of Sijjin. With only one demo output “Angel of the Eastern Gate” released independently, the trio gained confidence and signed a worldwide deal with the German underground label Sepulchral Voice Records. Although the musicians have cultivated their experiences in the fields of black and doom metal in the past, they have managed to shift their sound into a hybrid form of old school death/thrash metal. “Sumerian Promises” marks the beginning of this promising collaboration, musically embodying the brutal sound of death/thrash metal whereby the trio creates an authentic style of the early eighties death metal. Sijjin, an Arabic word meaning “Prison”, explores a varied style of underground extreme metal specifically when death metal and thrash metal were intertwined.

The debut album sees the trio developing a cult persona, the songs are gritty and full of frantic tempos. The swift lightning solos and the savage brutality of old-school metal are mainly achieved by individual talents. There are clear influences from bands like Sadus, and Morbid Angel. The dynamic framework and the riffing structure highlight the fundamental roots as you will come across some straightforward barbaric aggression. The album opener “Daemon Blessex” is chock full of hammering drums and fast thrashing riffs, striking a perfect balance between sinister growls. The sleek transition from mid-paced tempo to staccato-picked riffs draws a great symmetry of the rhythm and the throaty death metal growls.

“Dagger of A Thousand Deaths” flows with creepy occult Sumerian rhythms whereas the drums offer an entire range of double bass, keeping the tempo highly destructive and organic. Raw death metal growls are bolstered by the powerful twisted riffs churning into a tempest maelstrom. The solos on the album are rife and they evoke the style of Trey Azagthoth of Morbid Angel, bringing chaos and fury in gripping motions. Across the forty-six minutes, Sijjin shows great levels of intensity, most of the songs are generally fast the layered guitars, and the drums offer a wide scale of brutality. “Those Who Wait To Enter” sounds extremely hellish and the riffs are atonally derived from bands like Possessed, Slayer, and Sadus.

“Sumerian Promises” delivers an incredible performance from the trio who have nailed primitive extreme sound on the debut. The album title track is a fast-paced track allowing the rhythm guitar to take full effect thus achieving a strong musical prowess. While the styling here is nowhere close to Necros Christos, Sijjin focuses on the riffing structure, the tremolo-picked riffs are utilized to increase the intensity of the songs. “Angel Of The Eastern Gate” shows the drumming skills of Ivàn Hernández, who delivers a sustainable burst of machine-gun blast beats. The lyrics are imbued in the Sumerian mythology and the chilling instrumental interlude “Hunting the Lizard” deeply draws the alchemy of the paranormal occult.

“Unchain the Ghost” infuses solid aggression with death/thrash metal riffs, the armory is equipped to the teeth. The drumming utilizes dynamic beats in the mid-tempo where the guitars explode with the lightning bolt solos and sharp atonal riffs that sound groovy as hell. “Darkness on Saqqara” is a chaotic fast-paced track dominated by the frenetic energy of the drums, Sijjin is quite adepts at exploiting their strength bludgeoning the listener with savage riffs. There is a natural crossover between death and thrash metal that doesn’t sound too excessive, thus allowing the songs to shift gears in a furious savage motion.

Despite the repetitive riffs the band has managed to write some catchy and authentic songs, the flawless instrumentation and songwriting makes tracks like “White Mantras Bleed From Black Magic” shine as one of the highlights of the album. The song maintains a frenetic pace and the tremolo section adds blazing effect to this outstanding track! The scorching melodies are combined with powerful drums and they seemingly flow with the main powerful riff. “Outer Chambers of Entity” attains to the solid riffing structure with groovy tempo flowing seamlessly where the drums unleash a whirlwind of blast beats leaving you dazzled by the sheer power.

In the album’s closure “Condemned by Primal Contact”, the drums spur into a gallop and the guitars firmly grasp the reign of the crushing drums, bringing some lethal dosage of Morbid Angel and Sadus. Sijjin’s full-length debut album is an outstanding release, which feels truly fresh and inspired by the old classics of death and thrash metal. This comes as highly recommended for fans of the early wave of death and thrash metal.