Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Sinister - Diabolical Summoning (1993)

Probably one of the most under-appreciated death metal bands in the world, Sinister have been plying their trade for over thirty years.  Whilst not consistent in their output for a number of years, they actually set a firm foundation for themselves in the early 90's with their first three albums carving out quite a name for the Dutch death metallers.  With sophomore releases being the trickiest of any discography the band built on the success of their debut (which I vaguely recall) and whilst they did not necessarily better it they maintained that great trajectory going into their 1993 release.

For the uninitiated with Sinister, think Deicide, Malevolent Creation and the less predictable elements of early Cannibal Corpse and you are in the right mindset.  They play that rabid death metal that I associate with the first two Deicide albums but possess a knack for delivering more structure to their riffing like CC did when they paused for breath.  Opener Sadistic Intent is a CC like banger of an opener that straight away embeds deep foundations for what follows as Mike van Mastrigt's vocals take no time in bellowing their presence from the off.

He is backed up by a great set of musicians also. Andre Tolhuizen is a riffing machine who can fire his fair share of sonics when required and the percussive talents of drummer Aad Kloosterwaard are of the highest standard you would expect in the death metal world of the early 90's.  Lost somewhere in the maelstrom is the bass of Bart van Wallenberg but it makes regular appearances out of the churning chaos of most tracks to let you know it is still there with the occasional echo of its rumble just audible around the periphery of proceedings.

Highlights?  The relentless riffing of the title track will have any fan of death metal beaming from ear-to-ear for sure.  The looming build of Leviathan is a pleasure to behold before it descends into rampant madness and the seemingly endless energy of Sadistic Intent all benchmark what this album has to offer.  You simply could not ask for a better example of prime 90's death metal.  Sinister knew their stuff and it showed brilliantly at this stage of their career.