Syncolima
Move Mountains
Self-Released
When it comes to musical combos, the trio is undoubtedly king. Budgie, Motörhead and Venom are prime examples of bands who create a sound far bigger than their constituent parts, and now you can add Syncolima to that illustrious list. With guitars downtuned and amps cranked up, this Derbyshire crew are taking the stoner template and colouring it with shades of grunge and heavy metal. The result is a beast of a sound, and one that ensures their third album, Move Mountains,stomps like an angry Golem. With no place to hide, each instrument comes to the fore and means that opening track ‘Gluten Free Toast’ gets up close and personal, it’s the musical equivalent of a huge landslide and will have less-than-hardy souls running for cover, yet for those who like their music with plenty of vim and vigour, this is manna from heaven. Featuring eight tracks full of meaty riffs, bombastic basslines and drums that pound the solar plexus, Move Mountains is a riotous cornucopia of all that makes heavy music exciting. Operating within a vast sonic vista, you feel there’s still plenty of musical territory for Syncolima to explore, but for now they’ve produced an album that does exactly what the title suggests.
Review by Peter Dennis.