A sparkling gem in the metal world - After my most recent listen, I can safely conclude that this cd belongs at the top of anyone s list of technical metal bands. In my opinion, there is simply no comparing other bands to the beautiful concoction of metal that is Extol. Here s why:Synergy has THE most terrifyingly complex guitar riffs I ve ever heard. I really cannot describe it. You just have to buy it and find out for yourself. I cannot stress enough how amazingly good the guitar and bass trio of Extol is. As a guitarist myself, I have yet to hear any one who can match these guys right hand dexterity with palm muting/tremolo picking. It is absolutely sick. Between the Buried and Me, Dillenger Escape Plan, Death, Cynic, Alarum, Spastic Ink, Spiral Architect, Nile, and all the other Tech Metal heavies...as amazing as they all are, the progressiveness of Synergy surpasses all and utterly obliterates most of them.Synergy truly takes the cliche of organized chaos and makes it a reality. The guitar duo and bass somehow managed to pull off the most stunningly jagged, angular, chromatic, polytonal, and crunching guitar riffs and seamlessly melded them with an almost scary sense of musicality. Before I said the word musicality everyone probably thought of Dillenger Escape Plan or Between the Buried and Me. Don t think of them as a Dillenger or BTBAM. BTBAM s riffs pale in complexity when compared to those on Synergy. And I m not just saying that to be a jerk. I actually love BTBAM, but for the sake of this review...their riffs don t hold a candle to the ones on this cd.But Extol didn t just put on the Progressive helmet and go full steam ahead to make something that is purely cerebral. Intertwined between, within, and amongst the slaying riffs are beautiful, fresh, singable melodies, choruses, leads, and even a few solos (Ole Borud plays one of the best and most melodic solos I have ever heard on Track 3).This cd is as fresh, musical, heavy, and tasty as it is complex and cerebral...which is why I think Extol s Synergy is the ultimate realization of what bands like Dillenger Escape Plan and company are trying to accomplish. Its almost jazz-like in its balance of dissonance and beauty...or tension and resolution. An amazing cd that, along with Undeceived, belongs at the pinnacle spot of technical death metal. I originally got into metal because of the stunning musicianship of Extol, and I search constantly for new bands both secular and Christian...but none of them can hang with Extol in my opinion. This CD is the Sound of Perseverance of Christian metal. And I think any metalhead should have both Undeceived and Synergy in their collection.
Christian rocker chick - Are you kidding me!?Duh Extol is five stars... what kind of question is that? Not only is Extol s music THE BEST, they re Norwegian!!! I love Norway!!!They re guitar is amazing and also they spread the great word of God to us headbanger chicks and dudes out here!!! Extol Forever!!!!!!!!
Just depends on how you look at, I guess. - I m not really going to say much about this cd. If you liked Undeceived or Burial and you that this album will continue in the same vain and will not listen to it unless it is death metal or black metal, than this cd is not for you. Instead, this is what you would call technical thrash, and from what I have heard from others it sounds like somewhat like the old band Beleiver. So if you like technical metal of any kind or just open minded about what kind of music you listen to, than try this out. You might just like it.I did.
QUINTEESENTIAL PROGRESSIVE DEATH METAL!!! - Synergy is a pinnacle album for extol and the fulfillment of the progressive metal ideal. Even Chuck Schuldiner would be proud of this album (if you don t know who he is, then you really have no business commenting on this genre, much less submitting a written review of this album). Many have criticized the decreased vocal variation in Synergy from previous Extol albums. I find that the shift away from the use of black metal elements in song writing and vocal enhancement immerses this album deeper in the realm of progressive death. The instrumental technicality and song arrangements speak for themselves with the fine vocals tastefully melting the sounds together for a master work. As an Extol fan and lover of heavy and progressive metal, I am always keeping an ear out for that brutal sound which is both listenable and boggling to the ear. While listening to this album you will many times slap your friend on the back saying, My goodness!!! Did you just hear that . . . what they just did?? This disk is a must buy for Believer and Death fans!
Great metal from the Norwiegan metal band - First of all, I have to tell you that I m very strict. I only give cd s 5 s if the completely deserve it. I would have given this like a 4.8 but this site doesn t have that. Okay, this is great music. At first when I heard it I didn t like it very much. It has very unusual guitar riffs and it has very fast paced songs. I m not used to this very much. Usually I listen to lighter stuff like Blindside or POD. So the first time I heard it my ears were totally thrown off. On my first listen I liked Blueprint Dives a lot better, I still like it better, but this is close. Here is what I think of the songs:Grace For Succession: 4.5/5 On my first listen this was one of the only songs that I liked. It has a lot of singing (well, a lot compared to the rest of the songs) and the guitar riffs aren t too strange. One thing I didn t like was that the second verse was too short. Pretty good song.Paradigms: 4/5 Not quite as good as Grace For Succession. I like the way that this song starts though. It s still pretty good.Psychopath: 4/5 Okay, this song is still growing on me. It has extremely strange guitar riffs, and this kind of wierd talking at the beginning. It has a good guitar solo in the middle, and it s a good song, but you probably won t like it at first.Blood Red Cover: 5/5 This is one of the only songs on the cd that they actually repeat the chorus more than twice. I really like the guitar work in the beginning of the song too. Altogether, a great song.26 Miles From Marathon: 5/5 I love this song. It also has very strange guitars but the guitars took a lot of talent to play and put together like they did it on this song. Great song!Confession of Inadequancy: 3.5/5 I didn t know quite how to spell the title so sorry if it s wrong. Even though I rated this song lower than the rest of the songs so far it s still good. I love the singing in this song.Scrape the Surface: 5/5 This and 26 Miles From Marathon are probably my favorite songs on the cd. This song doesn t exactly have screaming or growling. It just has Peter doing this wierd thing. Really good.Thrash Synergy: 3.5/5 Extremely fast paced, and it s actually a long song. My biggest complaint about this song is the bridge. It s really long and kind of boring.Aperture: 4/5 The first time I listened to this cd I was so glad when it got to this song. I was like, oh finally a break. I still like it when I listen to the cd all the way through, it is just a short break.Emancipation: 4/5 Really good guitars at the beginning. The rest of the song is pretty good too.Nihilism 2002: 4.5/5 Another extremely fast paced song. The best thing about this is the minute long guitar solo that it ends with. An awesome way to end this great album.SO BUY THIS ALBUM NOW!(By the way, all you old Extol fans, this is still good music, it s just different. Pretend like it s a different band and you ll love it)