Solipnosis – Síntesis Silenciosa Review

[Artwork by Trueno de Hera]

You are bewitched! – Candlemass

It has been a good number of years since an album really made my skin crawl. Not just give me goosebumps mind you, but make me feel genuinely uncomfortable while listening to it. Síntesis Silenciosa, the latest from Valdivia, Chile’s progressive/occult black/thrash did just that at first listen. Running the gauntlet between intelligent and barbarically primitive, both musically and metaphysically (to the point where both feel one and the same), the album is a series of non-binary paradoxes that at best can only be described on paper with a series of clues: angles with which to approach the work of someone who has almost certainly eaten a human heart at some point. 

A few points of causal reference:
Sabbat – Karisma
Venom – At War With Satan
Voivod – Dimension Hatröss
Sepultura – Morbid Visions
Slayer – Show No Mercy/Hell Awaits
Reencarnación – Reencarnación
Absu – Tara

A few points of acausal reference:
Sabbat – Karisma
Master’s Hammer – Jilemnický okultista
Deathspell Omega – Fas – Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem, Aeternum
Abigor – Leytmotif Luzifer
A.M.S.G. – Hostis Universi Generis
Dissection – Reinkaos
Absu – Tara

Síntesis Silenciosa is simultaneously reverent and forward-thinking, achieving a higher understanding of intricate complexities and contradictions without removing itself from the animalistic barbarity that keeps it grounded. On its surface, it’s premium South American satanik alcoholik thrashing madness, yet behind the veil of insanity a coiled serpent lurks patiently in the shadows. The work demands a focused listen to appreciate its complexity, its layers, its attention to detail–yet it’s still one hell of a skull-whipping “album” (perhaps the term “ritual” is actually appropriate here) as it carries on the crude, chaotic tradition of witching metal with a blazing torch into something bizarrely fascinating–like being mesmerized by the hypnotic danger of a cobra.

According to band mastermind Gabriel “Centavri” Gallardo, the 36-minute self-described EP is meant to serve as a stepping stone between albums for the band. In that regard, Síntesis Silenciosa is a confident, loosely tied combat boot on a razor-thin high-wire stretching over unfathomable hells of progressive purgatory. It’s a tall order to continue to walk such a balance without falling off into the deep ends of overcooked, overthought wankery or–perhaps worse–mindless meandering and purposeless experimentation. Only time will tell whether or not Centavri can walk through these flames on the journey to creating his Great Work. In some ways, he already has, as the EP itself is a masterful expression on Solipnosis’ own terms: It’s a much sharper, more focused blade than the band’s already impressive and unique approach on prior efforts, and a gleaming beacon of black light and potential for the future of the project–wherever that may lead. Perhaps that’s the final contradiction of Síntesis Silenciosa: it’s simultaneously satisfying, yet leaves with so many mysteries and an unquenchable thirst for more: the inexplicable desire to lock eyes with a serpent.

I am bewitched.