Sonic Syndicate
Encyclopedia
Sonic Syndicate is a melodic death metal
band from Falkenberg
, Sweden
. They are influenced by Swedish melodic death metal
bands such as In Flames
, Soilwork
and metalcore
bands like Killswitch Engage
..
The band was founded by brothers Richard and Roger Sjunnesson, their cousin Robin Sjunnesson and friends Andreas Mårtensson (keyboards
),Magnus Svensson (bass) and Kristoffer Backlund (drums).
As of today the band consists of British singer Nathan J. Biggs, bass player Karin Axelsson, drummer John Bengtsson and cousin guitarists Roger and Robin Sjunnesson. The band is currently on hiatus.
in 2005. Bassist Karin Axelsson replaced Svensson in 2004 before the band changed its name to Sonic Syndicate and released its debut studio album
, Eden Fire
. Eden Fire would go on to sell over 10,000 copies by the end of 2010 because of a re-release through Koch Distribution in the USA in collaboration with France's Listenable Records.
The band toured extensively throughout Sweden in support of Eden Fire, alongside such bands as Avatar. In early February 2006, during their tour with Avatar, both drummer Kristoffer Bäcklund and keyboardist Andreas Mårtensson were asked to leave the band due to lack of interest and musical differences. Kristoffer was replaced by John Bengtsson, whilst lead guitarist Roger Sjunnesson took over on keyboards. 2006 also saw the arrival of Roland Johansson as a permanent member. The band completed the tour, then began demoing new material in early March.
. They sent in their self-titled demo Sonic Syndicate, which included early preproduction versions of the songs "Psychic Suicide," "Blue Eyed Fiend," "Callous" and the album version of "Jailbreak." Out of over 1,500 competing bands, Sonic Syndicate was chosen as one of three winners and offered a new recording contract with the label. In November 2006, they entered Black Lounge Studios to record their follow-up to Eden Fire with Jonas Kjellgren
of Scar Symmetry
. The new album was titled Only Inhuman
and was released on May 18, 2007. A video was made for the lead single, "Denied," with renowned producer Patric Ullaeus
.
The singers of Sonic Syndicate, Richard Sjunnesson and Roland Johansson, also sang for a compilation album, called Nuclear Blast All-Stars: Out of the Dark
with Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers
. The band played at the 2007 Wacken Open Air
Festival. Sonic Syndicate played several European festivals and, in the winter of 2007, accompanied Amon Amarth
as they toured stateside. The band also participated in the "Darkness over X-Mas Tour" with Caliban
and Heaven Shall Burn
, and toured extensively across Europe with Dark Tranquillity and Soilwork.
In late November 2007, the Swedish newcomers embarked on a tour with Himsa and Amon Amarth. Later in 2008, they toured with Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish
.
named Karin Axelsson the "Hottest Chicks in Metal". Love and Other Disasters was released in September 2008. The first single, "Jack of Diamonds", is accompanied by a video again from Patric Ullaeus who has directed all of the band's videos. Not long after, the second single "My Escape" would follow up, also accompanied by a video from Patric Ullaeus. At the end of the year, the band toured Germany and Scandinavia, and released the singles "Power Shift" and "Contradiction" directed by Marius Böttcher of Quent Film.
On March 30, 2009, it was confirmed that singer Roland Johansson would quit the band because of personal reasons. A search for a replacement immediately went underway, whilst Roland stayed in the band until August 29, the day of his last show with the band at the Geuzenpop Festival in Enschede
, The Netherlands (five days after Nathan J. Biggs was announced as the new singer).
On October 13, Roland Johansson told on an interview that the reason of leaving Sonic Syndicate was the anxiety he felt and the dislike of the lifestyle having to tour all around the world and not being able to spend much time with his loved ones. He also shared that he and Jesper Strömblad (formerly of In Flames
) are currently working on an unnamed project and will start recording an album in the beginning of 2010, although as of April 2011 there has still been no sign of any material from the two.
, recorded at Bohus Sound Studios in Kungälv, Sweden. Reports on the recording process were published on the band's RockSpot blog. On March 5, the band announced that the title for the new album would be called We Rule the Night. The album was originally scheduled to be released on May 28, 2010 but was later reset to July 30, 2010. The release date was again pushed back and the album was released on August 28, 2010.
The first single from the album is "Revolution, Baby." It appeared first on May 5 on Bandit Rock Radio and was then released to iTunes on May 7. On April 16, the video shoot for the music video took place. The director for the shoot was again director Patric Ullaeus. The video was released on May 17.
On June 3, Sonic Syndicate traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden and began shooting the music video for the second single "My Own Life" with Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company. The single debuted on Bandit Radio on June 18, 2010 and was released as a digital single. On June 12, 2010, the band appeared on the Ronnie James Dio stage at UK's Download Festival 2010
. On July 1, 2010, Nuclear Blast and Guthenborg TV released the making of the music video for "My Own Life."
The single "Turn It Up" was released on August 22, 2010, followed by the album We Rule the Night on August 27, 2010. During the filming of "Turn It Up," Karin Axelsson was reportedly "seriously injured." Axelsson was hit over the head with a guitar during an act of staged violence, causing a laceration and a brain concussion. Axelsson later made a "brilliant" recovery. On September 29, the video was released but it was banned on most websites due to its graphic content and it also got their Facebook
page deleted by Facebook themselves. Eventually a censored video of the song was released.
On October 26. 2010, it was announced that Richard would take a break from touring for personal reasons and to spend time with his family. His replacement will be Christoffer Andersson. However, on October 28, Richard corrected this statement on his blog that his leave was permanent and not temporary due to creative differences. He claims that the band's label (Nuclear Blast
) are responsible for changing the musical direction of the band. Even with Richard leaving permanently, Andersson will not be his permanent replacement due to other commitments. Richard went onto form The Unguided
with other former Sonic Syndicate members and has also joined melodic death metal band Faithful Darkness.
On September 2011, Roger stated in an interview (in swedish) that the band would be taking a break after the summer. Roger will concentrate on The Unguided
, Nathan will be staying in Finland with his new girlfriend and has also begun reviewing music for Metal Hammer
, John has recently married and will return home and is also working with The Unguided, Robin has moved to Stockholm and Karin will begin studying .
and In Flames
. Eden Fire featured clean vocals on some tracks as well as some occasional female vocals from bass player Karin Axelsson.
Their second album Only Inhuman
had many new additions to the band's sound. Clean vocals were now a full-time feature (by this point, the band had two vocalists rather than one) and the band began to include metalcore elements into their music. It also included the band's first recorded ballad ("Enclave"). Love and Other Disasters featured less "flashy" synths (mostly strings) and mostly slower songs than before and was commercially more successful than Only Inhuman and Eden Fire.
Their 2009 EP Burn This City featured two songs. The title track was radio friendly with mostly clean vocals and synthesizers while the song "Rebellion In Nightmareland" had a somewhat similar sound to Eden Fire and Only Inhuman being very aggressive in dynamic and having both clean vocals and screams lead together.
Their fourth album We Rule the Night is a very diverse album compared to all their prior releases as it includes their trademark sound of metalcore
and melodic death metal
, but also incorporates new ones to their style such as pop metal, nu metal
, industrial metal
, hard rock
and alternative metal
. There is also a fair use of acoustic guitars
as well as mainstream-influenced synthesizers. Clean vocals are also featured as the lead vocals compared to their previous albums were both harsh and clean vocals were leading together; on We Rule the Night, however, the harsh vocals have been mixed behind layers of distorted guitars, acoustic guitars and mainstream synthesizers, and the clean vocals were left untouched to appeal to a younger, more mainstream audience.
From the beginning to Love and Other Disasters, all of Sonic Syndicate's songs were written by lead guitarist/keyboardist Roger (music) and harsh vocalist Richard Sjunnesson (lyrics) with the exception of "Enclave," where the music was written by other (rhythm) guitarist Robin Sjunnesson and clean singer Roland Johansson. Robin and Roland together wrote the music to about five songs on Love and Other Disasters, with the rest by Roger and all the lyrics as normal were written by Richard. Burn This City and We Rule The Night, however, featured a second lyricist (new singer Nathan J. Biggs) as well as Robin now composing half the music for Sonic Syndicate. This is thought to be one of many things that made We Rule the Night different from their early material.
. Sonic Syndicate, along with Patric Ullaeus, won the award for best music video for their music video of "Burn This City" in 2010 at the Swedish Metal Awards. They also nominated and won the award for "Best Swedish Group" at the Bandit Rock Awards
of 2010. In 2010, Sonic Syndicate was were nominated for "Up and Coming!" award at the Metal Hammer
Awards in Germany.
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
band from Falkenberg
Falkenberg
Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 18,972 inhabitants in 2005.The town has a population of 19,000 and is located at the mouth of the river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish words for falcon and mountain...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. They are influenced by Swedish melodic death metal
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
bands such as In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
, Soilwork
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
and metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
bands like Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...
..
The band was founded by brothers Richard and Roger Sjunnesson, their cousin Robin Sjunnesson and friends Andreas Mårtensson (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
),Magnus Svensson (bass) and Kristoffer Backlund (drums).
As of today the band consists of British singer Nathan J. Biggs, bass player Karin Axelsson, drummer John Bengtsson and cousin guitarists Roger and Robin Sjunnesson. The band is currently on hiatus.
Formation and Eden Fire (2002-2006)
Before Sonic Syndicate, the brothers Richard and Roger and their cousin Robin Sjunnesson played in a heavy-metal-orientated band called Tunes of Silence, which was formed in 2000, in their teens. In 2002, the brothers of eventually decided to break away from the band in order to focus on various other aspects of music. This led to the forming of Fallen Angels in 2002 together with Andreas Mårtensson, Magnus Svensson and Kristoffer Backlund. They recorded three demo albums, Fall From Heaven, Black Lotus, and Extinction before signing with Pivotal RockordingsPivotal Rockordings
Pivotal Rockordings LLC is a record label that was founded in December 2004 by start-up businessman Leevan Macomeau who a year prior had founded the Pivotal Rage Webzine and one of its staff members, Alexi Front....
in 2005. Bassist Karin Axelsson replaced Svensson in 2004 before the band changed its name to Sonic Syndicate and released its debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Eden Fire
Eden Fire
Eden Fire is the debut album by Swedish melodic death metal band Sonic Syndicate. It is their first and only album to be released through the American record label, Pivotal Rockordings. The album was recorded and mixed at Studiomega from February 2005 to June 2005 by Christian Silver and Manne...
. Eden Fire would go on to sell over 10,000 copies by the end of 2010 because of a re-release through Koch Distribution in the USA in collaboration with France's Listenable Records.
The band toured extensively throughout Sweden in support of Eden Fire, alongside such bands as Avatar. In early February 2006, during their tour with Avatar, both drummer Kristoffer Bäcklund and keyboardist Andreas Mårtensson were asked to leave the band due to lack of interest and musical differences. Kristoffer was replaced by John Bengtsson, whilst lead guitarist Roger Sjunnesson took over on keyboards. 2006 also saw the arrival of Roland Johansson as a permanent member. The band completed the tour, then began demoing new material in early March.
Only Inhuman (2006-2007)
In the summer of 2006, the band entered into a contest held by Nuclear BlastNuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...
. They sent in their self-titled demo Sonic Syndicate, which included early preproduction versions of the songs "Psychic Suicide," "Blue Eyed Fiend," "Callous" and the album version of "Jailbreak." Out of over 1,500 competing bands, Sonic Syndicate was chosen as one of three winners and offered a new recording contract with the label. In November 2006, they entered Black Lounge Studios to record their follow-up to Eden Fire with Jonas Kjellgren
Jonas Kjellgren
Jonas Kjellgren is a Swedish musician and producer, now residing in Grangärde, Sweden. He has played for bands such as Carnal Forge and Dellamorte as their lead vocalist and played guitar for Centinex, Scar Symmetry and bass for October Tide. As a producer, he has worked with bands such as Sonic...
of Scar Symmetry
Scar Symmetry
Scar Symmetry is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Avesta in Dalarna County, formed in 2004. The band has released five albums, with six released singles...
. The new album was titled Only Inhuman
Only Inhuman
Only Inhuman is the second album by the Swedish melodic death metal band, Sonic Syndicate. Released May 18, 2007 in Europe and on May 22, 2007 in North America...
and was released on May 18, 2007. A video was made for the lead single, "Denied," with renowned producer Patric Ullaeus
Patric Ullaeus
Patric Ullaeus is an award winning director, photographer and artist. He is the founder of Revolver Film Company which is based in Sweden.-Videography:2011Patric Ullaeus is an award winning director, photographer and artist...
.
The singers of Sonic Syndicate, Richard Sjunnesson and Roland Johansson, also sang for a compilation album, called Nuclear Blast All-Stars: Out of the Dark
Nuclear Blast All-Stars: Out of the Dark
Out of the Dark is a two disc compilation album from Nuclear Blast Records to commemorate their 20 years as a record label. Produced by Peter Wichers, who is also the only song writer on the album, it features a variable collection of "All Stars" much in the same vein as Roadrunner United...
with Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers
Peter Wichers
Peter Wichers is best known as one of the founding members of Swedish melodic death metal band, Soilwork. From 1995 until late 2005, when he announced his departure from the band, he was known as the lead guitarist and also a songwriter, especially on their Stabbing the Drama album...
. The band played at the 2007 Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
Festival. Sonic Syndicate played several European festivals and, in the winter of 2007, accompanied Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth is a Swedish viking metal band from Tumba, Sweden founded in 1992, and takes its name from the Sindarin translation of Mount Doom, a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, bassist Ted Lundström...
as they toured stateside. The band also participated in the "Darkness over X-Mas Tour" with Caliban
Caliban (band)
Caliban are a five-piece metalcore band from Germany. They have released seven studio albums to-date, and two split albums with the band Heaven Shall Burn.-History:...
and Heaven Shall Burn
Heaven Shall Burn
Heaven Shall Burn is a German heavy metal band from Saalfeld, formed in 1996. They combine an aggressive metal sound with lyrics that show a militant support of anti-racism and fighting social injustice. All members of the band are vegan.-Biography:...
, and toured extensively across Europe with Dark Tranquillity and Soilwork.
In late November 2007, the Swedish newcomers embarked on a tour with Himsa and Amon Amarth. Later in 2008, they toured with Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...
.
Love and Other Disasters (2008-2009)
In March 2008, the band began recording their third release in Jonas Kjellgren's Black Lounge Studios in Avesta. In May 2008, Sonic Syndicate returned to North America as the opening act for Nightwish. In the June 2008, the magazine RevolverRevolver (magazine)
Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
named Karin Axelsson the "Hottest Chicks in Metal". Love and Other Disasters was released in September 2008. The first single, "Jack of Diamonds", is accompanied by a video again from Patric Ullaeus who has directed all of the band's videos. Not long after, the second single "My Escape" would follow up, also accompanied by a video from Patric Ullaeus. At the end of the year, the band toured Germany and Scandinavia, and released the singles "Power Shift" and "Contradiction" directed by Marius Böttcher of Quent Film.
On March 30, 2009, it was confirmed that singer Roland Johansson would quit the band because of personal reasons. A search for a replacement immediately went underway, whilst Roland stayed in the band until August 29, the day of his last show with the band at the Geuzenpop Festival in Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
, The Netherlands (five days after Nathan J. Biggs was announced as the new singer).
On October 13, Roland Johansson told on an interview that the reason of leaving Sonic Syndicate was the anxiety he felt and the dislike of the lifestyle having to tour all around the world and not being able to spend much time with his loved ones. He also shared that he and Jesper Strömblad (formerly of In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
) are currently working on an unnamed project and will start recording an album in the beginning of 2010, although as of April 2011 there has still been no sign of any material from the two.
Burn This City (2009)
On August 24, 2009, British vocalist Nathan James Biggs (formerly of The Hollow Earth Theory) was announced as Roland Johansson's replacement. Sonic Syndicate released an EP called Rebellion featuring two new songs with Nathan on November 6, 2009. The band has also announced that their next studio album would be released in March 2010. On September 25, Sonic Syndicate released their debut single with Nathan entitled "Burn This City" and also began filming a music video for the track on September 10. The music video for "Burn This City" was released on September 25 to coincide with the release of the single. Shortly after the single release, the band began to stream their other new track "Rebellion in Nightmareland," which was released onto the bands Myspace page. As of October 31, the band has begun to tour with Nathan.We Rule the Night (2010–present)
Work on the pre-production of a new album begun on January 3, 2010 under producer Toby WrightToby Wright
Toby Wright is a record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with artists such as Alice in Chains, Metallica, Sevendust and Korn. He is currently in Nashville, Tennessee working on Kara Clark's latest Ep.-Producer:...
, recorded at Bohus Sound Studios in Kungälv, Sweden. Reports on the recording process were published on the band's RockSpot blog. On March 5, the band announced that the title for the new album would be called We Rule the Night. The album was originally scheduled to be released on May 28, 2010 but was later reset to July 30, 2010. The release date was again pushed back and the album was released on August 28, 2010.
The first single from the album is "Revolution, Baby." It appeared first on May 5 on Bandit Rock Radio and was then released to iTunes on May 7. On April 16, the video shoot for the music video took place. The director for the shoot was again director Patric Ullaeus. The video was released on May 17.
On June 3, Sonic Syndicate traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden and began shooting the music video for the second single "My Own Life" with Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company. The single debuted on Bandit Radio on June 18, 2010 and was released as a digital single. On June 12, 2010, the band appeared on the Ronnie James Dio stage at UK's Download Festival 2010
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
. On July 1, 2010, Nuclear Blast and Guthenborg TV released the making of the music video for "My Own Life."
The single "Turn It Up" was released on August 22, 2010, followed by the album We Rule the Night on August 27, 2010. During the filming of "Turn It Up," Karin Axelsson was reportedly "seriously injured." Axelsson was hit over the head with a guitar during an act of staged violence, causing a laceration and a brain concussion. Axelsson later made a "brilliant" recovery. On September 29, the video was released but it was banned on most websites due to its graphic content and it also got their Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page deleted by Facebook themselves. Eventually a censored video of the song was released.
On October 26. 2010, it was announced that Richard would take a break from touring for personal reasons and to spend time with his family. His replacement will be Christoffer Andersson. However, on October 28, Richard corrected this statement on his blog that his leave was permanent and not temporary due to creative differences. He claims that the band's label (Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...
) are responsible for changing the musical direction of the band. Even with Richard leaving permanently, Andersson will not be his permanent replacement due to other commitments. Richard went onto form The Unguided
The Unguided
The Unguided is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Sweden, formed by Richard Sjunnesson, after his departure from Sonic Syndicate. Later, he was joined by Roland Johansson, and current Sonic Syndicate guitarist Roger Sjunnesson and drummer John Bengtsson and current Cipher System bassist...
with other former Sonic Syndicate members and has also joined melodic death metal band Faithful Darkness.
On September 2011, Roger stated in an interview (in swedish) that the band would be taking a break after the summer. Roger will concentrate on The Unguided
The Unguided
The Unguided is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Sweden, formed by Richard Sjunnesson, after his departure from Sonic Syndicate. Later, he was joined by Roland Johansson, and current Sonic Syndicate guitarist Roger Sjunnesson and drummer John Bengtsson and current Cipher System bassist...
, Nathan will be staying in Finland with his new girlfriend and has also begun reviewing music for Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
, John has recently married and will return home and is also working with The Unguided, Robin has moved to Stockholm and Karin will begin studying .
Style and Composition
Originally a melodic death metal band, Sonic Syndicate's style has changed radically over the years. Fallen Angels' demos contained no clean vocals at all and had a similar sound to early Gothenburg bands such as Dark TranquillityDark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene, and are one of the most integral pioneers of the melodic death metal genre of music....
and In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
. Eden Fire featured clean vocals on some tracks as well as some occasional female vocals from bass player Karin Axelsson.
Their second album Only Inhuman
Only Inhuman
Only Inhuman is the second album by the Swedish melodic death metal band, Sonic Syndicate. Released May 18, 2007 in Europe and on May 22, 2007 in North America...
had many new additions to the band's sound. Clean vocals were now a full-time feature (by this point, the band had two vocalists rather than one) and the band began to include metalcore elements into their music. It also included the band's first recorded ballad ("Enclave"). Love and Other Disasters featured less "flashy" synths (mostly strings) and mostly slower songs than before and was commercially more successful than Only Inhuman and Eden Fire.
Their 2009 EP Burn This City featured two songs. The title track was radio friendly with mostly clean vocals and synthesizers while the song "Rebellion In Nightmareland" had a somewhat similar sound to Eden Fire and Only Inhuman being very aggressive in dynamic and having both clean vocals and screams lead together.
Their fourth album We Rule the Night is a very diverse album compared to all their prior releases as it includes their trademark sound of metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
and melodic death metal
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
, but also incorporates new ones to their style such as pop metal, nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
, industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
. There is also a fair use of acoustic guitars
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
as well as mainstream-influenced synthesizers. Clean vocals are also featured as the lead vocals compared to their previous albums were both harsh and clean vocals were leading together; on We Rule the Night, however, the harsh vocals have been mixed behind layers of distorted guitars, acoustic guitars and mainstream synthesizers, and the clean vocals were left untouched to appeal to a younger, more mainstream audience.
From the beginning to Love and Other Disasters, all of Sonic Syndicate's songs were written by lead guitarist/keyboardist Roger (music) and harsh vocalist Richard Sjunnesson (lyrics) with the exception of "Enclave," where the music was written by other (rhythm) guitarist Robin Sjunnesson and clean singer Roland Johansson. Robin and Roland together wrote the music to about five songs on Love and Other Disasters, with the rest by Roger and all the lyrics as normal were written by Richard. Burn This City and We Rule The Night, however, featured a second lyricist (new singer Nathan J. Biggs) as well as Robin now composing half the music for Sonic Syndicate. This is thought to be one of many things that made We Rule the Night different from their early material.
Band members
| (2003) Fall from Heaven Black Lotus |
|
|---|---|
| (2004–2005) Extinction Eden Fire Eden Fire Eden Fire is the debut album by Swedish melodic death metal band Sonic Syndicate. It is their first and only album to be released through the American record label, Pivotal Rockordings. The album was recorded and mixed at Studiomega from February 2005 to June 2005 by Christian Silver and Manne... |
|
| (2006–2009) Only Inhuman Only Inhuman Only Inhuman is the second album by the Swedish melodic death metal band, Sonic Syndicate. Released May 18, 2007 in Europe and on May 22, 2007 in North America... Love and Other Disasters |
|
| (2009–2010) Burn This City We Rule the Night |
|
| (2010–2011) |
|
| (2011–present) |
|
Current members
| Name | Instrument | Membership | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan James Biggs | lead vocals Singing Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... (clean and harsh) |
2009–present | Lyricist Lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:... Former singer of The Hollow Earth Theory |
| Roger Sjunnesson | lead guitar Lead guitar Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... keyboards (studio only) |
2002–present (keys since 2006) |
Composer Composer A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... Also plays in The Unguided The Unguided The Unguided is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Sweden, formed by Richard Sjunnesson, after his departure from Sonic Syndicate. Later, he was joined by Roland Johansson, and current Sonic Syndicate guitarist Roger Sjunnesson and drummer John Bengtsson and current Cipher System bassist... |
| Robin Sjunnesson | rhythm guitar Rhythm guitar Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... harsh vocals (live) |
2002–present (harsh vocals since 2011) |
Composer (since 2009) |
| Karin Axelsson | bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... |
2004–present | Provided female vocals on Eden Fire Eden Fire Eden Fire is the debut album by Swedish melodic death metal band Sonic Syndicate. It is their first and only album to be released through the American record label, Pivotal Rockordings. The album was recorded and mixed at Studiomega from February 2005 to June 2005 by Christian Silver and Manne... |
| John "Runken" Bengtsson | drums, percussion | 2006–present | Former drummer of DØDZ Also plays in The Unguided The Unguided The Unguided is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Sweden, formed by Richard Sjunnesson, after his departure from Sonic Syndicate. Later, he was joined by Roland Johansson, and current Sonic Syndicate guitarist Roger Sjunnesson and drummer John Bengtsson and current Cipher System bassist... |
Former members
| Name | Instrument | Membership | Reason for departure and current bands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christoffer Andersson | harsh vocals | Session 2010-2011 | Left due to other commitments Currently plays rhythm guitar and growls for What Tomorrow Brings |
| Richard Sjunnesson | harsh vocals | 2002–2010 | Quit due to issues with musical direction. He now performs with The Unguided The Unguided The Unguided is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Sweden, formed by Richard Sjunnesson, after his departure from Sonic Syndicate. Later, he was joined by Roland Johansson, and current Sonic Syndicate guitarist Roger Sjunnesson and drummer John Bengtsson and current Cipher System bassist... |
| Roland Johansson | clean & harsh vocals | 2006–2009 | Quit due to issues with touring and personal life. Now a member of The Unguided The Unguided The Unguided is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Sweden, formed by Richard Sjunnesson, after his departure from Sonic Syndicate. Later, he was joined by Roland Johansson, and current Sonic Syndicate guitarist Roger Sjunnesson and drummer John Bengtsson and current Cipher System bassist... alongside Richard and Roger |
| Kristoffer Bäcklund | drums, percussion | 2002–2006 | Asked to leave due to lack of devotion to the band. Now sings in What Tomorrow Brings |
| Andreas Mårtensson | keyboards | 2002–2006 | Asked to leave due to lack of devotion to the band. |
| Magnus Svensson | bass guitar | 2002–2004 | Undisclosed. |
Discography
- Eden FireEden FireEden Fire is the debut album by Swedish melodic death metal band Sonic Syndicate. It is their first and only album to be released through the American record label, Pivotal Rockordings. The album was recorded and mixed at Studiomega from February 2005 to June 2005 by Christian Silver and Manne...
(2005) - Only InhumanOnly InhumanOnly Inhuman is the second album by the Swedish melodic death metal band, Sonic Syndicate. Released May 18, 2007 in Europe and on May 22, 2007 in North America...
(2007) - Love and Other Disasters (2008)
- We Rule the Night (2010)
Main tours
- Inhumanizing Tour (2007–2008)
- Spreading Love and Other Disasters Tour (2008–2009)
- Burn This City Tour (2009–2010)
- We Rule the World Tour (2010–2011)
Featured tours
- Eastpack Antidote Tour (2007)
- Darkness Over Xmas Tour (2007)
- Darkness Over Xmas Tour (2008)
- In Full Effect (2010)
Supporting tours
- Supporting In FlamesIn FlamesIn Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
Across Europe (2008) - Supporting Hollywood UndeadHollywood UndeadHollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California. They released their debut album, Swan Songs, on September 2, 2008, and their live CD/DVD Desperate Measures, on November 10, 2009. Their second studio album, American Tragedy, was released April 5, 2011...
Across Europe (2009) - Supporting TakidaTakidaTakida is a band from Ånge, Sweden, formed in 1999. The band consists of Robert Petterson , Tomas Wallin , Mattias Larsson , Fredrik Pålsson and Kristoffer Söderström ....
Across Europe (2009)
Festivals
- Metaltown FestivalMetaltown FestivalThe Metaltown Festival is a two day festival featuring heavy metal music bands, held in Gothenburg, Sweden. It has been arranged annually since 2004, taking place at the Frihamnen venue...
(GothenburgGothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) (2007) - Wacken Open AirWacken Open AirWacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
(WackenWackenWacken may refer to:* Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in Germany* Wacken Open Air, heavy metal festival held in Wacken....
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) (2007) - Metaltown Festival (Gothenburg, Sweden) (2008)
- Nova Rock FestivalNova Rock FestivalThe Nova Rock Festival, also just Nova Rock, is a music festival that has existed since 2005 and takes place each year in June. It is Austria's biggest rock music festivals, and also one of the largest in Europe. It is located in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria, near...
(NickelsdorfNickelsdorfNickelsdorf is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in Burgenland in Austria.- Geography :Nickelsdorf is the only town in the municipality...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) (2009) - Geuzepop Festival (Enschede, The Netherlands) (2009)
- Devilside Festival (EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, Germany) (2010) - Download FestivalDownload FestivalThe Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
(Donington ParkDonington ParkDonington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
, UK) (2010) - Getaway Rock Festival (GävleGävleGävle is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 71,033 inhabitants in 12/31 2010. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland , having received its charter in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria.-History:It is believed that the name Gävle...
, Sweden) - Rock Nights festival (Zarasai, Lithuania) (2010)
- Metaltown Festival (Gothenburg, Sweden) (2010)
- Summer BreezeSummer BreezeNote: For the 1972 album of duo Seals and Crofts, see Summer Breeze For the eponymous song, see Summer Breeze .Summer Breeze is an annual event at the University of Chicago, produced by the University's Major Activities Board...
(DinkelsbühlDinkelsbühlDinkelsbühl is a historic city in Bavaria, Germany and a former Free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Now it belongs to the district of Ansbach, north of Aalen.-History:...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) (2011)
Awards
In 2008, Sonic Syndicate won the award for best newcomer at the Swedish Metal Awards and at the Bandit Rock AwardsBandit Rock
Bandit Rock is a Swedish radio station which plays rock, punk and heavy metal. The station, now a part of the Modern Times Group, was originally founded by American ex-pat Thomas McAlevey and began broadcasting in Stockholm in 1994....
. Sonic Syndicate, along with Patric Ullaeus, won the award for best music video for their music video of "Burn This City" in 2010 at the Swedish Metal Awards. They also nominated and won the award for "Best Swedish Group" at the Bandit Rock Awards
Bandit Rock
Bandit Rock is a Swedish radio station which plays rock, punk and heavy metal. The station, now a part of the Modern Times Group, was originally founded by American ex-pat Thomas McAlevey and began broadcasting in Stockholm in 1994....
of 2010. In 2010, Sonic Syndicate was were nominated for "Up and Coming!" award at the Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
Awards in Germany.