Band:	Magnacult
Album:	Synoré
Style:	Death metal, Metalcore
Release date:	2007
A review by:	Marcel Hubregtse

01. Aeon
02. Kill Ignorant Humanity
03. Unheard Fake Words
04. Kris
05. Inside Will Guide
06. Damnation
07. Synoré
08. Identity 676
09. Progressick
10. Line Of Attack

Magna holds the ultimate power of wisdom, tolerance, love, compassion and peace. However, Magna also possesses the force of pure aggression (Synoré). Aggression that stems from insecurity, powerlessness and illness we call false aggression. Pure aggression (Synoré) shall be implemented against those who are in contact with any form of Magna, but reject its goals to pursue a path of personal power, greed and evil as well as those who are threatening and destructive to the universe.

Magnacult 2007

Modern? Post-modern? Apocalyptic? Post-apocalyptic? Anybody who knows the answer please fill me in, for I am confused. But somehow it perfectly sums up the 36 minutes of metal dished out to the listener. And also sums up the cover and booklet art in the gatefold digipack. So the music and the artwork form a unity. Which is a good sign for it signifies that a lot of thought was put into the product.
Musically it is hard to pinpoint what sort of metal Magnacult plays. Metal it is, but also some noisecore seeps through. At times I hear some death metal, at other times some Neurosis influences and also some Mastodon influences. The last band's name pops into my mind every time Magnacult shifts down a gear and that typical Mastodonian type of groove emerges (especially the beginning of the instrumental Kris). And also the drums somehow remind me of Mastodon's, sounding versatile, modern, yet organic.
Synoré is one of those albums that is hard to describe and is best enjoyed when you just submerge yourself into the music and let yourself go with the flow and aggression.
The mix and mastering of Jochem Jacobs & Bouke Visser are once again spot on. Heavy, clear, aggressive and not mingling with the band's distinctive sound but adding quite a bit of punch.
I have almost no complaints about this great debut from these Dutch guys. The only complaint I have is Synoré's running time. Clocking in at 35.55 is not a lot. I would have preferred to have had about ten minutes extra. I think an album 45 minutes duration would have landed the punch just a little harder and would have administered the definitive knock-out. Now it just leaves me behind with a slight empty feeling grabbing my remote and replaying it in order to quench my thirst for that force of pure aggression.
Like I said, in the review of Detonation's Emission Phase, 2007 is shaping up to turn into a great year for Dutch metal (especially the more extreme side of the spectrum) with releases by Detonation, Disavowed, Cypher (world-wide release in January 2007), Non-Divine (not extreme but kicking the asses of all the other melodic Dutch releases this year), Obsidian, and now Magnacult, of the six names mentioned FOUR are debut albums. The Dutch metal scene has seen worse times.

So, anybody with the slightest inkling of interest in aggressive hard to pinpoint, almost leftfield, metal, be sure to check out Magnacult - Synoré with its stand-out tracks Aeon, Kris, Identity 676, Progressick, and Line Of Attack.