Band:	Benthic
Album:	Sanguine
Style:	Post-hardcore, Alternative metal
Release date:	February 28, 2025
A review by:	musclassia

01. Sanguine
02. Moloch
03. Murmur
04. Pitch And Tar
05. The Stranger
06. The Living Torch
07. All Is Vanity
08. Faded
09. Godot
10. Sanguine Pt. II

I’m sure most metal fans have had at least one experience of listening to an album from an unknown band and unexpectedly hearing a familiar voice pop up; however, it’s a rather more jolting experience when it’s the first time hearing said voice in over a decade.

I had no particular expectations when pressing play on Sanguine, the debut album from Benthic that arrives a long while after their formation in 2012, and to begin with I was initially moderately charmed by a heavier-than-usual post-hardcore release. However, a minute or so into the album’s second track “Moloch”, the screamed vocals that kicked off the track were replaced by a cleaner voice that I was sure I had encountered previously, and sure enough, mic duties in the band are handled by Siegmar Holzfuß of Eden Circus, who have been largely radio silent since their 2014 debut record Marula and are presumably defunct. Benthic aren’t a like-for-like replacement for Eden Circus, nor are they equivalent in quality, but it’s nice to hear Holzfuß’ voice once more.

As noted in the last paragraph, at its core Sanguine is a post-hardcore album, but that is blended in with a metallic streak that is arguably most aligned with alternative metal, albeit with hints of sludge. That’s a genre label that was applicable to Eden Circus, but Benthic are neither as progressive nor as emotionally charged as that band, and their songs are more compact. The first of these is the two-minute instrumental title track, which sets a subtle yet stirring tone for the coming album that is very promising, but arguably is not sustained afterwards; I feel that there’s some real unexplored potential in the vibe crafted by “Sanguine”, as it is ultimately a bit of an anomaly.

Instead, “Moloch” turns down that raw sorrowful emotionality for an approach more focused upon straightforward heaviness, riding bouncy grooves in the screamed sections opting for more indirect vocal melodies in the chorus. The track mostly rides the barrier between the post-hardcore foundation of Benthic and the use of more metallic instrumentation, offering some level of punch without going all-in with the heaviness. Other songs lean more in one direction or another; “Murmur” has the gang shout choruses and jangling cleaner guitar strumming to pin it firmly in post-hardcore territory, while “All Is Vanity” has a more brooding metallic depth to it.

The most interesting song on the record for me, and the one that offers most promise for the band going forward, is “The Stranger”, although that is perhaps because its chunky riffs and fierce roars take Benthic’s sound closer to the kind of post-metal that Eden Circus occasionally flirted. However, with Holzfuß generally sticking to a mid-ranged and relatively understated approach, it’s also a pleasant surprise to see him reaching into higher octaves and more forceful levels of volume at key moments in the track. There’s some other similar tones in “Faded”, but “The Stranger” is probably the best example of the metallic portions of Benthic.

Sanguine overall is an interesting genre mash-up, and there’s some good writing across it, but I’d also say it lacks a bit in the way of memorability or emotional impact. The vocals in Eden Circus could generally get away with being a bit less direct with their melodies due to the more convoluted nature of the band’s composition, but for more concise songwriting such as featured on this album, a few more hooks wouldn’t go amiss, nor would a bit more in the way of overt emotionality, particularly since the title track tempts listeners on that front, only for the band to not deliver on it further afterwards.