Metal Overview: Sinergy

Hi fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Every once in a while, there’s a band that comes my way that just intrigues me. Whether it’s because of their material, or because of their origins, I can get really invested in them. The subject of today’s overview is both: a potentially fantastic Power Metal band, that just so happened to have it’s roots from some of the most iconic Death Metal bands from the 90s. Just that fact alone convinced me to delve into this band’s tragically short time on this earth, and despite having just 3 albums, it’s also one of the best discographies out there. So sit back, don your warface, and take a look at my overview on the shortlived powerhouse known as Sinergy. Let’s begin!

Beware The Heavens (1999)

Our story begins in a joint world tour between Black Metal legends Dimmu Borgir, and Death Metal icons In Flames. DB keyboardist Kimberly Goss and IF guitarist Jesper Strömblad managed to meet, and the idea came up of a female-fronted metal band in the vein of Warlock & Doro. This idea could not be done at first due to time constraints, but once she quit Dimmu Borgir, it was time for her & her partner in crime to start their special project. Acquiring the services of bassist Sharlee D'Angelo (From Arch Enemy & Mercyful Fate), Ronny Milianowicz on drums, and Children of Bodom guitarist Alexi Laiho, the motley crew worked in 1998 on what would be their first release, and on June the 21st of 99, Beware The Heavens was released.

Beware The Heavens is an interesting release. It’s a Power Metal album through & through, but it isn’t as operatic as many other releases in that style were in the late 90s. There’s an old-school 80s vibe throughout the whole thing, and Kimberly Goss practically commands the entire band with the power of her voice alone. It’s really during this time that women in Heavy Metal were kicking ass, and it also harkens to other female fronted bands like Nightwish or Doro.

Best Track? Outside of 2 tunes (More on that below), everything on Beware The Heavens is fantastic to listen to. From the opener Venomous Vixens all the way to the closer Virtual Future, everybody crafted a masterpiece of a records that’s equal parts 1980s and 1990s. It really is that hard picking out one single track, as everybody is really putting in a lot of effort. From Goss’s vocals to Alexi Laiho’s guitarwork, everybody is pulling their weight & not slacking off in any way.

Worst Track? Born Unto Fire and Passion & Pulsation are the only bad tracks I could spot, but it’s not because of a lack of effort. These two are great instrumentals, but they’re also incredibly short. 1 minute & 46 seconds for the former, and 1 minute & 45 seconds for the later. If they were combined into one super instrumental, I actually wouldn’t mind. Instead, they’re two nice tracks that sadly take the roll of filler on this record.

Born Unto Fire and Passion

Pulsation

Beware The Heavens. A fantastic album to start off a career, and a great statement at the same time. If you like your Power Metal a little more on the feminine side, then this is a release to seek out. Next album!

To Hell And Back (2000)

Sinergy actually managed to gain some popularity with their first release, and actually gained quite a following with fans in Europe, but trouble was just on the horizon. Problems arose when for the members of the band to manage time with their original groups, and to make things tougher, Kymberlee Goss moved to Finland, as the rest of the band stayed in Sweden. In short the band was effectively dissolved, but Kim & Alexi still wanted their project to continue. They formed a new line up, composed exclusively of Finnish musicians: Roope Latvala (Founder of Finnish Thrash band Stone) on rhythm guitar, Marco Hietala of Tarot fame on bass, and Tonmi Lillman from Lordi on drums. After some time in the studio, Sinergy 2.0 produced & recorded, and on August the 8th in the year 2000, To Hell And Back was released.

It should be noted that around this time, they actually began to receive worldwide recognition. Touring with the highly popular Nightwish, Sinergy actually managed to get their tour included on the From Wishes to Eternity DVD, during which band members played a practical joke in which a selection of support musicians made their way on stage pretending to be Nightwish. As for what I think of To Hell And Back? I did the hell out of it! It isn’t that much different from Beware The Heavens, save for some small improvement to the production value. It’s still the same female fronted badassery as before, and it’s still the over the type flavor I’ve come to expect from Power Metal.

Best Track? Much like Beware The Heavens, there’s effectively nothing bad on here. Opening the album is the awesome The Bitch Is Back, and the intensity never stops! The one thing that this album has over Sinergy’s first is that there’s absolutely no bad tracks. Even with the incredibly short Hanging On The Telephone (It plays for just 2 minutes & 3 seconds), this is another buffet of fantasy & femininity that only this group can provide.

To Hell And Back. Definitely an improvement over their prior work, yet it doesn’t deviate from their established material. Certainly one to look out for if you can. Next album!

Suicide By My Side (2002)

With an increasing worldwide popularity, it seemed like Sinergy was poised to become a massive sensation all over.......then Suicide By My Side came out. Released on the 5th of February in 2002, Suicide By My Side is something of a step backwards for the band. Not necessarily in terms of musicianship or vocal work, but just in terms of theme & feel. This is definitely the band at their most serious, as the album mainly deals with the concepts of empowerment, revenge, despair, and suicide. There’s a little bit of the fantasy vibes from Beware The Heavens & To Hell And Back still present & accounted for, but they’re not quite as strong and to a certain degree play second fiddle to the dark nature of the album.

As stated on Wikipedia:

“Soon after the recording of the third album Lillman left the band. He was soon replaced by Barathrum drummer Janne Parviainen. Bassist Marco left the band shortly after, presumably due to his Nightwish commitments. The position was eventually given to Lauri Porra from the metal band Warmen.”

Best Track? I definitely gotta give the title track some credit. It starts off with an audio sample from the movie Sid & Nancy (A film about Sid Vicious & his girlfriend), but immediately afterwards it tears into Kymberlee Goss’s powerful singing, and the rest of Sinergy backs her up with some of the most intense instrumentation & drumming they’ve ever done. Definitely a song to not skip!

Suicide By My Side

Worst Track? Again, this album isn’t horrible. While it isn’t quite as strong as their last two, the instrumentation is still top notch, and Kymberlee Goss still commands the stage with her voice. What weighs down Suicide By My Side is the subject matter. Empowerment, revenge, despair, and suicide aren’t necessarily bad things to sing about. Even a Power Metal band can use these themes, provided that they’re used properly! Sadly, they’re not used well on this album. It doesn’t delve into emo or whining by any means, but you get the feeling that Goss & the rest of Sinergy played with the ideas rather than actually use them. Even Kymberlle herself said she never tried to commit suicide, despite what she said in the Suicide By My Side music video.

Suicide By My Side. Not awful by any means, but it doesn’t quite have as much oomph & punch the band’s first 2 album had. Definitely recommended, but not as highly as Beware The Heavens & To Hell And Back. Next.....album?

Sins Of The Past (2004)
Little is known of this never released Sinergy album. Production of the record began in 2004, but due to the busy schedules of the Children of Bodom members, it was never completed. In 2007 Roope Latvala performed a song with bassist Lauri Porra and drummer Janne Parviainen for the album Guitar Heroes, which featured some of Finland's leading guitarists. He stated that the track in question was originally meant for Sins Of The Past, but obviously it was never done. Sadly, Alexi Laiho announced a few years later than the project was officially dissolved, and for good this time.

And that was Sinergy. A really intriguing band who sadly ended before their time, the small discography that was made is still enjoyed by many who remember them or found them by accident. Well, I still have a power itch, so let’s scratch it one more time at the end of this month, when I’ll look at a truly modern Power Metal band. See you then!

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If you’re curious about listening to these albums, then check out the links below. Fair warning: each of the links aren’t complete, as finding whole versions of the releases are incredibly difficult to find. On top of that, finding actual physical copies aren’t impossible, but very expensive. Unlike the Carnivore albums, Sinergy’s discography hasn’t been re-released by Nuclear Blast......as far as I know anyways.

Beware The Heavens

To Hell And Back

Suicide By My Side