It has no use to go to deep into the history of Sinister, one of The Netherlands’ best known and most influential bands ever. They were formed in 1989 and joined the Nuclear Blast-roster at the beginning of the nineties. This resulted in several albums: Cross The Styx (which I think is still a cult-record), Diabolical Summoning, Hate, Bastard Saints, Aggressive Measures, Creative Killings, and Savage Or Grace. The band was pretty popular as well live on stage, and they played on huge festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Milwaukee Metalfest or Czech Dynamo Fest. After a period of non-activity, the band returned with Afterburner, which was the best thing the band did in more than a decade. The long-time contract with their label came to an end, and Sinister were signed to Massacre Records for a multi-album deal. The Silent Howling, Legacy Of Ashes and The Carnage Ending were released, and these recordings strengthened Sinister’s position at the worldwide top. I surely did like 2012’s The Carnage Ending, because it sounded as if these guys were reborn. It might have to do with the new line-up, after vocalist Adrie Kloosterwaard recruited new personnel.
This new full length was recorded once again at the great Soundlodge Studio with Jörg Uken - think God Dethroned, Dying Humanity, Winter Of Sin (the review on their excellent new album Violence Reigns Supreme was posted on May 30th 2014), Supreme Pain and Dew-Scented, amongst others. Therefor one might expect a production of power, harshness and brutality, mixed with elegance and fairness. And it is not an expectation, it is a reality. Damn, what a colossal sound this is! Of course it is a logical element, yet at the same time a surplus for the stuff on The Post-Apocalyptic Servant.
The Post-Apocalyptic Servant clocks almost an hour and indeed goes on in the vein of the last Sinister-album. The songs are based on power and energy, with a timeless approach yet without forgetting the roots of Death Metal’s existence. This can’t be described as purely being Old School or Retro, but the basics are, without any doubt, hugely inspired by the greatness of the earliest glory-years. The material once again is enormously technical and brutally blasting, but in comparison to many efforts from the past (I do need to admit that I have not always been that enthusiastic with Sinister’s albums; I do really like a couple of them, but the major part could not satisfy me - ivan), it does fit this time. The melodic leads have been worked out with much more precision, the rhythm section isn’t just a let’s-be-heavy element anymore, yet rather a structural and pronounced entity, and the atmosphere has never been as dense and oppressive. I do still miss more variety (like all former albums, the focus lies on aggression and heaviness), but this time Sinister come with additional details that have not been the case in the past. And besides, several of the tracks are modest classics. No, sorry, that’s an exaggeration, but I mean that there is more than just one composition that is above average - and nowadays, with an overcrowded scene, it isn’t that easy to stand out that easily anymore. I think this album might be Sinister’s strongest effort to date.
Finally this: the digipak-edition comes with a bonus-CD, consisting of an official video by the band (from the album’s opener The Science Of Prophecy), as well as three cover songs: Fall From Grace (Morbid Angel), Deadly Inner Sense (Paradise Lost), and Unstoppable Force (Agent Steel).