Review by Adam on March 19, 2005.

Extol equal brilliance. Ever since I heard Cynic’s Focus, I have been waiting for a band to come out with the melody and the technicality to match. While Extol are not quite in the same genre of metal as Cynic, they do exhibit many of their qualities. Combine fusion, thrash, death, metalcore, and acoustic splendor and you get just a peak into the progressive ingenuity this band possesses.

As soon as this record started, my jaw immediately hit the floor. If you are a fan of technical music, then you will absolutely adore Extol. They craft seamless and beautiful metal songs that are complex, yet surprisingly easy to digest. The musicianship borders perfection as does the album’s production.

The vocals on Synergy make it happen. Sitting beside vocalist Peter Espevoll’s unearthly screams are guitarist Ole Borud’s captivating clean vocals. The quality of these melodic vocals is immeasurable. When I listen to them, I feel empowered and moved, especially on the acoustic track “Aperture.” This coupled with the richness and variety of the music and we maybe already talking album of the year contender.

Synergy will take you more places than you would have ever dreamed possible. Extol take Opeth’s beauty, Death’s progressiveness, Meshuggah’s crazy time signature changes, and Cynic’s fusion inspired technicality to create a sound all their own. This is the first album to come out in a long time to impress me so much upon the first listen. If you enjoy any of the bands that I have mentioned in this review, then Synergy is a must for your collection. It may take a while for you absorb it all, but once you have, be prepared to keep it in your cd player for a long time!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 9
Originality: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by JD on November 15, 2011.

The advancement of North America’s metal scene is opening the world’s eyes to the brute power of the music. All forms of metal are being represented, showing our blue-green living marble that they still can rock. One prime example is Ohio based Skeletonwitch - one breed of metal that is taking the global metal scene by force.

This band is made of many parts, and blended perfectly. You have parts of Scandinavian Black and Death metal, straight ahead Thrash in the Bay Area style and lots of classic NWOBHM era bands - the result is a band that has a perfect balance between having serious heaviness, mind melting speed, virtuosic melody and shitloads of pure attitude- not the smug selfish kind, it’s the kind that is simply humble yet well earned.

So many songs over the course of this album are so perfectly crafted and masterfully executed with such aggressive perfection, I could not pick one song to showcase, or even one to critique in my normal hard assed way. The album is so well produced with fully realized songs that are smart, impassioning and boldly malicious as every single note and beat cuts straight into one’s very soul.

I have heard every album now... and this is one of the few bands that never really made a ‘bad’ album, while maturing into a well respected band. This album is the best of the entire Skeletonwitch catalogue, showing how creativity in metal has not been lost, but always had been there - and they are at the forefront showing off that North American metal is in a league of it own and is overshadowed by no one.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:10
Atmosphere: 9.5
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.4 out of 10