Review by Carl on August 25, 2020.

True Scandinavian darkness. From Portugal. I hope the irony isn't lost on these guys. All joking aside, I have to admit that this is a pretty entertaining album by a band that I don't hear too often about for some reason or another.

From just looking at the cover of the CD you can already make a good guess of what to expect and yes indeed, you can place this lot in between the other usual suspects: Marduk, Setherial, Unlord, Dark Funeral, you know the drill. It's an avalanche of blast beats, screamed vocals and tremolo picked riffing that goes for a 1000 miles per hour for a big part of this album, without anything like keyboards or female vocals. The similarities between the bands I mentioned above and Lux Ferre are abundant with the distinction being that the latter's songs are a tad less memorable. It's not all high velocity all the time though. From the middle of the album on the band loosens the accelerator more often. Take a track like 'Achtung! (The Devil's Garden)'. Here they slow proceedings down with the band letting some sparse melodies shine through the music, and this to good effect. They know how to keep it all varied without sacrificing their bite. It keeps the monotony out the door and makes for some moments of breathing space amidst the ongoing sonic onslaught. On album closer 'Brotherhood of the Goat' the band channel their inner Bathory and I've got to say they do it well. The production of the album is great, it's clear and aggressive and you're able to make out the different instruments. Maybe the drums could have been more up front in the mix but that isn't such a big deal in the overall picture. This is a good, aggressive and varied black metal release well worth its weight.

If your blood boils for fast 90's style black metal like Tsjuder, early Enthroned, Sammath and those mentioned above, snap this up. It's far from being the most original, but I'd take this above any of the arty-farty bullshit that's being churned out in certain parts of black metal today.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 4, 2019.

Sinmara are one of these pretty ambitious bands from Iceland that perform a very individual black metal approach. Given this situation, it is no surprise that their EP from 2017 does not dish up subgenre fast food, but complex tracks that do not lack twists and turns, not to mention tempo shifts. Their formerly shown affinity for dissonant, sometimes nearly nerve-shattering sounds does not play a prominent role here, but the band still fights against any form of conventions, if we neglect the genre-usual raw voice. Speaking of the vocals, they do not express an overdose of profound hatred or murderous insanity. Instead, they convey a feeling of masculine melancholy. This fits the music, because Sinmara present a rather relaxed kind of black metal. Hyper-speed, total misanthropy or brutality for its own sake are not on the agenda of the islanders.

Honestly speaking, I partly miss the aforementioned features. Within the Weaves of Infinity appears somewhat overloaded. Perhaps it was not the best idea to set the musical bar that high. A well-defined smack in the eye can work very well too. But of course, this is not the Icelandic way of blackness. Thus, I have to arrange myself with the three pieces the way they are, and I admit that they do not lack coherence, substance and diversity. Nevertheless, with few exceptions, the single parts do not transport the feeling that made me curious to listen to each and every black metal album I could get hold off. “Nine Halls” makes the stormiest statement. This track lies in close proximity to the songs I think of when it comes to black metal, but it does not have that special aura to join my private hall of fame.

The production does not please me, because the material sounds pretty blurred. Directness and pressure are missing. To call the sound a mishmash would be a tad too much, but black metal without powerful drums is a discipline only Darkthrone are (or: were) able to manage. The guitar tone also lacks malignancy and in view of all these details, I am slightly disappointed. I like ambitious song-writers, but I like good songs even more. Sinmara should decide whether they want to play music for their followers or rather for themselves. Both is legitimate, I just would like to it.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10