### Siknis: Twisted mind

#### 22/06/10 || cadenz

The idiotic moniker. The stupid song names. The sub-par production. The untight playing. I shall forgive you all of these things. Why? Because I’m awesome. Plus, this Finnish band is young. In all ways. They’ve been around for less than a year, and judging by the photos on their MySpace they are still battling puberty. And also for a third reason: there’s actually some cool stuff to be found in their songs, though one has to listen very very carefully to spot the twinkly shiny stuff. But it is there. Potential.

Siknis’ (seriously, come on, there has to be a better name you could come up with? How about Ass Shark?) music is some kind of unorthodox and very, very, very, very, very, very, very unpolished mix of melodic death metal and heavy metal. The vocalist sounds OK, low death grunts trade off with some mid-to-high-pitch growling, which I like better. They also remind me a bit of Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity), and some hazier melodic parts with guitar harmonies and a wandering bass line also have the influence imprint of the Gothenburg pioneers on them.

What these youngsters need most of all is some streamlined arrangements to clean up the maze/mess that is supposed to be the overall sound picture. A crisper production and tighter execution couldn’t hurt, either. I like how the bass for the most time wanders off on his own on top of (yeah, on top of – it’s mixed that loud, and I like it) the guitar melodies and riffs, it adds a deviant flavor to the music. And to insert a bass solo on the third track? Fucken respect for having the balls for doing that on your first demo.

All in all though, “Twisted Mind” is a very uneven, rough and unready recording. Many riffs and melodies sound pretty juvenile and the execution leaves a lot to wish for. But as stated in the beginning, I forgive them; and I’m sure that as the guys and gal in Siknis mature, so will their music. There are glimpses of their own unique style to be heard in some melodies and arrangements, and I hope that on the next demo they’ll be able to make them shine brighter.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Self-released
- Website: Siknis MySpace
- Band
- Jarno Salo: vocals
- Iiris Kosonen: guitars
- Miikka Rosten: guitars
- Lauri Niemi: bass
- Tomi Ruohonen: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Test #9
- 02. The Shepherd of Sin
- 03. IQ Less Than Zero