Malte Gericke is one of my favorite musicians around today. Involved in the German death metal scene from the very beginning, he knows what he’s doing when it comes to writing good music. Notably, Necros Christos was his best project, but unfortunately he dissolved it in 2021, right around the time a new entity would take its place – Sijjin. Abandoning the ritualism and biblical esoterica for Morbid Angel-flavored riffs and Babylonian madness, debut Sumerian Promises was what I was hoping for when it came to a Necros Christos successor. Follow-up Helljjin Combat, on the other hand, sounds even better than the debut and I can’t stop listening to it.
“Old-school death metal” is a term I hate as a genre, but as a descriptor, it fits perfectly on Helljjin Combat. Everything about this sounds like it was dragged from the late 80s/early 90s—the warm production, the fat bass, the heavy metal-inspired soloing. Helljjin Combat begins with a deceptive sense of security on “Fear Not the Tormentor,” not revealing its true colors until the buildup goes away and an all-out riff assault commences. There’s a good amount of Coroner and Voivod in the riff-writing across the album as well, which makes for a more enjoyable listening experience, rather than uninspired death-thrash. By far the highlight is “Religious Insanity Denies Slavery,” an epic that has the best solo section I’ve heard this year, with some real emotion involved rather than soulless wankery. There’s no real standout instrument either, as everything sounds crystal clear—everyone involved is incredibly talented, and once Helljjin Combat ends there’s not much else you can do other than play it again.
Sijjin completely surpassed my expectations on Helljjin Combat. I was already expecting solid death-thrash as a follow-up to the very good Sumerian Promises, but I was not expecting borderline excellence. In this trying year, Helljjin Combat has become a very comfy album to just relax to, as I know what it is, with no fuss, no frills, just classic poser-annihilating death metal as it should be. Sijjin have delivered once again, you canoes, and you’d do well to listen.
