Finnish band SIGYN serve a cold offering of melodeath nostalgia on their second studio effort, “From Nation to Chaos.” Formed in 2008, SIGYN delivers heavy riffs and strong melodies, drawing a lot of influence from the early 2000s metal scene. The harsh yet melodic follow-up to 2023’s “Dehumanized” was released on July 10, 2026, via Noble Demon, and it really does feel like revisiting that time period.
In between the crunchy guitars, fast tempos, menacing growls, and the thundering rhythm section, the album packs quite a punch that is somewhat softened by its symphonic undertones. The keys play a rather important part in the overall sound design and feel of the album without sacrificing heaviness or distortion. Whenever Valtteri Nieminen uses them more prominently is with a goal – either to enhance the atmosphere or to counterbalance the harshness of Tapani Rantanen’s vocals. The point is that the keys work incredibly well with SIGYN’s brand of melodic death metal and, at least for me, are the best feature of the album, followed closely by the melodies and then the aggressive feel of the music.
If overall things are rocking and rolling at a pretty fast pace for almost forty-three minutes, when it comes to the specifics things get a bit linear as the band seem to follow the same formula for eight of the nine tracks present on “From Nation to Chaos,” the odd-one-out being the short atmospheric instrumental “Fallen Monuments,” which offers a nice breather between otherwise unrelenting songs. Focusing on the positives, the opening track, “A New Nation,” wastes no time in getting the ball rolling with a one-two punch attack of pounding drums and harsh vocals while the underlying keys give it a sense of urgency. Up next, single “Blind Prophet” marches forward at a steady pace while again the interplay between the keys and the vocals elevates the experience to a new level. The melodic riff at the center of “Break These Chains,” alongside its great grooves, makes it an instant personal favorite, contrasting with the harsh and alert “Creating My Own Chaos,” which thrives on a great head-banging rhythm and a vocal attack of punishing growls and vicious gutturals. Definitely a high point of the album, these two tracks.
Midway through the album, “The Crawlers” jumps on the listeners with a very cool riff that grounds it while the keys imbue it with a nice atmosphere that balances the harsh vox. It’s been a while since I listened to something that didn’t feature any clean singing whatsoever, and the weird thing is that I don’t miss cleans on this album. I think that’s because the tight melodies and keys do their job so well that I don’t need anything else to offset the heaviness and aggression. Moreover, the album is dynamic and energetic enough as it is that you don’t necessarily need an extra layer for it to work. A track like “Illusion of Justice” proves my point as the interplay between growls and gutturals on one hand and keys and guitars on the other hand is pretty intense, creating a neat dynamic. The headbanging rhythm doesn’t hurt either. I have only mentioned the keys and vocals as high points of this album, but the guitars also deserve the spotlight, as there are several killer riffs and excellent solos on this album, and tracks like “Break These Chains,” “Creating My Own Chaos,” or “I Am Nothing” have some of my favorite guitar work on display here.
All things considered, “From Nation to Chaos” is the type of album that is very enjoyable in the moment, but unfortunately it’s not as memorable as it could have been in the long run. This is probably due to its fast-paced momentum that relentlessly pummels the listeners with so many delirious guitars, frantic drums, snarled lyrics, and plenty of atmospheric keys with barely any room to breathe, that by the end it all feels like a whirlwind. “From Nation to Chaos” is an adrenaline rush in music form, but this aspect alone is no longer enough to reach the scene’s standards. At this point, SIGYN need to refine and diversify their songwriting so as to stand out more from the crowd because the potential for some really excellent melodic death metal is there.
Written by Andrea Crow
Tracklist
- A New Nation
- Blind Prophet
- Break These Chains
- Creating My Own Chaos
- The Crawlers
- Illusion of Justice
- Fallen Monuments
- I Am Nothing
- World in Flames
Lineup
- Tapani Rantanen – Vocals, Bass
- Markus Suomela – Guitars
- Aki Saastamoinen – Guitars
- Valtteri Nieminen – Keyboards
- Roni Vallin – Drums
Label
Noble Demon
