The band Hemina hail from the land down under (otherwise known as Australia. Sorry, couldn’t resist the Men at Work reference!). Together for three years and releasing one 5 song EP, “Synthetic” is their debut full-length album. Influenced by Opeth, Katatonia, Type O Negative, Pain of Salvation, and Symphony X, among others, Hemina has taken their collective influences and created a sound all their own. Lead vocalist/guitarist Douglas Skene’s vocals run the gamut from serene, to melodic, to aggressive, but always engaging and original. The guitar duo of Skene and Mitch Coull are a formidable pair with chops to spare, while Phil Eltakchi’s keyboard work adds melody, melancholy, and technical brilliance to each song. The bass and drum tandem of Jessica Martin and Andrew Craig have the daunting task of keeping things tight and precise through all the time changes and mood swings within each track.To go through each track and describe in detail what makes each song so amazing is a daunting task, but I will try my best.

    The album opener “The Hour of Ours” is a somber ethereal piece of music and is the calm before the storm to come. “To Conceive A Plan” clocking in at 11 minute and twenty-seven seconds, the first five minutes featuring the band’s technical prowess on their instruments before Skene’s first multi-faceted vocals even begin. “The Boy is Dead” features some excellent keyboard work and exceptional emotive vocals from Skene with some pristine harmony vocals and gutteral growls for additional emphasis. My favorite song at the moment is “For All The Wrong Reasons, an amazing melodic song with a great hook that I can’t get out of my head. “And Now To Find A Friend’ is a melodic hard driving song that will have you headbanging before stopping on a dime and slowing the tempo and emotion of the song before returning to a metal crescendo. “With What I See” Is a heavy rocking tune that has a nice piano intro before the guitars take over. “Hunting is for Women” is a beautifully arranged piece of music that brings to mind the dreaminess of classic Pink Floyd. Andrew Craig’s tribal drum beat starts off “Even In Heaven”. Skene’s emotional vocal melodies are the highlighted here along with some nice harmony vocals courtesy of Jessica Martin. There’s also some serious keyboard and guitar shredding. “Haunting Me!” is short heavy rocker that reminds me of Swedish band Leprous, which is a high compliment indeed! The album closes with the 13 minute and 28 second opus “Divine”, a song that continues the band’s penchant for dynamic songwriting with many peaks and valleys.

     “Synthetic’ as an album is best listened to in it’s entirety as a musical journey. With Australia already boasting a wide array of amazing bands such as Voyager, Lord, Divine Ascension, and Vanishing Point, you can add Hemina to this list. A must have album for fans of Leprous, Pain of Salvation, and Opeth. Look for “Synthetic” to receive a North American release in March of 2012!

Rating: 10