Perhaps you're familiar with the Sausage Monster. The skinless manifestation of flesh at killer speed, brutalized by pavement in the book, "Generation of Swine". This is what the listener is transformed into upon audio ingestion of Into The Sinner Circle. The Winnipeg crossover quartet Solanum, released their first LP, in October 2015 through Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, based in Philadelphia.

It's clear within the first few minutes of the album that there is a strong focus on creativity, through well articulated structures and execution of songs as a whole. The collection of seven tracks opens with the guitar carving out the path for "P.T.S.D."

Verses, choruses, and bridges all compliment each other perfectly. Shifting from hammer on licks, to staccato power chord rhythms, into full bore, face melting, d-beat insanity. Pure circle pit inspiring madness that will make you wonder if you're too old to bounce back from being reduced to a pulp in the heat of the moment.

From here on out, it's a relentless attack of white knuckle momentum. That's not to say that you're not thrown any curveballs. "Strangled By Disease" comes on seductively. Its groovy bass riff eyes you up and down from across the room, and convinces you to go upstairs with it. When it has your full attention, it morphs into the menace that you secretly knew it would be.

At just over seven minutes long, the title track "Into The Sinner Circle/ Righteous Refusal," is something of a thrash opus. It takes the time to set different moods instrumentally, displaying the group’s understanding of movement and depth. Every part of it is given room to breathe, which lets you fully appreciate all of the cleverly arranged things you might have otherwise missed.

The album closes with, "Beg For Your Life." Remember that long haired weirdo in high school that smoked weed and drank beer behind the gym? This is what he was listening to on his Walkman. An unabashed, tough as nails, freight train of fury.

Complete with gang vocals that take you back to a time in your life when you felt like not even a Greyhound bus could knock you down. Solanum is a great band with a great new record that you should get behind, and in front of when they're on stage.

- Andre Cornejo

Published in Volume 70, Number 6 of The Uniter (October 15, 2015)