Sinbreed
Shadows AFM Records
Anyone who knows me and reads my reviews will know I love German Metal, and here we have an album from a teutonic master group of Power/ Speed Metallers. Sinbreed are a band which includes in its ranks Blind Guardians drummer Frederik Ehmke and guitarist Marcus Siepen, Dragonfly's Herbie Langhans on vocals, bassist Alex Schulz, keyboardists Morten Sandager (Pretty Maids) and Joost Van Den Broek (Ayreon, Star One) and Sinbreed's founder and metal maestro is string shredder Flo Laurin.
It's only April and I already have three albums that I can’t stop listening to and Sinbreeds 'Shadows' is top of my list.
From the opening drums and vocal call of Langhans, you are thrown into the bands grip of heavy, molten power metal that sears and cracks the anvil, the video for the opener is impressive as well and will have you hooked.
After the first track am exhausted! This is the way Metal should and used to be. The title track 'Shadows' is my personal favorite it’s complex, fast, hypnotic and aggressive.
I love the final lyric ... “You`ll find no cure for this disease” ... indeed I am infected with Sinbreed's disease!!
Third track in is an uplifting tune that makes you want to pick up your weapons and join the masses of Sinbreed's fans who salute, fight the good fight and hear the 'Call to Arms'. Then 'Reborn' gallops and stampedes mixing old style metal with new styles as the band continue to awaken every nerve and sense in you.
This album is full of gems 'Black Death' is a close second for me as a favourite on this opus, it's dark, deep and intense, then we get to 'Standing Tall' which delivers on all fronts, as does the excellent 'London Moon'. The musicianship and mastery on this opus is simply jaw-droppingly excellent, the album finishes with a behemoth of a track, running at seven minutes 'Broken Wings' is a magnificent finale to a cracking album, this will not disappoint in the slightest.
The vocal style and riffs do remind me at times of many bands but 'Shadows' is basically ten tracks of relentless, powerful, rampaging metal that will enthuse you getting your heart pumping, and pounding, breaking out of your rib-cage! This work of magnificence is 50 minutes long without one filler on it, the band plan to get out on the road soon and it’s a show no one with a love for all things metal will want to miss! Check out the Metal Meltdown for an exclusive interview with Sinbreed's founder Flo Laurin.
Review by: Seb Di Gatto
Tracklisting:
1. Bleed
2. Shadows
3. Call To Arms
4. Reborn
5. Leaving The Road
6. Far Too Long
7. Black Death
8. Standing Tall
9. London Moon
10. Broken Wing