Album Review; Sinbreed - Shadows

Track Listing:

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 Wings

The German Power/Speed Metal band Sinbreed's second album 'Shadows' is another in what seems to be a constant stream of Power Metal that has hit us in this, the first half of 2014. As such, there's a chance that it could get lost in the hordes, so to speak, although it is an album I've seen a lot of promotion for.

Opening track 'Bleed' has all the power, speed and catchy melody that one could hope for in a modern Power Metal album. The empowering, fist clenching lyrics are there. The song 'Shadows' comes in with a similar vibe, and is equally as good a song. There are great riffs to be heard, and a lot of good, precise drumming from former Blind Guardian drummer Frederik Ehmke. Herbie Langhans' singing voice reminds me slightly of Biff Byford, in a good way, and with an extra helping of force.

'Call To Arms' has a bridge section that proves Sinbreed can slow down and throw out a chunkier riff when they want to, but the Speed Metal side continues to prevail. The choruses so far have been expectedly sing-along, and 'Reborn' continues in the same fashion. There's an interesting use of melody and a lot of powerful, sustained vocal lines that will keep many a Melodic Metal fan happy. 'Leaving The Road' and 'Far Too Long' carries the album on in similar fashion, and while the song 'Black Death' has a darker feeling to it, getting through the album starts to feel like a bit of a drag. It would've been good to have a slower song, or even an acoustic track in there to help with the flow. Apart from the decent guitar solos and consistently reliable vocals, the album starts to trail off by this point.

From then on, nothing really picks the pace back up, which is really frustrating, since the album started off so well. By the time 'Broken Wings' comes in with a rather lovely acoustic intro which sets up a really good song, it's just too little too late. The album as a whole is not by any means bad, but what I would say is that it offers little to no variety. Some people may love that, others may hate it. For me; this album is one of those that strikes a good chord in its first half, but fails to follow through. Worth a spin or two, but it'll likely skip the mind in the future.


Rating: 5/10