German band SINBREED was formed back in 2008, as a direct continuation of an earlier project called Neoshine. The band have two full length albums to their name. “Shadows” is the most recent of these, and was released through German label AFM Records in 2014.
The name of the game for this particular album is metal, not all that surprising considering the label that have released this CD presumably. As far as specific orientation goes, this is a band exploring a classic variety of metal, wedged somewhere in between classic speed metal and power metal somewhere, with a no frills and all thrills approach.
As such endeavors go, this isn’t a band that makes any attempts at stretching the borders of these styles. The basic premise of all the compositions here is in your face, energetic metal, revolving around a few key elements. The guitar solo runs alternate between hectic soloing with tendencies towards shredding, elegant melodic standalone guitar solo runs and harmony solos, and the latter with some obvious references towards Iron Maiden in terms of sound, style and delivery. The verse passages will generally feature pace-filled riff barrages, typically with impact riffs used to add tension to the proceedings, while the intermediate sections between verse and chorus tend to be a tad more creative, with quirky riff constructions, some slower riffs introduced or with guitar solo coating, while the chorus proper will feature more powerful vocals, slower drawn out riffs offset by pacier, hammering drum patterns to maintain speed and intensity. The more pace-filled sequences will generally alternate between tight, thing and frantic riff barrages and the more traditional, galloping guitar riff, bass and drums arrangement that is a staple of power metal, in this case again with plenty of nods in the direction of trendsetters Iron maiden as well as, possibly, early Helloween.
Some of the songs do come across as somewhat generic, but Sinbreed are able to escape the main confines of repetition on a regular basis too, with clever use of impact riffs, brief spurs of pacier riff details and well thought out drum fills as key weapons of subtle impact, and they are unafraid to borrow some compelling riff details fairly straight from classic Iron Maiden songs as well, used sparingly but to good effect to add that delicate feeling of familiarity to the proceedings in a good way, taking care to not overly exploit that feature. With a powerful vocalist that sounds like a mix of Biff Byford and Udo delivering the lead vocals there’s an edge to that part of the material too, a good vocalist able to elevate the end result to a slightly higher level.
At the end of the day Sinbreed isn’t a band that expands the borders of metal in any new directions though, this is familiar music performed by a quality band, exploring a blend of speed metal and power metal in a rather expected and predictable manner. But if you enjoy music of this kind, and find pleasure in bands adding the occasional subtle details and cleverly using delicate effects to enhance their material, then this is an album that merits an inspection. As might be expected by the earlier descriptions, fans of old fashioned speed metal and power metal will be the likely key audience for this album.
My rating: 74/100
