SINAMORE - Seven Sins A Second

Sinamore - Seven Sins A Second

10 songs
43:44 minutes
***** **
Napalm

Bandpage

Sometimes life plays funny tricks on you. When Lex reviewed Sinamore’s debut nearly two years ago, he concluded that this Finnish newcomer band would be much better if they concentrated more on their rock elements instead of trying to be a gothic band. I don’t know if the band read this, but their new album Seven Sins A Second comes much less metal than their debut, with Lex complaining that now he doesn’t like them at all anymore. So much for good advice. And I, who normally shovel anything feeling like gothic, to the other half of DisAgreement, all of a sudden get some kicks out of this more streamlined album.

A band can become more commercial in a worst case scenario. Sinamore opted for a more accessible sound, and not unlike bands like Sentenced or Paradise Lost, you feel in the presence of a band that tries to transport the melancholic new wave sound of the Eighties (Depeche Mode, for instance) into the new millennium by replacing the keyboards by crunchy guitars. This is not too original, but Seven Sins A Second has enough good moments to make this release a worthwhile effort. After the intro, called Outro (proving that Eläkeläiset and Waltari are not the only Finns with a sense of humour), the album starts with the dynamic opener and first single cut Better Alone, a true-to-form gothic rocker that Paradise Lost wouldn’t have done better. Sinamore are always best when they sound like a rock band, which can also be heard on the quasi title track The Burning Frame. In between, there are no fillers, everything is moving constantly on a high level, but Sinamore’s songs are not always as hellishly catchy as the two aforementioned ones. The death growls on Unbreakable Calm are also quite nice though. Seven Sins A Second is hardly an original album, but it’s unpretentious take at a genre that is so full of kitsch and clichés left me with a good feeling, and that alone deserves a higher rating than their promising debut. If the band continues this way, they will one day, not far from now, be mentioned among the classic bands of the genre.

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