Sinstorm- Sinstorm

Sinstorm is a five piece black metal band from Los Angeles. The band describes their music as "vile melodic black metal". Sinstorm originally formed in 2005 and released one demo only to disband and reform in 2008, leaving Jeremy Barnes as the only original member. While the album does have some pretty good production, it does still capture the raw atmosphere that many bands try desperately to achieve. This album marks their first full-length and shows a band with some potential.

The guitar playing on the album is excellent. There are enough solos to melt the faces of everyone in a 100 mile radius. The tremolo picked sections are delivered with surgical precision and when laced with the machine gun approach drumming the outcome is nothing short of devastating. While this approach does work for them it may bore those who aren't into the intense "full speed ahead" style. It is clear that Sinstorm is capable of writing a solid track (which is shown many times on this release), they just need to find something extra to separate themselves from the pack.

The musical approach used on Sinstorm is very unrelenting. There is the constant pounding of blastbeats and so many things going on at once. The album almost has a constant claustrophobic feel. When all is said and done it is quite obvious that Sinstorm knows how to blend melody into their music without sacrificing the chaotic Throughout the albums playtime a decent amount of melody is incorporated into the sound. Luckily, unlike a good portion of other bands, Sinstorm is able channel in that melody without completely getting rid of their raw energy.

Overall Sinstorm may have the most original sound ever but they show a great deal of potential. It is also nice to see that the band included two fun covers at the end of the album. Type O Negative's "I Don't Wanna Be Me" and Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" are covered. Sinstorm add their own flare to the tracks and they definitely add to the overall entertainment factor. Apparently they are already recording their second studio album "Thy Deceiver" so it will not be long before we see if they can capitalize on the potential that is shown here. So all in all, this is a solid debut that shows the potential of a fairly new band. Fans of melodic black metal should give this one a listen.