Straddling the now neglected crossover of Gothic-Industrial and Nu-Metal, the Holland-based Sins7Sins have set out to revitalize the formula that made stars of bands such as Godhead and Dope Stars Inc. In all fairness nu-metal is a limiting term. It is in fact closer to the post-grunge metal peddled in the late 90’s by the likes of Orgy and Powerman 5000. But the Dope Stars Inc. connection is warranted with production by Victor Love. Like I said, the formula isn’t new, but after the domination of Deathstars’ brand of glam-industrial in recent years it is a refreshing change.
Of course, the band will be lumped in with the pompous likes of Within Temptation and Epica for their use of (shock-horror!) a female vocalist. But their industrial metal sound is probably closer to (if a heavier version of) bands such as The Birthday Massacre.
‘Crossroad 666’ gets things of to a nice start with a melodic synth lead backed by the heavier guitars - not a particularly sing-a-long chorus but it has a certain foot-tapping charm. ‘7even Stitches’ begins with an almost ethnic slant before heading into the higher octane metal - the male vocals seem somewhat out of place here though and maybe could have fit better if they were softer and cleaner. ‘Rape & Take’ feels more complete, if only for it’s strong resemblance to 90% of Dope Stars Inc.’s past output, but it is definitely the best indicator thus far of the band’s talent. ‘Dead World’ is very ‘2000 Years of Human Error’ era Godhead to the point where I spent most of the track wondering how it would sound with Jason C. Miller’s vocals instead. ‘Between Broken Dreams’ is the standard industrial-nu-metal “un-ballad” which sounds like it should be on the end credits for another banal teen vampire film.
‘Portrait in Blood (Braindead)’ is a valiant effort to rebuild the momentum of the track listing, but it’s slower chorus sucks the energy out of an otherwise decent song. ‘Insult #7’ immediately puts me in mind of Jack Off Jill, which is always a good thing, and successfully restores my interest in what will be coming next. Next up is ‘Sexual Predator’ which returns to that dancey synth and fast energetic metal that initially peaked my interest on the album. ‘Eye Want All’ follows on nicely from the previous track with some more of the same with a bit more of that Jack Off Jill feeling to it. The final song is ‘Taste of Twilight’ which again returns to that old Godhead formula for a fairly satisfying close to the album.
There is definitely potential for this band to carve a niche in the industrial metal market with their accessible and well trodden formula. What they need to do is valiantly forge their own identity within that formula and not give into the temptations to retread old ground within a genre that’s heyday has been and gone.
http://www.myspace.com/sin7sins
