Sister Sin still deliver the metal!
Sister Sin originally formed out of Sweden in 2002, and their debut saw the light of day in 2003. Then they took a five year break to enhance their metal music technique because it was obvious they wanted to be the biggest female driven metal band with the power to bust nuts all over the place. 2008 saw Switchblade Serenade, a heavy metal pile driver that just screamed intensity the entire way through. Content with their formula, Sister Sin made sure not to take as long in delivering a follow-up album in True Sound of the Underground. Fans should still expect the same intensity from their previous album, and perhaps a bit more refined musical structure to deliver the perfect brand of metal.
True Sound of the Underground is not pretty. Don't expect something close to a band like Nightwish. There are no soft tracks, no ballads, no moments when vocalist Liv feels the need for romance. She, like the rest of the band, is out for metal blood. Each track is always in the listener's face, delivering heavy guitars and well placed drum beats. However, the music here is not obliterating and crushing as certain metalcore and death metal bands are want to do. There's quite a bit of rock melody here, in the vein of AC/DC and Motorhead. A track like "24/7" is the perfect example of what Sister Sin tries to accomplish - it’s ballsy, it’s catchy, and the lyrics drive the point home. Other notable tracks are "I Stand Alone" and "Devil I Know" for the extra male backing vocals and metal driven themes of overcoming all odds through pure intensity. "Devil I Know" even features some growling that is very effective and turns up the 'metal' meter another hundred percent as far as aggressiveness is concerned. "Nailbiter" has some Black Sabbath influence, the only difference is the tempo is much faster, as if Sabbath were on speed. Finally, "Beat 'Em Down" does just that with each stroke the drumsticks or pick of the riff. Once the album is over fans should expect exhaustion and bruising to the ear canal.
However, amongst all this brutality and ear hole abuse, there is a monumental amount of catchiness, either in the solos which are patterned similar to melodic power metal, or the backing vocals and chants from Liv's other band mates. So Sister Sin tends to deliver their heavy metal beat down with at least some sort of pleasurable aspect, like a succubus taking a man's soul.
Sister Sin have found their game and their sound and fans should certainly be looking forward to rocking their stereos with True Sound of the Underground. In the past, it may have been considered completely underground, but now it is just appreciated by almost all wakes of metal loving life.
(Victory Records/Stomp Distribution)
