After a truncated 2021 from a Nordic Music Review perspective the plan this year will be to get back to the original aims of the website from back in 2014, concentrating on short reviews of Albums and EP’s. Hopefully I can stick to it, so I’ll start off with Sinister King, who as you’ve probably guessed, are a Nordic metal band.
Predictably they’re from Bergen too, rubbing in the fact that only next week I should have been venturing to Norwegian shores to see Major Parkinson, who obviously hail from the same city. But the quality of rock music from there is always high, and in the main Sinister King get the thumbs up for their debut EP. It’s entitled ‘All is Vanity’ and was released at the end of November.
There are 5 tracks weighing in at an impressive 27mins, so this is a substantial release, opening with ‘A Cure for Insomnia’, and which as you might have guessed, doesn’t contain 7 minutes of dolphin sounds and the sea gently washing into shore. Thumping guitars and impressive bass lines are prominent, but actually it’s the melodies that stand out, with a vocal tune which would have your Gran dancing around her kitchen.
‘Sanctuary Rage’ is equally enjoyable, stuttering guitars and synths this time providing the backdrop, with a chorus as catchy as a 60’s Eurovision Pop entry and a epic guitar solo. But my favourite track is the darker ‘Still Here’ thanks mainly to the symphonic contribution of the synths, which hint too at some progressive influences. There's even a video too.
Title track ‘All is Vanity‘ and the cheery sounding ‘Death to All Joy’ appeal to me less as songs, but actually they’re still an enjoyable listen, and there’s certainly no denying that the band have a high quality of sound production to back them up too.
So probably not the style of band I was expecting to start the year listening to, but of course there’s always an appetite for more Nordic metal, and Sinister King have blazed on to the scene with a debut that will certainly have attracted attention.