Reviews: Heathen, Night, The Brothers Keg, Sinsid (Rich, Simon, Matt & Paul H)

Heathen: Empire Of The Blind (Nuclear Blast) [Rich Oliver]

If you have read my previous reviews then you will know that I am a bit of a thrash metal maniac so the thought of a new album from Heathen gets me rather excited. If you don’t know who they are then Heathen are a thrash metal band who came out of the San Francisco Bay Area scene forming back in 1984. When I first discovered Heathen they were disbanded and were seen as a bit of a cult band having only two albums to their name - 1987’s Breaking The Silence and 1991’s Victims Of Deception (both must hear thrash albums by the way). The band reformed in 2001 and the metal world finally understood the hype made of Heathen by cult thrashers such as myself when the astonishingly good The Evolution Of Chaos comeback album dropped in 2010. Things have again been quiet in the Heathen camp for a few years with guitarist Lee Altus mostly occupied with his day job in Exodus and guitarist Kragen Lum having been also busy as a touring guitarist for Exodus whilst primary Exodus guitarist was off in his stint in Slayer but after a ten year gap we finally have Heathen album number four in the form of Empire Of The Blind. 

Empire Of The Blind is quintessential Heathen and prime Bay Area thrash with a winning combination of crunching riffs, galloping speed, technical playing and a strong sense of melody. Heathen have always had a more melodic sensibility about them compared to a lot of the other thrash metal bands of the time with a sound that borders on US power metal at times and a lot of this can be attributed to singer David R. White and his fantastic voice which excels in being highly melodic but with that gritty edge needed for thrash metal. This melodic element of the band is used to a far greater extent than previous Heathen albums with songs that veer into more classic metal territory such as Sun In My Hand and the gorgeous Shrine To Apathy which sees David’s voice really shine. On the whole though the album is chock full of quality melodic thrash such as the opening duo of lead singles The Blight and Empire Of The Blind which get the album off to a cracking start whilst later songs such as In Black, The Gods Divide and blinding instrumental A Fine Red Mist demand you exercise those neck muscles and bang your fucking head. 

 A very polished and modern production allows these songs to sound contemporary whilst remaining wonderfully old school in their style and composition whilst the performances are at an incredibly high standard especially during the aforementioned instrumental A Fine Red Mist in which the band are absolutely on fire. Empire Of The Blind is also the recording debut for the bands new rhythm section made up of bassist Jason Mirza and drummer Jim DeMaria.This is another excellent album from Heathen. It may only be their fourth in a career spanning nearly 40 years but Heathen deliver quality not quantity. This album doesn’t see Heathen stray far from their comfort zone but sees them shine in the areas they most excel at which is top quality melodic thrash. Personally I don’t think it’s as grabbing as previous album The Evolution Of Chaos but this is still top notch metal and another fantastic thrash album from 2020. 8/10

Night: High Tides, Distant Skies (The Sign Records) [Simon Black]

It’s always refreshing when an act that likely started out as a tribute act to their heroes overcomes their caution and starts writing for themselves, although a more cynical view might be that when your source influences are still gigging 50 years later there may be no demand for such tributes. Night place early Saxon and Judas Priest as their starting point, but they really run the gamut of the Classic Rock / NWOBHM sound, with equal touches of straight rock in the vein of BOC, Thin Lizzy and a few ladles of Dire Straights and so many others. This Swedish outfit are on album number four with this release, and although it’s not going to carve any new territory it’s an effective and robust record. The band have clearly come on in leaps and bounds since their 2013 debut, but then opening arena crowds who have come to see Ghost, and not you will do that.

Openers Shadow Gold and Burning Sky summarise the band well, with a solid groovy late 70’s feel, and although not the most distinctive songs in themselves, there is a strong groove, feel and confident competence in their delivery. Crimson Past is pure Mark Knopfler, works well but feels like it should build to something more than it’s 3’ 12” run time allows. Falling In The Black is the point where things kick up a notch, with a catchy beat, simple but effective guitar line and a vocal melody that focuses the attention well, and is long enough to actually build to something. They’ve also abandoned any pretence at a metal sound, and this piece is pure classic rock and nothing says this more than the old harmonised guitar solo/drum solo technique with added spot on vocal harmonies (see Running Away for an effective example of this). I also find myself irresistibly tapping along to the galloping beat of Here On My Own, again you are reeled in by the authentic instrumentals, but the vocal delivery holds you, which is strange because this is not what I expected of vocalist Oskar Andersson, who in previous outings sounded more forced and strained.

A nice touch is the extent they have gone to capture the more authentic sound of the era. Most bands think they can fix it in the mix, but Night took the simple step of recording as live studio sessions to give the essence of the sound. The overdubs when they come accentuate a unified click track and the overall effect works a treat. I shouldn’t like this sort of derivation, but I do because these guys have worked really hard to create an authentic tribute to a long gone age by using simple technical technique, robust song writing and no frills laid back delivery. 7/10

The Brothers Keg: Folklore, Myths And Legends Of The Brothers Keg (APF Records) [Matt Bladen]

Any album that opens with some fantasy based spoken word gubbings before you are taken away by riff after glorious riff is music (and indeed words) to my ears. Folklore, Myths And Legends Of The Brothers Keg can be described as a Science Fiction/fantasy novel set to psychedelic stoner/sludge metal, imagine Hawkwind (still fronted by Lemmy) cranking out tracks about Game Of Thrones and you get the idea what this relatively new band are about. The Brothers themselves are Tom Hobson on fuzz, shouting and synths, Paul Rosser on low frequency throbbing and Tom Fyfe battering anything put in his way. The origins of The Brothers Keg come from psych/stoners STUBB but in 2018 these three formed with the intention of taking psych/stoner music into another stratosphere pairing the scope of the space rock/psych scene with the fuzzy heaviness of stoner and sludge sounds. 

The songs here have been honed on tour with bands such as Colour Haze and Kurokuma along with a BOA appearance last year so it's no wonder they have joined the ranks of seminal underground record label APF who know a thing or two about riffs. It's riffs (and solos) that you get here the 9 minute Moorsmen bringing you straight into the action with some mountainous guitar playing, while spoken word/instrumental passages such as The Ice Melteth and The Army Of The Thirsty Blade Approaches continue the thematic storyline between the songs as we get into the astral realms for the soaring No Earthly Form which climaxes with a hammond burst that leads you into The Ice Melteth and the next proper track Introducing The Brothers Keg a roaring rocker which brings to mind Aphrodite's Child with it's immediacy and final jam. 

The Brothers keg have created music to expand your mind too, just imagining this record played at full volume with a kaleidoscopic light show will be something to really look forward to when things return to normal. For now though grab your stimulant of choice put on your blacklight and press play on Folklore, Myths And Legends Of The Brothers Keg allowing it to wash over you like hallucinogenic fog. I'll see you on the other side dear friends. 9/10 

Sinsid: Enter the Gates (Pitch Black Records) [Paul Hutchings]

Sinsid are an old school metal outfit from Norway who formed in 2012. Their debut album Mission From Hell arrived in 2018 and now the band whose influences range from the blues and rock to metal and Viking or thrash return with their second release, Enter The Gates. Described as “good old, honest, working class metal”, the band certainly have a traditional line up, with vocalist Terje Singh Sidhu joined by lead guitarist Sten Roger Knutsen, rhythm guitarist Even Håvold and engine room of bassist Grzegorz Urbanski and drummer Robin Wick. Enter The Gates is 40 minutes and nine tracks of what is rather more routine heavy metal. ‘Traditional’ is a term used to describe bands that may not be that good and whilst the fretwork on display is impressive, Knutsen shredding like a maniac, elsewhere there isn’t a whole lot to excite. The band can certainly play, and there is no huge criticism. 

Unfortunately, their music, whilst solid and listenable is rather dull. 666 is a ponderous, plodder, Point Of No Return highlights the limitations in Sidhu’s vocal range and Roll The Dice with its Iron Maiden duel guitar style doesn’t fare much better. In fact, it’s fucking horrible. Sinsid aim to bring the art of fist raising anthems back front and centre with a retro 1980s sound. I admire them for their enthusiasm. But the 80s held an awful lot of utter shit music. With 2020 thrusting truckloads of astonishing metal on us, bands such as Sinsid simply can’t compete. In footballing terms, this is scratching around the lower levels of non-league. Two men, a dog and cup of Bovril. Probably won’t translate too well into Norwegian. 4/10