REVIEW: Kill the Lights 'The Sinner'
What happens when you combine James Clark (ex-THROW THE FIGHT) on Vocals, Jordan Whelan (ex-STILL REMAINS), Travis Montgomery (ex-THREAT SIGNAL) on Guitars with Michael "Moose" Thomas (ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) on the drums? You get Kill The Lights. Their latest August 21st release The Sinner via Fearless Records showcases the band's explosive frenetic energy that feels like an amalgamation of Metal influences from many different eras. The band showcases a wealth of knowledge demonstrating a wide array of genre devices to blend this personification of what metal has sounded like through the years with a consistent sheen and polish over the tracks.
"Shed The Skin" starts off the album, leading you in with spooky garbled speech from Winston Churchill and then kicks it into overdrive. One thing this album has a lot to offer his variety. It's obvious that the songwriters had a lot of ideas that at times may feel borrowed from different bands, but at the end of the day, it's a fun and inventive romp given the amount of accessibility that comes with the opener.
It's a strong way to address what the band wants to accomplish, which is whatever the hell they feel like. Nothing on this album feels like a "safe" venture or a "commercial" sound, instead, this feels like the band is expressing themselves freely with their influences worn proudly on their sleeves. Tracks like "Watch You Fall" feel less like paying tribute to the greats than an ode to metal itself and the band has a merry time thrashing about on many tracks, giving all ages of metal fans something to sink their teeth into on "The Sinner."
The whole album plays out like this variety mix and match grab bag and the vibe with it is done in such a fervent attack that you can't help but go "whoa did they just go there?", It's absolutely crazy when one of the songs gives off the chuggy metalcore vibe and then goes into a chanty Iron Maiden-Esque chorus vibe. It's a jack of all trades album for sure, giving fans of all genres of metal a little sampler throughout. "Rest" is more of a down-tempo number at times but shows that versatile edge as the band has no issue controlling this power ballad with the utmost of ease with the band going from trickling lulls to soaring highs from the vocals and instrumentals.
The album dances around a wide palette of different sounds, it's a curious album choice that seems quite comfortable as a chameleon doing it's absolute best to blend in with a robust wall of sound displayed in such tracks as "Unmoved." Fans of the metal genre can appreciate the use of devices found in Judas Priest types of songs with the casual thrown-in breakdown, as it's fun to have that type of throwback vibe in a solo mixed up with a frantic rush of harrowing screams. Tracks like "Plagues" carry a lot of emotional weight as the singer describes his triumphant battle with cancer, giving the album a strong message at times in-between rocking out and shredding power riffs.
The albums mash-up of sounds may set some people a back who don't expect traditional sounds if they're looking for the run of the mill breakdowns but the UK Metal Scene can rest assured there's a ton of heart behind the face-melting guitar working and slamming blast beats with tracks like "The Faceless" and "Tear Me Apart," providing a calvary of infectious hooks that lead to choruses that will captivate its listeners. Vocalist Clark deserves credit for his near-effortless ability to careen from ballads to guttural screams, dude's got a mastery of his craft and shows it throughout.
The album is something worth checking out, fans willing to get a physical copy of the album get a bonus track "Chasing Shadows" so there's something for collectors looking to enrich their music catalog. The album's definitely a welcomed addition for this supergroup of world-class metal musicians and the UK metal scene has gained a band to keep your eyes on, especially with this release. I would recommend it to fans of the member's other projects or for anyone looking to expand their high octane full-throttle metal collection. There's a little something for everyone here and you listen with an open mind you just might find yourself falling into a mosh pit sooner rather than later.
The Sinner‘s tracklisting is as follows:
01. Shed My Skin
02. The Faceless
03. Watch You Fall
04. Through The Night
05. Open Your Eyes
06. Plagues
07. Tear Me Apart
08. The Enemy
09. Sober
10. Rest
11. Unmoved
12. Chasing Shadows (ONLY AVAILABLE ON PHYSICAL RELEASE OF CD)