Album Review: Liv Sin - Burning Sermons

As I remember it, when the first Liv Sin album came out, I did not cover it. That wasn't an issue of malice, or judgment even, since I don't recall listening to it in its entirety. I'm always inundated enough with music that I can't get to everything, so I often rely on snap judgments to decide which albums to invest the time in to cover here. The single(s) from that record didn't capture my attention, so it wound up slipping through the cracks. And since I was not familiar with Sister Sin, Liv Jagrell's former band, I didn't feel the need to make sure I followed through with her new one.

This time around, the singles did spark my interest, so here we are, ready to see what Liv Sin can do now that they've had a few years to gel as a band. From the first chords of "Blood Moon Fever", I like what I'm hearing. The sound is big, powerful, and heavy. The riffs and guitar harmonies sound a bit like Powerwolf, which is certainly a good thing. Liv's vocals are strong, with more grit and attitude, rather than being epic and operatic. She anchors the music to give it a very aggressive feeling, which a lot of power metal leaning music isn't able to achieve.

"Chapter Of The Witch", one of those singles I mentioned, is even better. The structure is the same, but the chorus, and Liv's harmonized vocals, sounds even bigger here. The way the vocals blend with the guitars also reminds me of the Nightmare album, "Dead Sun", which is one that has grown on me immensely since it came out. The two comparisons that immediately jumped to mind are both excellent, which is certainly a good sign for Liv Sin.

The band has found the right mark where the songs are anthemic and catchy, but not at all pop. That's not an easy thing to achieve, as the line is fine, and it's easy for anthemic music to come across as rather flat on record. Liv Sin's music doesn't, and that's a testament to how well they've come together as a unit. When I said their first album never caught my attention, I can also say that if it sounded like this, it surely would have. The fact that the two records got such a different reaction from me is an indication, at least to me, of how much they have grown in the last two years.

If more of what's labeled either power or traditional metal sounded like this, I would be a much happier music fan. By no means is this perfect, and sure, it is lacking a bit of diversity, but it's a record that delivers what it's supposed to. We get (roughly) forty minutes of metal that has energy and some solid hooks. It won't change your life, but it is a good time. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

In what has been a mediocre year for music, and a terrible summer, Liv Sin has given us a very solid album I'm not going to try to complain about. They've certainly stepped things up with this record, and it leaves me interested to see what another couple years together can do for them. This is very encouraging.