Quick Reviews: Sinner's Blood & Serious Black

Two different types of disappointment this week:

Sinner's Blood - Dark Horizons

I feel like sometimes certain labels ruin a band's potential before they ever stand a chance. Sinner's Blood put out a debut album I liked quite a bit. They did the modern melodic rock thing very well, and had a singer who stood out as one of the best in the genre. You would think everyone would want to strike while the iron was hot, and try to build some momentum, but that is not what happened. Rather than move to get a second album out, both the band's singer and guitarist went and made multiple albums with namesake projects instead. That had two problems; it took focus off Sinner's Blood, and it watered down the impact when they finally returned.

Unfortunately, the latter of those issues is exactly what has happened here. The band has made another solid album of melodic rock, but with these musicians having put out so many albums already treading the same ground, there is nothing new or novel about hearing their writing anymore. It is only the band's second album, but it feels trite already. Did the solo outings help elevate Sinner's Blood? Did they elevate the members either?

I can't answer that question without data we won't get access to, but from the perspective of a listener it was a lose/lose. There are many up-and-coming musicians who have been put in the position of being overexposed past my point of exhaustion, and Sinner's Blood is feeling the effect of it. I should have been excited by this record, and pleased with the result. Instead, I find myself wondering how much of the same thing I'm expected to listen to before I get tired of it.

Serious Black - Rise Of Akhenaton

Well... this time Serious Black hasn't written an album with multiple songs engaging in rampant misogyny, so this is an improvement.

The band did write a song about the power of heavy metal, which might be my single biggest pet peeve when it comes to this kind of music, so maybe it's not an improvement.

The problem the band has is a lack of vision. Listening to this album is entirely different than their last album, which was different than any of the albums with their former singer. Playing with new elements is fine, and welcome, but there still needs to be a core identity to who a band is. I'm not getting that from Serious Black. The shift from 'personal' songs that creeped me out to a more symphonic power metal direction is exactly the sort of shape-shifting that feels inauthentic, and ultimately leaves a band feeling as if they are trying to follow whatever they think is popular. It hasn't worked for Bloodbound, it isn't working for Creeper, and it doesn't work for Serious Black either.

This record isn't bad by any means, and is clearly a more enjoyable listen than the last one, but I can't say there's anything about it that sounds vital, or that I can say I would ever connect to.