Ahh, here is the new Sinner album. This had always been a band that
drew my attention upon release of a new album, but after just a short time,
said new album would no longer be in my regular listening rotation. Although
Sinner have reliably been cranking out quality albums that blend classic
heavy metal and hard rock, the band has never quite reached a level that keeps
me coming back for repeated listens. I've never heard any bad material from
this band, but on the other hand, I have yet to be blown away by them.
Of course, anyone who has ever heard a Sinner album knows that originality
is the last adjective that should be used to describe the band. As I've said
in the past, that's not necessarily a bad thing as long as you deliver good
music. Additionally, Sinner have been around since the early 80's, so
it's not like they're a bunch of newbies that simply want to copy and past from
bands of yesteryear. Sinner developed their roots at a time when this type of
music was at its glorious peak, and the band has stuck true to their guns all
these years. For that, you have to salute the band.
Like clockwork, Mask of Sanity is another slab of classic heavy metal
splashed with hard rock, Sinner style. I am quite sure that many fans
not familiar with this band will know founder / vocalist / bassist Mat Sinner
from his involvement with Primal Fear. Unfortunately, Mat has never been able
to bring the same success to his own band that he has helped deliver with Primal
Fear. I would imagine that has something to do with what I alluded to above.
While almost every Primal Fear album grabs me from the first listen (some
more than others), Sinner has never done that for me. While I admire
the band for never wavering in its flying the flag of heavy metal for all these
years, there are many bands in this genre that do this style of metal better.
That's not to say that this album doesn't have its bright spots, but the songs
in general don't have that "wow" factor that hook the listener and keep them
coming back for more.
Consistency is one thing that Mask of Sanity delivers. While the lack
of killer tracks is something that is lacking, there are plenty of good metal
tunes here. On the other end of the spectrum, I wouldn't classify anything as
filler material either. From a musical standpoint, the performances are what
you'd expect from a veteran band of the genre. Mat's voice has a unique personality
and quality to it, certainly an asset to the band. His voice is powerful and
gritty, something that fits this no frills brand of classic metal very nicely.
No high pitched screeches or borderline feminine sounding vocal passages will
be found here. The guitar work is a pleasure to listen to from start to finish.
The riffs are heavy and crunchy; managing to give the songs a heavy and forceful
backbone even though the tempo of the songs is mostly mid paced heavy metal
or hard rock. Also, the soloing and shredding is quite busy and effective throughout
each of the songs. The songs have a modest melodic quality to them; although
nothing over the top or that grab you at first listen. It does take a handful
of listens to really absorb the songs. Now, if only the band would incorporate
more material like Last Man Standing into their routine, I think they'd
be on to something really good. This song is probably the most metal of the
album, and Mat's vocals really soar while the music has a certain energy that
is otherwise subdued on the rest of the album. The guys certainly caught me
ear with this tune in a way that the other tracks did not. This song is precisely
what I mean when I say that the band needs to jump above the "good" plateau
where they seem to be stuck and into the "yeah, this kicks ass" realm.
Well, I'd really like to bestow a higher quote upon this album simply because
of the band's longevity and my sheer appreciation for this genre. However, I
have to say that two factors combine to likely prevent me from listening to
this album regularly over the coming weeks: 1) there are better albums out there
in this genre and 2) the lack of killer material on this album (despite the
lack of any bad material) gets tedious after a while. Nonetheless, Mask of
Sanity is a good album, but no more than that.