Sins And Greed

NWOBHM greats Blitzkrieg are back with their sixth full length studio album, Sins & Greed. This album is the follow up to the outstanding Absolute Power album, which was released in 2002. Were it not for the awful production, that album would have been an absolute gem in my eyes. Still the quality and consistency of the songs on that album place it my personal top 10-20 albums of the last 5 years. Since that album, guitarist Tony J. Liddle and bassist Andy Galloway have been replaced with Ken Johnson and Paul Brewis, respectively. While Sins & Greed sees the band vastly improve in the production department, the songs themselves do not have nearly the impact as those on Absolute Power, although it is still a very worthwhile album. Amazingly, Brian Ross' voice still sounds the same as it did back in the early 80's. If you listen to songs like Blitzkrieg, Pull the Trigger, or any of his work with Satan, you'll quickly hear that the man has not lost a beat over the years. The band is still playing beefed up NWOBHM. By that, I mean that the band has taken its classic NWOBHM sound, and infused it with some elements of thrash and classic 80's heavy metal. Brian Ross' vocal delivery is highly melodic, which helps give the songs a lasting impression upon the listener. However, I do feel that the guitar work on this album does not complement Ross' vocals like they did on Absolute Power. You see, the riffs and rhythms found on Absolute Power were heavy, yet addictive and as memorable as you can get. When combined with Brian Ross' distinct and melodic vocals, the end result was a gem of pure heavy metal greatness. This time around, the riffs and guitar work in general are very heavy, yet lack any real catchiness or memorable licks. As a result, I hear songs that are just "good" instead of unforgettable ones. It seems as if the lead vocals are the only aspect of the sound that breathe excitement into the songs. Yes, the guitar work provides a very heavy backbone for each of the songs, but it stops there. There's nothing about the guitar work that will make you hit the repeat button on your cd player. I would characterize the guitars as serviceable, and nothing more. There are no mistakes, but there is nothing exciting either. That just wasn't the case with Absolute Power, and thus it is the primary reason why I would rate this new opus a step or two behind its predecessor. I would imagine that the change in personnel has much to do with this. It seems to me that newbie Ken Johnson has a different style from the departed Tony J. Liddle. The guitar work on this album is heavy and probably more aggressive than what we've heard from the band in the past, with a slight contemporary edge. However, it fails to engulf the listener in the music. I'm not saying that one musician is better that the other, but I do think the style found on Absolute Power was simply a perfect fit for the band. All in all, this is still a good album from Blitzkrieg, and I am extremely pleased to see that Brian Ross and company are proudly flying the flag of heavy metal high after all these years. In all fairness, Absolute Power was pretty much a gem in my eyes, and so expecting a follow up album to match or even beat that excellence would have been far fetched. I do appreciate the heaviness of this album, but I wish the guitar work could have been a bit more imaginative and captivating ala Absolute Power. While Brian Ross still sings his butt off, I feel that the heavy, yet unspectacular guitar work holds this album back. Absolute Power still gets regular play on my stereo, even after 3 years. Sins & Greed will also get a lot of play time in the coming weeks, but I don't foresee this album having much lasting power. As a sidenote, the band pulls off a very spirited and well done cover of Hell Bent for Leather.