I reviewed this metal group's excellent debut from 2010 with no objections to what I heard, so I was confident that their follow-up titled Shadows would be as good if not surpass their previous recording. When Worlds Collide was that debut and the group is Sinbreed, a German band that are a seriously good melodic power/speed metal act with a line-up that features some prominent members.
The talent is there not hurt at all with the inclusions of vocalist Herbie Langhans of Seventh Avenue and Blind Guardian's drummer Frederick Ehmke and guitarist Marcus Siepen. Despite their participations there are limited similarities and so a Blind Guardian clone Sinbreed is clearly not, actually Herbie Langhan's vocals sound much more like Helloween's Andi Deris bearing little resemblance to Hansi Kursch's. Sinbreed's powerful and brisk style is like a sizzling mixture of many groups with a significant offering of hooks, resulting in a very engaging second album.
Rapid power metal followers would do well to take note as Sinbreed take you on a trip down speed metal road, with the occasional deviation on this album. Starting with "Bleed" Frederick Ehmke is working his drums over vigorously and the guitars are fired up, the changes in tempo make this song even more compelling. The title track "Shadows" has a style that reminds of Iced Earth sounding similar to the tasty riffs of John Schaffer, next ramping it up and soaring higher with "Reborn" Sinbreed's twin guitars are given plenty to do. One of the many cool contributions on this release is the effectiveness when drummer Frederick Ehmke shows his skills locking in with the guitars duplicating their input with his drums like on "London Moon".
When Worlds Collide gave power metal fans another group to get enthused about, and with Shadows Sinbreed have now gone one step further and should bring many others on board as this is a very satisfying new metal release.
Track listing
1. Bleed
2. Shadows
3. Call To Arms
4. Reborn
5. Leaving The Road
6. Far Too Long
7. Black Death
8. Standing Tall
9. London Moon
10. Broken Wings