Sweden's Sideburn scored big with us on their last album IV Monument a few years back, and they've returned here with their fifth release, Evil or Divine, on a new label, Metalville Records. The end result is pretty much the same, as the band are once again delivering sensational vintage doom mixed with '70s styled hard rock and a touch of modern stoner metal. If you like Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Scorpions, UFO, Deep Purple, Down, Black Label Society, and Rainbow, then you've come to the right place.
"Masters and Slaves" busts right out of the gate with some mighty Sabbath inspired riffing and massive grooves, while "Sea of Sins" reminds a tad of the Scorpions classic "Sails of Charon" with it's weaving guitar lines and powerful vocal attack. The band moves into creepy, ominous doom on "When Darkness Calls", a song that settles into a hypnotic state right up until the more upbeat, almost bluesy finale, and then unleashes some bludgeoning heavy riffs with "The Seer (Angel of Death)", complete with soaring vocals courtesy of Dimitri Keiski. Things take on a more atmospheric, brooding feel on "The Day the Sun Died", as Keiski & Morgan Zocek create some huge walls of funeral guitar thunder. "Evil Ways" sees the pace kicked up a notch for a crisp, heavy Candlemass or Dio era Sabbath inspired metal number. Final track "Presence" tosses in some folk amid the hard rock for a cool Led Zeppelin vibe, complete with wonderful melodic vocals and a myriad of guitar textures. Check out the awesome final few minutes as the band even throws in some complex Rainbow styled passages and doomy thunder to keep things even more interesting. Great tune.
Sideburn are really 'growing up' quite nicely right in front of our eyes, and this latest release Evil or Divine is mature, top notch doom/hard rock/stoner metal of the highest caliber. Highly recommended!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. Masters and Slaves
2. Sea of Sins
3. When Darkness Calls
4. The Seer (Angel of Death)
5. The Day The Sun Died
6. Evil Ways
7. Presence
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