Swedish-Finnish metal band KARDINAL SIN are about to release their second second full-length studio album titled “S.A.L.I.G.I.A” on March 3rd, 2023 through Massacre Records. It’s curious how the labels try to sell their acts nowadays: seems the ‘power metal’ tag is the way to go, however KARDINAL SIN aren’t ‘power’ or ‘aggressive’ at all.
KARDINAL SIN’s music is ‘happy metal’, very melodic, bombastic and commercial. The song’s metrics simply doesn’t belongs to power metal – this is melodic metal meets pop&rock with a huge production. Think Helloween at their most accessible.
That being said, “S.A.L.I.G.I.A” is an entertaining, solid collection of catchy songs benefited by being short and effective, with the necessary twists between them to make the album flow easily.
Most KARDINAL SIN members are ex- Rough Diamond musicians, with experience. The first thing to note are the stellar keyboard contributions of Thomas Geson, a man who clearly thinks carefully about his work. That thought pays dividends repeatedly throughout the album, as Geson uses a variety of unexpected textures and tones that really catch the ear. His orchestrated approach on ‘The Siege of Jerusalem’ is particularly remarkable.
Similarly impressive is the vocal performance of Danne Wikerman; on the aforementioned ‘Jerusalem…’ he meshes with guest vocalist Ellinor ‘Hellinor’ Asp (The Project Hate MCMXCIX) in superb fashion. So superb in fact that it’ll probably send goosebumps shooting up and down your spine. Asp is a quite strong vocalist, but Wikerman loses nothing in the exchange, and his performances on the album’s other two standout cuts, ‘Reveal The Sinners Soul’ and ‘The Velvet Lies’, are equally impressive.
Sophie Conte and now-departed axe partner Joakim “Jocke” Vähätalo work well together without flashiness but with maximum solidity; Indeed solidity is a hallmark of a lot of the material here, but when the band really go for broke – as they do on the tracks I’ve highlighted – they really carry the look – and, more importantly the sound – of cast-iron contenders.
01 They Crashed In The Storm
02 The Beginning Of The End (wasteland Symphony Pt: 1)
03 Siege Of Jerusalem
04 Lost Imperium (wasteland Symphony Pt: 2)
05 Reveal The Sinners Soul
06 S.a.l.i.g.i.a
07 In The Line Of Fire
08 Devastation
09 The Velvet Lies
10 The Aftermath (wasteland Symphony Pt: 3)
Kardinal Sin – S.A.L.I.G.I.A 2023, MP3+FLAC
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