Formed in 2019 and with a single EP to their name, German heavy metallers, Sintage drop their debut long player. After a series of line-up changes, the band have pinned down their sound with strong leanings towards classic heavy metal and the energy of the NWOBHM.
The band waste no time getting into your head.
“Midnight Evil” is a riff packed slice of ‘80’s inspired heavy metal. A heady slab of Paul Di’Anno era Iron Maiden, it’s melodic and punchy. Randy on vocals seems to be searching for his inner Bruce Dickinson over some beautifully crafted hooks. The punked-up refrains of “Venom” have an urgent spikiness to them and there’s a hint of Budgie’s “Breadfan” in the riff. Already obvious is the unlikelihood that this album will stray too far from the path and that’s just fine by these ears. “Wild Dogs” is pure Saxon inspired heavy metal that really does make you want to punch the air.
Elsewhere, the band dips their toes into slightly more thrashy territory. “Escape The Scythe” has a Megadeth edginess to it that demands attention before a more chuggy vibe on “Blazing Desaster”. The album’s second half indeed seems to move away from the influences of early ‘80’s British metal and into the classic American West Coast sound found later in that brilliant decade. These tracks are sharp, no nonsense stabs of aural attack. The anthemic “Rocking Hard” sets up the closing track, “Flames Of Sin” which is a pure Judas Priest “Painkiller” tinged belter.
Clocking in at a lean 34 minutes, “Paralyzing Chains” is no ground breaker. What it does feel like is a true expression of all the neck snapping goodness influenced from a golden era freshened up and delivered in complete style. The production is clean, spacious and captures the energy of four blokes just wanting to crank out the music that they love. Only a hard heart and a hard set of ears could fail to crack a smile at this release. Horns up for some old school!
(7.5/10 Johnny Zed)
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