Despotz Records
Review by Tatianny Ruiz
Starting over in a new band can be a tiring and sometimes exhausting process for some musicians, this could be the case for the phoenix singer Liv Jagrell after she left the band Sister Sin after their last album in 2014, but new winds brought new perspectives and in 2016 the band LIV SIN was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, ready to emphatically address themes such as religion, society, war and struggle, in vigorous heavy metal lines.
Liv was reborn as a vocalist and with LIV SIN came the first singles and a debut album in 2017, “Follow Me“. Now it’s been two years since this release and a few more singles and the “Inverted” EP finally brought us in 2019 to full-length “Burning Sermons” by Despotz Records on September 6th.
Well, now that we have all the information it’s time to turn up the volume and start “Burning Sermons” audition, and from what I find in this cover art I could almost say that in front of me is a Death, or maybe a Black metal album? No, and though I’ve heard some criticism about it sounding too commercial…I’m loving it. I’ve been really overwhelmed by a lot of women with sweet vocals or trying to impose themselves as rebels but understand, I’m still a metalhead, I just surrender to the most visceral vocals and Liv steps on safe ground following legends like Doro Pesh and Lita Ford, Hallelujah!
I think some people see the commercial as a thing of the past but look, we’re in such a strong wave of modernity that I miss heavy metal old school bands of goddess women and musicians in the old chemistry that still works very well for me.
I could almost see a retrospective flashing through my mind with “Ghost In The Dark” and its solid-riff guitar beat delineating a more melodious but equally powerful track bordering on a “ballad“, while others duel between traditionalist heavy metal and the modern elements like in “Blood Moon Fever“, and the drums and solo bring back the master metal move.
“The Sinner” will electrify you, leading the listener through fast drum work and Liv‘s explosive highs, the track just throwing us back into the past. If the traditional is commercial then please leave me in the traditional! “Hope Begins To Fade” becomes a choir echoing in my head and even though I find some newer additions being matched in the elements, the track works like adrenaline for genre lovers. By the way, it’s been a long time since a female singer has hit my ears like this and I just keep getting impressed through “Chapter Of The Witch” where the whole band sounds flammable.
We’re talking about heavy metal, babe! We’re talking about screaming guitars, emphatic rhythms and dense bass and drums, nothing short of that, and for sure LIV SIN delivers the order with good quality, clean production and the vigor of the reborn genre, “War Antidote” and “Death Gives Life Meaning” confirm my judgment. We will still have “Dead Wind Intermezzo” to close and I can only conclude with the following word “POWERFUL“. If visually the band doesn’t differ much, at least in sound, they do, and heavy metal is a lucky card when used well and LIV SIN is a great promise to the genre.
Rating – 100/100
Tracklist:
- Blood Moon Fever
- Chapter Of The Witch
- Hope Begins To Fade
- War Antidote
- At The Gates Of The Abyss
- Slave To The Machine
- The Sinner
- Death Gives Life Meaning
- Ghost In The Dark
- Dead Wind Intermezzo
- Freddy
Line Up:
- Liv Jagrell – Vocals
- Patrick Ankermark – Guitars
- Chris Bertzell – Guitars
- Tommie Winther – Bass
- Emil Nödtveidt – Session Drums
- Per Bjelovuk – Session Drums Record
Links:
Liv Sin Official Facebook page
Bandcamp
Despotz Records