Band: Sinners to Saints
Album: The Greatest of These (Amazon | iTunes)
Label: Red Cord Records
Release: 3/26/13
Reviewer: Brody
Tracklisting:
- Altar Ego
- Angels & Demons
- The Wold’s Collapse
- Fractures (Feat Garret Rapp of The Color Morale)
- Vanquisher
- Life, Like Statues
- Testify
- Vessels (Feat Chris Galvez of Steady Hands)
- Peace//Keeper
- The Greatest of These
- Charisma
- In Spite of You
Red Cord Records has been making a name for itself over the last few years. Making blockbuster signings such as Inhale Exhale, Phinehas, and Blank Page Empire to name a few. However, it’s been the lesser known bands on Red Cord’s roster lately that have been stealing my attention away. Sinners to Saints has been at the top of my listening list lately. In fact, I’ve been hard pressed to find myself listening to much else.
I’ll preface this review by saying that Sinners to Saints does not really bring anything new to the table, but the amount of passion, craftsmanship, and fun they pour out. After the short intro, Angels & Demons gives the listener their first real taste of the album. Chunky off-time chugs unreal drum riffs give way to soaring melody found in both the guitars and clean vocals.
Usually the clean vocals are what makes or breaks a metalcore band these days. If there is a trace whineyness, most listeners will tend to avoid the band completely. Sinners to Saints have a great mix in their cleans, best exemplified by The World’s Collapse, where the cleans get their fair share of the spotlight in one of the heaviest tracks on the record. They have just the right amount of grit to still maintain the ability to sing along while avoiding the stereotypical metalcore singing.
Fractures is a stand out track, feature Garret Rapp of The Color Morale. The vocalist begins the song by frantically bellowing, “Stop living so safely/Tear down your walls/There’s a world outside of them/waiting for you to conquer it.” while guitars keep a frantic pace to keep time with speedy leads. About half way through the song Rapp makes his presence known as he softly croons before roughly screaming, “Stop hiding behind the safety of mediocrity/The world is yours to take/so love, and forget what it’s like to break!”.
Life, Like Statues sees the clean vocals truly shining once again, with anthemic choruses that seep with heartfelt emotion. The drums also make quite an impression on this track as James Mowrer goes seamlessly between rhythmic double bass to choppy, mind blowing beats.
Charisma and In Spite of You bring the album to a close nicely, as they are two of the heaviest tracks on the record, refusing to let “The Greatest of These” go out with a whimper. Charisma features impressive leads and riffs throughout that had my head bobbing nonstop. The track also features a neat singing section with chugging behind it. In Spite of You stays heavy but is a fairly slow song, lumbering like a behemoth to the end of the album, trailing off with sombre piano.
The only real negative thing I found with the “The Greatest of These” is that I found it to get a little stale towards the back end of the record. A few of the tracks become a little forgettable and tend to meld together.
Overall: Sinners to Saints are a great addition to the growing Red Cord roster. I believe they will be a staple band in the lineup in a very short amount of time with the sheer amount of talent and passion the exude. With just a little more variety in their dynamic, I think they could make a truly great album.
RIYL: Ace Augustine | Life in Your Way | Letter to the Exiles