SANHEDRIN
“Lights On”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Sanhedrin are a heavy metal band from the USA formed in 2015, and have released three albums to date – ‘A Funeral For The World’ (2017), ‘The Poisoner’ (2019), and 2022’s ‘Lights On’…

…which features a collection of eight songs about the feelings of loss, uncertainty, hope, fear, and anger. Opening song ‘Correction’ references the recent global pandemic (more commonly referred to as COVID-19), and the impact it’s had on everyday life for everyone. The song itself has the most wondrous traditional heavy metal sounding riff to bring it to life – one of those riffs that immediately grabs your attention. And the pace of ‘Correction’ has the classic “foot on the monitor’ feel that warms the heart of every old school metaller – me included. Such a great opening, the band move swiftly on with the title song ‘Lights On’ – pulsating at a more sedate pace, but still with a sound so synonymous with the eighties style and sound of heavy metal. The band have also gone for a more “live” feel to the album, rather than the perfectly polished one that many bands prefer. And that’s a good thing, ’cause I feel it gives the album more energy and reality.

Heavier hitting than either of the two opening songs, ‘Lost At Sea’ is a mid tempo swagger, punching hard and kicking harder – yet it has such a massive melodic edge that it also remains fresh and airy. Fans of both metal and rock will dig this one, the band catering for a very wide ranging audience. And in keeping with the recent punchy feel, ‘Change Takes Forever’ is even harder hitting! It’s like going ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer, only for a second boxer to enter the ring, and you gotta go for another ten! The band are well and truly keeping the pedal to the metal as far as intensity goes – the album featuring a high level of ways to hook the listener and keep them hooked. ‘Code Blue’ – which is inspired by the night the bands singer Erica Stoltz met her “partner in crime” and is “about carnal desire and choosing to take someone home and into your heart” – ventures close to ballad territory but no way does it enter. For ‘Code Blue’ prefers to be more blues fuelled with a touch of Southern rock and a slight hint of the eighties/nineties Motley Crue, Skid Row and Ratt era sleaze. The bands diverse direction of musical inspiration is keeping the album alive, with many twists and turns, yet remaining in the realms of heavy metal with the odd excursion across the border to rock.

Referencing the 2019 Russian archaeological find of four female warriors from ancient times, buried with all their battle gear, ‘Scythian Women’ is a blistering gallop of all out pace – the first time the album has provided the die hard head bangers of the world the opportunity for some proper head banging. The frenetic pace is reminiscent of the legendary Motorhead, rattling forth with a purpose and intent – a purpose and intent to bang the head of every listener everywhere! With its more mellow and serene beginning, ‘Hero’s End’ once again moves toward ballad territory, but at just one minute in, the brakes are hit hard and we divert into the anthemic hymn-like lands of bands such as Sabaton and Powerwolf. The bold bombastic nature of ‘Hero’s End’ is replete with a vocal delivery that switches between soulful and aggressive – with a menacing growled vocal line late on in the song that is pretty damn scary! You have been warned! Bringing the album to a close is the seven minutes plus ‘Death Is A Door’ – a twisting and turning swagger of differing metal and rock styles. From the mellow soft rock of the opening, to the blistering pace of the main section of ‘Death Is A Door’, Sanhedrin end their new album in a highly energetic fashion.

Overall, an infectious blast of catchy heavy metal, highly melodic and overly infectious.

TRACKLIST

Correction
Lights On
Lost At Sea
Change Takes Forever
Code Blue
Scythian Women
Hero’s End
Death Is A Door

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