ALBUM REVIEW: The Sinner – Kill The Lights

In today’s modern metal landscape, the diversity of content is stronger, arguably, than it ever has been. However, there still feels like a distinct lack of one particular type of sound that was incredibly pervasive about a decade ago. This would be the big, melodic, anthemic, fist pumping and crowd pleasing heavy metal band. These are the bands that started in the realm of metalcore, but formed an identity based around a growing sense of accessibility and huge hooks and leads; the bands that were perfect to pop on to get pumped up to play some Call of Duty with friends on a Saturday night. Classic albums from bands like ATREYU, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE come to mind. Which is lucky because the debut album, The Sinner, from KILL THE LIGHTS, the brand new band from former BULLET drummer Michael ‘Moose’ Thomas, fills in that void quite nicely with a record that is both an excellent throwback and dose of nostalgia while being firmly rooted in the technicality and sound of today.

The new band was formed from a hodge podge of talented artists either known by or introduced to Moose, who returns to the kit after leaving BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE back in 2017. His new bandmates include THROW THE FIGHT’s James Clark on vocals, Jordan Whelan of STILL REMAINS and Travis Montgomery of THREAT SIGNAL on guitar. The talent of these individuals comes to bear on this record, as it’s evident from song to song that these guys have done this before, and Moose has certainly learned from his long tenure in BULLET. Indeed, in many ways, this record feels a lot like a natural extension of the trajectory BULLET was taking on 2015’s Venom, before they veered away on 2018’s Gravity.

The record first and foremost has a huge sound, thanks to the production of metal legend Colin Richardson. Opening track Shed My Skin eerily begins with what can only be described as a speech from the darkest version of Winston Churchill, before exploding into huge, chunky guitars and thunderous drums. This song is a mission statement with a huge chorus and great vocal melodies from Clark. The song is big, from the leads to the harmonies, and it’s a sticky one. KILL THE LIGHTS make a big statement immediately, and it feels good to hear a song so nostalgic and yet so rooted in the now.

There are plenty of huge stompers and statement songs to be found here as well. The Faceless gallops relentlessly with a keen sense of forward melody keeping it at the front of the brain after it’s over. A thing to note is that Moose has certainly pushed himself further than he has before on this record, and his command of the kit guides the band forward. Watch you Fall and Open Your Eyes place the spotlight on Whelan and Montgomery’s skills, as their leads are the standouts, and the former track has an opening riff that catapults the listener right back to 2009, in a way sure to put smiles on faces. It’s got crunch, and Clark does a great job on vocals as well. His talent is truly balancing his cleans and harsh screams at the times that perfectly call for them.

Another standout is Plagues which starts with an old fashioned megaphone vocal opening and a headbanging staccato riff. A great solo punctuates a song that just projects the feeling that the ante has been entirely raised from where BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE left off. The Enemy is another huge track that has a very TRIVIUM-esque melody throughout, but with that throwback edge. However, Sober is one of the best songs on the record. It’s a barn burner of a track with a massively crunchy guitar tone, and powerful lyrics from Clark. It’s one of a number of songs drawn from Clark’s own struggles with depression and anxiety, a running theme on the record that, again, calls to mind classic record that filled the listener with a sense of power to overcome their problems. It especially hits hard on this track, and on the two, full on ballads on this record, Tear Me Apart and Rest, both of which feature sweeping guitars and some of the stickiest melodies on the album. They sound huge, and major props must be given for capturing a ballad sound that, and it can’t be overstated enough, teleports the listener back to another era, where bands like KILL THE LIGHTS would have been all over rock radio with these tracks.

The album isn’t without flaws, certainly. One of the main downfalls of this kind of metal is that if a track doesn’t find a way to standout, whether through melody or playing, it will quickly fade to the background and be forgotten. That, unfortunately happens with a set of tracks on this album like Chasing Shadows, Through the Night, and a few others. It feels like a bit of padding, and the record overall could have been trimmed a few songs from 13 to about 10, and it would have been better for it.

The Sinner is a great start for KILL THE LIGHTS, who have clearly stepped up to find their way into the mainstream consciousness of metal at large. They have the melodic skill and rhythmic talent to do so absolutely, as they join bands like TRIVIUM that have carried the melodic and accessible yet heavy and technical metal sound into this decade. However, KILL THE LIGHTS differ in that they strip some of that technicality away into a focus on pure melody in both vocal and instrumental sense, in a way that, debatably, hasn’t been done with as much skill since the end of the last decade. In today’s metal world, there’s room for every kind of sound, and Moose can take heart that KILL THE LIGHTS’ modern throwback sound will certainly find itself poised, with some retooling and tinkering, for a prime spot in the years to come. The festival stages are calling.

Rating: 7/10

The Sinner is set for release on August 21st via Fearless Records. 

For more information on KILL THE LIGHTS like their official page on Facebook.