Of Sins and Passion

There was a lot of metal greatness scattered around the Bulgarian countryside in the 90’s… it wasn’t only Sofia that cradled the good outfits. The northern town of Pleven was a very good example of how a not very big but united community could produce a couple of fairly cool acts like the interesting doom/thrash hybriders Mortal Remains, the gothic/doom metallers In Somnus, the more immediate old school thrash bashers Absolute, the progressive power/thrash heroes Sider.

The last two mentioned bands are linked to the one under scrutiny here the guitar player Zhivko Nenkov having shredded in both camps, and the vocalist Atanas Kostadinov having honed his cords on the Sider only album. The style, however, shifts from both patterns sounding closer to the Sider repertoire as it’s still on the progressive power metal side, but its ties to the thrash sector are not inordinately many, and there’s this noisier, rowdier modern-ish flair that can be heard at times although the band never steer the delivery towards the 90’s vogues.

There are shades of the early exploits of both Fates Warning and Crimson Glory Kostadinov sounding a bit more intense compared to his performance on the Sider opus, his attached but not excessively melodic vocals recalling the ones of Ray Alder (Fates Warning). “Master Joe” is a nice early summation of the style on the album with the crunchy aggressive guitars, the lyrical balladic excursions, and the fine lead pirouettes the more orthodox, direct layout of “Sixth Sense” suggesting at some hit potential within the more laid-back heavy/power metal confines. However, this latter trajectory is never followed and in fact is quickly cancelled by the more aggressive, openly thrashy as well, vibe of “Different Point of View” which comes as a short etude from the Nevermore discography its more sterile modernized echoes partly captured by the atmospheric fluctuating dramas stirred on “Hunter of Dreams”. “Of Sins and Passion” is vintage early Crimson Glory with the speed metal accumulations and the more melodic walkabouts whereas “Obsession” can easily qualify for Fates Warning’s “No Exit” with the restless intense/quiet passage juxtapositions and the contrived epic setting.

An excellent diverse recording which also boasts a very clear sound quality the guys exuding professionalism in spades, still working away from the capital although this time it’s more obvious that they would be looking for wider exposure with the loftier production qualities and all. Holding firm to the US progressive metal heritage has always been a wise choice but these lads mean real business here and may as well forge their own more characteristic sound in the days to come… bringing back the thrash more prominently, for instance, doesn’t seem like a very inappropriate possibility having in mind the several aggressive additives encountered here and there. With Nevermore gone (Kostadinov is a very close lookalike to Warrel Dane (R.I.P.)) there’s a sizeable niche left gaping on the scene, and I personally see no reason why it shouldn’t be filled by a bunch of Bulgarian fat white chiefs.

Shouldn’t be so hard for that to be chief… sorry, achieved but it seems as though our friends are taking their time at present… or are rather waiting for Kostadinov to get less busy with the gothic metal formation Angercure (two full-lengths released so far), also from Pleven, which has been his main occupation in the past few years. It would be really painful to see our beloved chiefs going on an indefinite diet because of that and lose their steadfastly nurtured, charmingly complex metal obesity.