RoD header

Translate

sleepersguilt whatremained
Artist: Sleepers’ Guilt
Title: What Remained
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Release Date: 3rd June 2022
Label: Self-Released


Album Review

After more than two years of work and a pandemic to deal with, SLEEPERS’ GUILT from Luxembourg will release their second full-length album ‘What Remained’ on 3 June. After the success of their double album ‘Kilesa’ and some line-up changes, quite a lot is expected from the band. The search for a new voice during the Covid-19-pandemic did not turn out to be the easiest task. But the search was successful and the album is in the pipeline. On ‘What Remained’ there are nine tracks that never get below the 4-minute mark on average. Recorded, mixed and mastered by the band’s guitarist Marc Froehling, the album was completely self-produced. ‘What Remained’ deals mainly with the end of mankind and how the machines take over everything. Or are they also just controlled by humans?

The opening track is ‘Posthuman’, which was already released in advance with a video. The intro, which sounds a bit more mechanical, consists of electronic sounds and massive drums, which slowly drags over to the vocals with guitar sounds. Power woman Sany Faihrmann gives all she’s got and kicks out outstanding old-school growls and unique clean vocals. Later in the song, voices can be heard accusing the listener of things. Spoiler warning: with headphones the voices are really haunting. ‘Posthuman’ is a good start and embodies the band's theme, which is the takeover of the machines, really well.

The latter ties in very well with the next song ‘Wrath of Gods’, which is a typical melodic death metal song that invites you to headbang. This is followed by ‘Eye of the Storm’, ‘Freedom Undone’ and ‘Ultimate Sin’, which captivate the listener with their heaviness but also with their quieter parts. From grandiose riffs and solos to heavy drums, everything that makes a melodic death metal album is present in these songs. ‘Ultimate Sin’ even has a part that sticks strongly in the mind after listening to it. This is followed by ‘Train of Thoughts’, which really gets the listener headbanging again. Here the piano stands out, which underlines the whole song in the background and makes it quite unique. But not only the piano makes the song what it is. Also, here the guitarists Chris and Marc do the best to keep the listeners entertained with fantastic solos, while Ben on the drums as well as Philip who’s slapping the bass make the song a real treat.

‘Train of Thoughts’, however, heralds perfectly into the next and longest song on the album: ‘Tides of Fate’. With 10:15 minutes, the latter has everything that makes a decent song. It starts quietly, with a guitar and only Sany’s clean voice, before the whole band enters the song with full force. Later, the theme of the machines is picked up again and electronic sounds are heard. Those who already get in touch with SLEEPERS’ GUILT know that the band like to write trilogies. ‘Tides of Fate’ introduces such a trilogy. Here singer Sany shows her unique and diverse vocal range, but also her band colleagues show their abilities. Here follows one musical highlight with soulful solos after the other. At the same time, the song doesn't lose its heaviness for a second. Then ‘Pyre’ follows, for which also a music video came out before the release of the album.

‘Pyre’ comes around the corner with a lot of power before it gets a bit quieter and gets back into action. In the quieter part, which is introduced approximately from minute 5:30, you can hear an acoustic guitar, which rather reflects the tango style, as well as a didgeridoo and cellos, which were arranged very appropriately here. The final track is ‘The Remains’, which almost scratches the 10-minute mark. This song is partly reminding of some kind of soundtrack and therefore has Hans Zimmer vibes, which is not surprising, since the German composer is one of the inspirations of SLEEPERS’ GUILT. Here it becomes clear once again how much fun and passion the band has writing the songs, from bouzoukis, didgeridoos and throat singing, everything is represented here once again and well-arranged.

Altogether, ‘What Remained’ is a solid album, and when listening to it, one notices how much heart and soul the Luxembourgers have put into this project over the years and especially during the pandemic. This is noticeable in every single song. Furthermore, it is fair to say that this album could already play in a higher league considering that it is a self-production. Even if not every song has the necessary energy and the spark who doesn’t really jump over, as for example with ‘Eye of the Storm’, other songs like ‘Wrath of Gods’ and ‘Pyre’ really heat up the listener and make you want more. These two songs can be imagined very well live and will certainly be delivered to the audience with enough power.

The question of whether the machines are getting the upper hand or if mankind is still in control remains open. But one thing is for sure, with ‘What Remained’ SLEEPERS’ GUILT has expressed their opinion. And it is then up to the listener to find out and form his or her own answer.


Tracklist

01. Posthuman
02. Wrath of Gods
03. Eye of the Storm
04. Freedom Undone
05. Ultimate Sin
06. Train of Thoughts
07. Tides of Fate
08. Pyre
09. The Remains


Line-up

Sany Faihrmann – Vocals
Chris T. Ian – Guitars
Marc Froehling – Guitars
Philip Rio Ries – Bass
Ben Thuy – Drums


Website

https://sleepersguilt.com/


Cover Picture

sleepersguilt whatremained


Rating

Music 8
Sound 9
Total 8.5 / 10


Comments powered by CComment