Title: Sinners International
Artist: Zeromancer
Genre: Industrial Rock
Release Date: 13th February 2009
Label: Trisol
Album Review
It was 2004 when the last ZEROMANCER album ‘Zzyzx’ hit the shops. The promised successor ‘Sinners International’ already was announced for an autumn 2007 release but had to be postponed eventually. But works on the album have been finally completed and ‘Sinners International’ will be definitely released now on 13th February 2009.
ZERAOMACER aren’t kicking things off with one fierce, face-punching example of their Industrial/Rock hybrids; instead ‘Sinners International’ goes a different path with elaborating on gloomy key melodies and industrial bits rather than taking the guitars to the fore. ’Doppelgänger, I love you’ is a bit more like it for that matter. Guitars are pushing through harder while soaring over the pulsing beat and Alex Møklebust’s chant is as dark and intense as one could wish for, trembling with bubbling emotions, he desperately tries to suppress and which eventually break free in the chorus. ‘My Little Tragedy’ blends a speedy rhythm section with a sea of deepest melancholy and the pain within a relationship that’s no longer founding on real love but rather on slavery and hurting the male counterpart physically and mentally “…you on top of me / with your nails in my face, scratching, bleeding”.
The intro sequence of ‘Filth Noir’ really could be from a classic film noir. Elegant and solemn! But then it’s all swept away with the arrival of dirty, industrial-tinged drums injecting a subliminal doze of darkness that keeps floating through the wires inside, and guitars leaving scars of loneliness on your skin. Now we gonna let the hungry lion loose with ‘Two Skulls’, a raging beast with sharp claws it now pulls out. There the cutting-edge rock guitars duel with relentless drum parts and even if the guitars disappear for a few moments, there’s still a lot of tension within the entrails of the arrangement to keep the adrenaline level in very high regions. A slow-motion industrial rock monument comes with the album closer ‘Ammonite’ which has soared up to one of my personal favourites on ‘Sinners International’. It shows up the estrangement from a very close person and the sadness, this apprehension, this final understanding causes reflects in the vocals and melodies as well. “..I don’t know you anymore.”
The waiting time for a new ZEROMANCER full-length was long but it was worth it. The industrial elements, the, in parts, razor-sharp guitar manoeuvres, deep melodies, and the expressive vocals of front man Alex Møklebust make up an unstoppable unit. ZEROMANCER return with a bang and those who found ‘Zzyzx’ too soft will be al satisfied with the new record.
Tracklist
01. Sinners International – 5:03
02. Doppelganger I love you – 4:02
03. My little tragedy – 4:05
04. It sounds like love (but it looks like sex) – 3:23
05. Filth noir – 4:17
06. Fictional – 4:03
07. I'm yours to lose – 3:19
08. Two skulls – 4:11
09. Imaginary friends – 4:01
10. Ammonite – 6:03
Line-up
Alex Møklebust - Vocals
Kim Ljung - Bass, Vocals
Dan Heide - Guitar
Noralf Ronthi - Drums
Lorry Kristiansen – Keyboards
Website
http://www.zeromancer.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/zeromancerzentral
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8 / 10
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