When years ago the popular metal outfit Sister Sin parted ways (they seem to be back together now for at least a bit!), vocalist Liv Jagrell continued to produce some great heavy metal tunes. Gathering musicians around her, the new band was baptized Liv Sin and ‘Burning Sermons‘ is already the second full-length in as many years!

As expected, when ‘Blood Moon Fever‘ kicks off the records, you get a hit of straight-forward and melodic heavy metal. There’s nothing super special about the music to my feeling, it simply grooves away and is the kind of music that makes you bang your head almost automatically. What does make it stand out somewhat are the excellent vocals of Liv. All the different emotions she can bring up with her voice really lift the songs up to new heights.

A track that early on caught my eyes when seeing the guest vocalist, was ‘Hope Begins To Fade’ featuring Björn “Speed” Strid (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra). But musically it actually stuck out as one of my favorite ones as well, starting with a rather epic symphonic intro and, by adapting a slower doomy tempo, adding quite some drama and bombast. ‘War Antidote’ on the other hand will quickly become an anthem for metalheads and others who feel like they don’t belong with the “Hail to the freaks” chorus line. And the power metal-like bombast a la Manowar will only strengthen the song in this.

And in typical heavy metal style, the tracks ‘Slave To The Machine’ and ‘The Sinner’ boast the riling up kind of vibe of “going against the man”. Bringing up some social issues or what you see that is going wrong in the world as an independent thinker, has been a staple for metal since the very beginning and Liv Sin takes good use of this topic, dressed in a modern heavy metal jacket. And just when you thought that you got the style of the band down, they surprise you with the more ominous and doomy track ‘Death Gives Life Meaning’ and a heavy metal ballad with ‘Ghost In The Dark’ before they end in style with another heavy metal burner supported by orchestra pieces and shouts in the background.

Liv Sin delivers with ‘Burning Sermons’ an album filled with heavy metal anthems, social activism and catchy bangers. There is nothing truly original or new, but every track works remarkably well, getting you to sing along, pump your fist, bang your head or all of the above together at once. And especially the versatile vocals from Liv lift the songs to a higher level than before.

Release date: September 6th, 2019
Label: Despotz Records
Tracklist:

1. Blood Moon Fever
2. Chapter Of The Witch
3. Hope Begins To Fade (ft. Björn “Speed” Strid)
4. War Antidote
5. At The Gates Of The Abyss
6. Slave To The Machine
7. The Sinner
8. Death Gives Life Meaning
9. Ghost In The Dark
10. Dead Wind Intermezzo