Album Review: Sintage - Paralyzing Chains
Reviewed by Rick Eaglestone
Following on from a well-received debut, German heavy metal aficionados Sintage return with their first full length album Paralyzing Chains.
Swarming in full on NWOBHM mode is the opening track 'Midnight Evil' has duelling guitars, gallops, head twisting solos and power vocals – there are so many influences you could pick out in the bass tones and beyond. This formula very much follows into the chant led “Spirit of the Underground which also explores the European metal side a little more.
Sintage have kept their reptilian aesthetic from debut EP The Sign, with Paralyzing Chains giving off more of an 80’s vibe, 'Venom’s lyrical contact is not only incredibly catchy but ties well with both releases. This is moves into the hard-hitting hard rock 'Wild Dogs' which really show off Randy’s vocal range and if you listen carefully it feels like there is a nod to early Metallica too with some similar sounding parts, let’s just say if you’re a fan of Kill ‘Em All then it’s a real easter egg moment.
A nice spoken word part weaves throughout 'Escape the Scythe' which add another dynamic that the band fully run with, this is far from metal by numbers as my foot has stopped tapping throughout and the more, I listen to this album, the more this track becomes the one I come back to time and time again.
With no signs of slowing down the album hurtles into 'Blazing Desaster' is easily the most solo heavy of the entire album, the band then switch direction into almost glam rock territory with 'Rocking Hard' and even though the band do pull it off due to their skillset it just unfortunately missed the mark a little bit with me. This is accompanied by final offering 'Flames of Sin' which does contain some similar traits of the previous track but also blends the sound of most of the album so there is a redeeming quality.
Overall, there are a lot of positives to take away from this debut. The band have not strayed too far way from the sound on Debut EP The Sign even though there have been line-up changes in that time, if anything, they have looked through a microscope, extracted everything that works and amplified that. Personally, it’s a shame that tracks especially like 'Nightcrime' didn’t make an appearance, hopefully at a later date this may happen in bonus track form but with that being said the eight tracks that make up this album are supercharged in their own way and I look forward to what the band do next after this.
