Released By: Scarlet Records
Release Date: August 25th, 2023
Genre: Modern Melodic Metal
Links: https://www.facebook.com/sinheresy
Line Up:
Cecilia Petrini – Vocals, Piano
Stefano Sain – Vocals
Lorenzo Pasutto – Guitars
Davide Sportiello – Bass, Keyboards
Gabriele Boz – Drums
Tracklist:
1. The Calling
2. Black Spirit
3. The Life You Left Behind
4. Castaways
5. Brighter Days
6. (R)evolution
7. Forbidden Desire
8. Event Horizon I: Gravity
9. Event Horizon II: Entropy
10. Event Horizon III: Singularity
Italian melodic metal band Sinheresy is yet another one of those bands I had listened to a little bit in the past, enjoyed their music somewhat, and then paid little attention to over the years, fully unaware of how much their sound had evolved since. I first heard their debut EP, The Spider and the Butterfly, back in 2011, followed by their first full-length album, Paint the World, in 2013. Ever since then, I had listened to a couple of tracks from their later albums here and there, never giving them much time or attention, until I recently saw they had a newly released album called Event Horizon, and decided to give it a try. I was equally parts surprised, entertained, and a bit disappointed by parts of the album on a first listen, and after several listens I’d say that while I have some mixed feelings about the album overall, it’s the band’s best work I’ve heard, so far.
One thing I can say for sure: Sinheresy’s sound has changed a lot over the years, largely for the better. Back in 2011, they played an enjoyable, if highly unpolished brand of symphonic metal, very much along the lines of Nightwish, except that they used a mix of male and female vocals throughout the EP. With Paint the World, their sound became a bit more polished, but was largely the same, with the music being solid, while the voice of Cecila Petrini was very nice, but unfortunately, I found the male vocals of Stefano Sain to be rather irritating and not at all fun to listen to. A lot has changed since then, with Event Horizon sounding quite different, In fact, I honestly couldn’t call this any kind of symphonic metal at all, as there are hardly any symphonic elements to be found, while the keyboards often have more of a trance feel to them. It’s a lot harder to categorize the band’s current sound, as it changes a lot from track to track, sometimes falling into alt-metal territory, sometimes showing signs of modern MDM, a bit of power metal and at times there’s even some metalcore. I think the best description would be to simply call it modern melodic metal, as the tracks do tend to rely heavily on the vocal melodies and catchy choruses, but that isn’t to say the musicians aren’t important either, as they all do a great job as well.
One of the more surprising elements of Event Horizon is the guitar work, which can at times be very chunky, at times melodic, and at times it’s very intense and heavy in a more MDM kind of way. Everything sounds great, though, and Lorenzo Pasutto does an excellent job throughout the album. Davide Sportiello’s keyboards are equally impressive, at times leading the way, especially on the more melodic tracks, while at other times providing ambiance to go along with the heavy guitar work. There’s quite a lot of variety to the tracks, with some heavier fare, some lighter fare, and a few tracks that fall in between. From a pure musical and production standpoint, I’d say this is an excellent album, and easily the band’s best release to date, with everything sounding very crisp, clean, and powerful. Vocals, on the other hand, remain as mixed as ever.
As always, Cecilia Petrini’s soft, soothing voice remains enjoyable to listen to, and she does an excellent job throughout the album, sounding similar to the likes of Cristina Scabbia and Amy Lee, and she does an excellent job at carrying choruses especially. Unfortunately, Stefano Sain remains the band’s weakest link. To his credit, he has improved a bit over the years, with his delivery being smoother than it was in the past, and there are times when he does a great job, but there are still plenty of moments where he sounds irritating, especially when doing some metalcore style screams. Even when he uses clean vocals, he sounds decent, but I often can’t help but wish Petrini was singing instead of him, and I do feel his presence somewhat takes away from the strength of her vocals.
One area where the band has improved quite a bit is songwriting. I found the songwriting in their early works to be good at times, but it was generally a bit inconsistent, with some clear standouts hiding among weaker material. That isn’t as much the case with Event Horizon, as aside from one weaker track, I find the album to be consistently entertaining the whole way through, with even the weaker moments largely being the result of Sain’s vocals, more than the actual songwriting failing to deliver.
The album gets off to a fast, explosive start with “The Calling”, one of the heavier, more guitar-driven tracks on the album. The main riff has a strong MDM feel to it, along the lines of Dark Tranquillity and classic In Flames, but slightly modernized and with the inclusion of some light symphonic elements. The track has a ton of energy to it, and Sain does a really solid job during the verses, matching the intensity of the music nicely. The chorus isn’t one of the stronger ones on the album, though, as while Petrini sounds great as always, the vocal melodies aren’t the best, and the lyrics are repetitive. Still, it’s a great track overall, and from a musical perspective, it’s one of my favorites on the album.
Following that strong opening, the band, unfortunately, stumbles a bit with the weakest track on the album, “Black Spirit”. Musically it’s solid, falling more into alt-metal territory, moving at a slower pace and offering up some rather chunky riffs during the verses, contrasted with some much lighter keyboards during the chorus. Unfortunately, the verses are largely led by Sain, who sounds decent, but not great, and then in the chorus Petrini is given a very brief moment to shine before he takes over again and his vocals here sound rather weak and bring the track down.
Thankfully, the band rebounds in a strong way, pairing the two strongest tracks on the album right next to each other. First is “The Life You Left Behind”, a more upbeat melodic metal track, which has slight hints of heaviness, but it stays fairly light and pop-ish throughout, with some very light and melodic guitar work, while the vocal melodies are fantastic, especially during the chorus, which is one of the highlights of the album. The track is entirely carried by Petrini, with Sain only delivering backing vocals, which is the type of setup I feel works best for the band. However, the next track, “Castaways”, shows the two working together quite nicely, and stands out as the best example of dual vocals to be found on the entire album. It’s another heavier track, moving at a moderate tempo, with hints of MDM, as well as some thrash, especially in the opening riff and the excellent guitar solo towards the end. The verses are very light and melodic, with Petrini in top form, but then the chorus kicks in and the music goes into full MDM mode, with a nice mix of dark, heavy guitars and light, melodic keyboards. The best part, though, is the contrast between the light female vocals and the intense, deep harsh vocals, which fall into death growl territory and are very well done.
Another favorite is “Brighter Days”, the lone full-length ballad on the album. Musically it’s very light, with a nice mix of keyboards and some very soft guitar work, while vocally it’s another winner, with Petrini singing very softly and beautifully during the verses, while Sain delivers a genuinely fantastic performance during the chorus, sounding equal parts emotional, smooth and powerful, really bringing out the melodies and lyrics in a great way. This is easily his strongest performance on the album. Next is another heavier track, “(R)evolution”), once again falling more into alt-metal territory, with some chunky riffs throughout, mixed with some lighter guitar work and keys during the verses and chorus. As usual, Petrini’s vocals are light, smooth, and a joy to listen to, while Sain performs some metalcore vocals that almost feel like a sort of screamed rap, and those are simply not fun to listen to, once again bringing down an otherwise entertaining track. Thankfully, those only show up briefly, and the rest of the song is very good, but I still can’t help but feel those vocals are unnecessary.
Moving towards the end, “Forbidden Desire” is another lighter track, with soft, melodic guitar work and some very light drumming, and it’s another track where Petrini gets to take the lead throughout, which instantly makes it one of my favorites. The verses are nice, while the chorus is very fun and catchy, somewhat falling into pop territory, but everything is performed with enough energy and passion for it to still be highly enjoyable. Closing out the album is the three-part title track, though honestly, the main event is in the middle, with the opening and closing parts largely being soft instrumental tracks, aside from the brief chorus reprise near the start of the final part. The actual song is quite good, falling somewhere in between the heavier and softer material found on the rest of the album, with a bit of an alt-metal edge to the riffs, some light keyboards, some nice vocals from Petrini, and a fairly decent performance from Sain during a very catchy, melodic chorus, which ranks as one of the best on the album. Sadly, there are some rather irritating screams towards the end, similar to those found on “(R)evolution”, but these are even briefer than on that track, and everything else here is good enough to help make the song a rather satisfying way to close out the album.
Overall, Event Horizon is an entertaining album, with bursts of greatness, though it’s still hard not to feel Sinheresy hasn’t quite reached their full potential. Musically, it’s a very strong album, showing the band playing a varied brand of modern melodic metal, with a nice mix of various sounds throughout the album, while the vocals of Cecilia Petrini remain an obvious strength. Unfortunately, Stefano Sain’s vocals remain the band’s biggest weakness, despite moments where he sounds greatly improved. Fans of the band are sure to enjoy the album, white fans of light, melodic metal with bursts of intensity would also be well advised to give this album a shot and see if some parts work better for them than they do for me. I think this is easily the best release I’ve heard from the band to date, but there’s still plenty of room left for improvement.
Ratings: 7/10
Written by: Travis Green
My Global Mind – Staff Writer
Travis Green is a Canadian based writer for My Global Mind, with a particular passion for power metal, as well as an interest metal in all its forms.
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