Horror Metal
BLKIIBLK
Release Date – April 18th 2025
Links: https://www.sicknbeautiful.com/
Line Up:
Herma Sick – Vocals
L0R1 – Lead Guitar
Nemes – Rhythm Guitar
Big Daddy Ray – Bass
Evey – Drums
Tracklist:
(Human Is) Overrated
My Wounds
Death Police
Haunted
Hate Manifesto
Septem Maleficas
Raise The Dragon
Railride
God Save The Bride
The Rat King
Diggity Dig Dig
I’ve said it before, since I started writing reviews my musical tastes have expanded. Back in the day I wouldn’t have touched this with a barge pole but – OMG – this is brilliant. Sick N’ Beautiful are just that. They play on your darkest fears, they tease you about them and get inside your head with gargantuan riffs, dark melodies and pounding rhythms that are so catchy you can’t stop singing them.
It’s an electronic industrial start on ‘(Human Is) Overrated’ but it’s quickly given a boot up the rear with a proper heavy groove and singer Herma Sick belts it out with a real attitude before things get seriously scary on ‘My Wounds.’ You will be singing the refrain all day. ‘Death Police’ is another that scares the wits out of you. Jeez, this is a monster; Herma Sick goes from a cutie pie to a bitch from hell in the click of a finger before latest single ‘Haunted’ holds hands with the supernatural and your own demons. It’s dark with a sweeping melody then the chorus just crushes you. ‘Hate Manifesto’ is pure evil in a tin and they open it after giving it a big shake letting it spray all over you. Live this is going to a huge anthem. ‘Septem Maleficas’ is pure industrial metal with a massive groove thanks to tribal rhythm from Big Daddy Ray on bass and Evey on drums then we go kinda modern/alt metal on ‘Raise The Dragon’ before the electronic metal of ‘Railride’ goes hell for leather and nothing can stop it as it rides roughshod over everything in its path. Things get creepy on ‘God Save The Bride’ then it builds into a claustrophobic battering of taut guitars and a barrage of drums. What a way to put the point across! ‘The Rat King’ gets a bit dancy in the way Marilyn Manson used to do, Evey’s drum pattern will have you slapping your thighs in time when the groove comes in on the chorus before final cut ‘Diggity Dig Dig’ is a raucous industrial banger with a punky edge.
I was pissed off because this was given to me on a stream, and we only get limited plays which I used up! I want to play this every day, but I will have to wait for release date like everyone else. This will propel Sick N’ Beautiful up the ladder because it’s fuckin’ awesome. The sounds are right up front, precise and powerful and the performances are world class. The images created from the songs are fully cinematic and although some of the images might be disturbing, they all send the right message. Beg, borrow, or steal this!
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 10/10
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