The Dutch combo Sin7sinS was formed in 2006 and did release one demo, before fading away in silence. It wasn’t until 2010 before they came up with a first studio album, Purgatory Ltd., which was released via Massacre Records. Press (at least quite a big deal) and audience welcomed the material with open arms, and live shows followed with the likes of Epica and Leaves’ Eyes, as well as Sepultura. In 2012 Sin7sinS returned with the sophomore album, Carnival Of No Tomorrow, this time via Suburban Records from their home country. After a short European tour (with Leaves’ Eyes and Atrocity), the band started finishing new material for what would eventually become the third album, and once again Sin7sinS worked with nobody else but Metal-guru Dan Swanö (!).
Purgatory Princess is the title of that third album, and it lasts for forty two minutes. And indeed it brings safe, trusted modern-sounding material. Several riff structures are of a mostly heavy kind, with fine breaks and tempo-changes included. Besides, there is much more variation throughout the whole album, by adding electronic and symphonic passages in contrast to the hard-rocking leads. And on top of it, there an extended scala of emotions and atmospheres defining each single piece on the album.
But… (there always has to be a ‘but’, hasn’t it?) Purgatory Princess is a collection of clichés too. The classical skilled vocals from Lotus van den Wijngaard in interaction with clean male voices and several grunts; the bombastic orchestrations (though sometimes highly interesting, like the massive intermezzo in Say What You Want) or space-proggy electronics; the catchy, little predictable riff structures; the overpowering, energetic rhythm section; the surgically-precise mix and clinically-polished production; the poppy song lyrics; with Bittersweet Dreams there is even the obligatory ballad. Catchy and easy-listening Heavy Radio-Rock performed by skilled and crafted musicians…