German power metal band Sinbreed roars back to the scene with Master Creator, the highly anticipated follow up album to 2014’s Shadows.

For those wondering about the heritage of German band Sinbreed, the band does have a heritage garnering credibility in the power metal community as members of the band have included guitarist Marcus Siepen and drummer Frederik Ehmke from Blind Guardian.  For Master Creator, however, Marcus has left the band to concentrate on Blind Guardian but Frederik remains and the rest of the lineup is unchanged.  As a result, fans of the bands other releases When Worlds Collide (2010) and  Shadows (2014) have little to fear.

Master Creator wastes no time roaring to life and letting the listener know this is a power metal album.  “Creation of Reality” jumps quickly into the harmonized twin guitar lead and a breakneck pace and heavy riffs for the verses.  Add in some vocal melodies for the chorus sections and you pretty much have covered all of the elements expected in a power metal song.  Performances are strong and production is what one would expect for the genre – all instruments are clear in the mix and vocals mixed in at the right level to be clear but not overwhelming the music.  Herbie Langhans vocals have a great clean but gritty feel to them that adds a unique touch to go along with the expected large range.

There are some subtle changes in some of the songs that keep the album from becoming  predictable as power metal albums sometimes do.  “Behind A Mask” has a darker tone and opening riff that sets the overall tone for the song and adds a bit more power as well.  Overall pacing of the song is still fast as most of the Sinbreed songs tend to be but the song does change pace from time to time and it also  features one of the better guitar solos on the album.  Likewise, “Moonlit Night” also changes things up slightly, opening with a riff that sounds like a bit of a homage to some 80’s hair metal, before slowing down to a crawl for a verse section that sounds like something out of Queensryche’s playbook and even has Herbie Langhans dropping down quite a bit in register to deliver the smooth verses.

“Master Creator” and “Last Survivor” keep the album flowing as expected until “At the Gate” takes the listener completely by surprise.  Opening with soft piano and a slow pace, it becomes quickly clear this will be a ballad.  As usual, strong vocal harmonies characterize much of the song and chorus sections and the piano remains an integral part, driving the song along.  The song itself has a bit of a darker tone and feel to it as well that makes it interesting and sets it apart from just being another ballad.

Following the ballad, things stay a bit different as a funky keyboard line opens up “The Riddle” before the guitars take over.  This is one of those songs where guitar and vocals really drive the verse sections and almost seem to displace the rest of the band, which is not terribly unusual in power metal but really caught my ear for some reason.  The album closes with another track that goes in a bit of a different direction.  “On the Run” starts out simply enough with yet another fast guitar riff and galloping drum and bass line much like other songs on the album but the song does harbor the unexpected.  The chorus sections and second half of the song carry a much brighter tone and feel and at one point, the chorus takes on a musical accompaniment much like a that you’d hear in a folk metal album before closing out in typical Sinbreed style.

When I reviewed Shadows, I found it to be a very solid album that just seemed to be missing that special “something” to make it special.  Performances were great, production was great but there seemed to be something missing.  I wanted to like it a lot more than I did.  This time around, Sinbreed have captured some of that intangible and left us with another fast-paced, enjoyable power metal album.

Rating: 8/10

Written by John Jackson

“Master Creator” tracklisting:
01. Creation Of Reality
02. Across The Great Divides
03. Behind A Mask
04. Moonlit Night
05. Master Creator
06. Last Survivor
07. At The Gate
08. The Riddle
09. The Voice
10. On The Run

Band Members:
Herbie Langhans – Vocals
Flo Laurin – Guitars
Frederik Ehmke – Drums
Alexander Schulz – Bass

Albums:
“When Worlds Collide”  [2010]
“Shadows” (2014) [review]
“Master Creator” (2016)

Weblinks:  Facebook / Website / Twitter

Record Label: AFM Records, Feb. 2016

Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission

Lyric video for ‘Creation of Reality’

Video for ‘Moonlit Night’