Andres Ortiz, the man behind “The Saving” is out with his third solo album “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God”. The album was successfully funded through Kickstarter and recorded by Jay Young in October 2015. The one-man army hails from Miami, Florida and is the force and brains behind “The Saving”, a solo project. His previous releases, Reign Of Terror [Eponymous] and David Star, were received well amongst fans. A video posted on their Facebook page has grandmas head banging to “Bathsheba”, I haven’t seen grandmas ever moshing up the scene. But thanks to you Andres, it will remain etched in my memory forever. And thanks again to expanding the genre to all ages.
The album takes its title from a sermon of the same name which was written by British Colonial Christian theologian Jonathan Edwards in 1741. A Wikipedia page quotes that, “Edwards hoped that the imagery and language of his sermon would awaken audiences to the horrific reality that he believed awaited them should they continue life without devotion to Christ. The underlying point is that God has given humanity a chance to rectify their sins. Edwards says that it is the will of God that keeps wicked men from the depths of Hell. This act of restraint has given humanity a chance to mend their ways and return to Christ”
The genre for this album as described by Andres is Christian metal, although I feel it has some elements of Doom metal, Slam Metal and Djent to its sound. The odd time signatures are present in various sections of the songs, which are well coordinated with the thrashing drum rolls and are a treat to ears.
The album opens up with Wrath and Condemnation, and thanks to its truly evil Intro, which feels like its straight out of a horror movie, leaves a vivid impression of the Angry God. The song introduces you quickly to the various genres that you may encounter in the album. Andres takes his time fitting in the lyrics beautifully to the various segments of the song. With Desolatam, Andres brings djent riffs on the guitars, and one is impressed with the flawless mix of riffs and guttural screams, which sounds dry but makes its point.
Hatred & Malice, Cursed & Hopeless and Misery & Sadness has pretty interesting arrangements. Here again we hear the angry god, speaking through the harsh sections of the songs. The clean narrative vocals on Cursed & Hopeless, Bless & Hopeful and Misery & Sadness makes for an interesting Interlude preceded by the Marching drums. Post Tenebras Lux doesn’t really feel like a song, but more of a sermon and has a beautiful piano element towards the mid.
With Joy & Gladness, a mellowed out song compared to the others on the album, the much required and evident bass slaps are added to the sound. Gentleness & Respect has a catchy intro, but by now we understand that the songs are a bit formulaic.
Marantha which features Samuel Leiro has some evil screams and some really good Djent guitar riffs. With Grace & Salvation, Andres brings a closure to this wonderful album and treats us with a much needed guitar solo.
Production – The songs have several layers which gives the album a mature sound as is needed because of complex arrangements of the songs. There aren’t many guitar solos in the album. As a bass enthusiast I really do look forward to the low tones that I found missing.
Conclusion – There are a lot of sermons embedded in the songs and a lot of different styles of metal embedded too. If you want to try something fresh and different, this is definitely the album you’ve been waiting for.
Rating: 7.5/10
Written by: Ankit Sood
Tracklist:
1. Wrath & Condemnation 04:23
2. Desolatam 02:25
3. Hatred & Malice 03:50
4. Cursed & Hopeless 03:51
5. Misery & Sadness 04:53
6. Post Tenebras Lux 02:12
7. Joy & Gladness 03:29
8. Blessed & Hopeful 03:10
9. Gentleness & Respect 03:51
10. Maranatha 04:14
11. Grace & Salvation 06:01
12. δοῦλος 02:19
Band Members:
Andres Ortiz – multi-instrumentalist and vocals
Discography:
“Reign Of Terror EP” (2012)
“David Star” (2014) [review]
“Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God” (2015)
Record Label: Unsigned, July 2015
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Bandcamp / Twitter
Lyric video: ‘Desolatam’