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SINNER RAGE
Powerstrike

Dying Victims Productions (2025)
Rating: 7/10

Spain’s Sinner Rage is the latest European act to tread the New Wave Of Traditional Metal boards with this, their debut full-length album. Hailing from the Basque Country, Sinner Rage consist of vocalist Aritz Martínez, guitarists Aritz Yarza and Jara Solís, bassist Dan Speedhammer (who clearly didn’t get the memo regarding the band’s “no extravagant names” policy!) and drummer Javi Riñones.

Powerstrike is another of those catchy and energetic albums that’ll appeal greatly to the metal festival goers and battle vest-wearing brigade. The album bristles with a charm and in spite of the vocals being more warble instead of warrior cry, the band still musters up a rather fleet of foot heavy metal that nods to the mid 80s era.

The opening title track is indicative of what this debut has to offer; the guitars are crisp and concise, the bass and drums tumble nicely and the chorus strikes with immediate effect. Sinner Rage boast that light and airy style of traditional metal. There’s no gloom or heavy artillery, just fluid and well mannered dynamics that even veer towards a “hair metal” vibrancy.

For the 31 minute duration I found myself nodding along to the instant attractions of tracks like the subtle, soulful and brooding ‘Chained By Night’, the galloping ‘Call Of The Wind’ and the trudging ‘Highway Knights’. There’s certainly an element of variation within the general Euro metal framework. In fact, Sinner Rage showcase not only a fragility but a light glint of steel, so it’s quite easy to warm to the compositions as they amble by.

That’s not to say the opus is bereft of weight, far from it. ‘Fire’s On’ on is a good example of a crisp heaviness, while at the other end of the spectrum there are borderline speed metal cuts such as ‘Angel Of Combustion’, and then somewhere in between there’s the pump of ‘Dangerous Attraction’.

All in all this is a nice offering, stable in its dynamics while employing flickers of colour. The Spanish and Greek scenes in particular continue to thrive and Sinner Rage are now very much in the thick of the action.

Neil Arnold

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