{"id":13624,"date":"2013-08-06T00:00:08","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T00:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=13624"},"modified":"2013-08-16T00:18:09","modified_gmt":"2013-08-16T00:18:09","slug":"album-review-sinister-realm-world-of-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-sinister-realm-world-of-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"SINISTER REALM – World Of Evil (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SINISTER REALM
World Of Evil<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nShadow Kingdom (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Album number three from Pennsylvanian metallers Sinister Realm, World Of Evil<\/em> is \u2013 as one would expect \u2013 a rather middle of the road heavy metal experience that relies on the imagery of dark fantasy and Dio-inspired myth and magic to get its message across. <\/p>\n

Sadly, it\u2019s not the greatest slab of metal you\u2019ll hear this year. This is mainly due to the fact that there\u2019s something rather lightweight about the whole feel of the opus, despite its driving, straight down the throat, hell-bent for leather attitude. I\u2019ve never been a fan of Alex Kristof\u2019s vocals to be honest; seemingly lacking weight and depth, they remind me of when Blaze Bayley stepped into the Iron Maiden void to replace Bruce Dickinson. <\/p>\n

World Of Evil<\/em> isn\u2019t a bad record \u2013 the songs are tight and the production is crisp \u2013 but there\u2019s only so many times you can hear that once distinctive Iron Maiden drum gallop or those placid vocals, which all too often attempt dungeons \u2019n\u2019 dragons invocations. <\/p>\n

For the most part, World Of Evil<\/em> is a solid effort. The drums of Chris Metzger are a sturdy backbone to the composition, and they complement the solid bass which \u2013 just like Maiden\u2019s Steve Harris \u2013 likes to make itself known throughout. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with those classic sounding guitars, and Sinister Realm have all the ingredients to make this a very magical pie. However, as with their previous records \u2013 the 2009 self-titled debut and 2011\u2019s less effective The Crystal Eye<\/em> \u2013 World Of Evil<\/em> feels a tad flat after just a few songs in. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing overtly wrong about the clunking \u2018Bell Strikes Fear\u2019, or the clattering \u2018Dark Angel Of Fate\u2019, and the epic title track is most certainly perfect music for a dark and stormy night as the band chases a myriad of influences, ranging from Dio, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to a more metallic, less threatening style of doom metal, all mixed with hints of power metal. However, it\u2019s just so dull at times that I find myself quickly switching off.<\/p>\n

Sinister Realm are most certainly one of the more sincere of modern metal bands keeping the fires burning, but it just seems a little contrived to me. When hearing opener \u2018Dark Angel Of Fate\u2019 I\u2019m merely counting up the clich\u00e9s, from those sound but dull as dishwater riffs, the unadorned lyrical prowess, the Maiden-esque chorus, and the derivative structures. This sort of stuff is quite simply not the answer to metal\u2019s future, however much we might pound our fists and stamp our feet. <\/p>\n

The only track that really stands out is the seven-minute \u2018The Ghosts Of Nevermore\u2019, with its sinister opening riff and threaded bass. It\u2019s only here that I begin to enjoy the more melodic strains of the vocals. But it all feels over-long though, despite some nice orchestrated touches of doom.<\/p>\n

The lack of originality \u2013 let alone punch \u2013 means that World Of Evil<\/em> falls way short of being a recommended record. The outfit clearly need something far punchier in the vocal department, while the guitars really do ache for some far darker, weightier injection. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s traditional heavy metal, but light years from the fabulous fantasy of Dio. World Of Evil<\/em> is typically modern, in that it lacks a fire in its belly to reproduce the leathery magic of the 80s, and I see no place for this type of tiresome metal.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SINISTER REALMWorld Of Evil Shadow Kingdom (2013)Rating: 5\/10 Album number three from Pennsylvanian metallers Sinister Realm, World Of Evil is \u2013 as one would expect \u2013 a rather middle of the road heavy metal experience that relies on the imagery of dark fantasy and Dio-inspired myth and magic to get its message across. Sadly, it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,692],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-sinister-realm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13624"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13627,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13624\/revisions\/13627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}