Described as 'rough-around-the-edges' Sister Sin are a Swedish group originating from Gothenburg since 2002. Gothenburg, not Gotham. Specialising in what you could ultimately guess from their name, this hard-hitting force of Metal group has had popular press in their own country but with a massive US and Canada tour coming up, will their popularity continue to grow? I definitely can't speak for the entire world, but heres one view from the UK which may give you the first impression of their latest album, Now And Forever. Track 1 - MMXII starts as quite an epic really, but its not much of a song. More of an introduction to track 2 - End Of The Line. A rather slow paced synth, possibly creating a build up however it has a quite annoying abrupt end and with its short duration, its not giving me that initial album-opening feeling I would of expect from any typical Metal album. End Of The Line however is more of what I want and expect to hear. A high octane fuelled song which is surprisingly catchy and quite a massive shock from the singers efforts, vocals and overall strength. When I first saw images of the band laid out in band promo format, I had my almost immediate expectations. 'Not another Evanescence..', but my guess couldn't have been far from it. If Alice Cooper had an attractive singer of a daughter, I would expect vocalist Liv to be her. He may have a daughter, but alas is irrelevant to the point I'm making. With strong diamond-in-the-rough features I feel enticed by the melodic lyrics and guitar rhythm with solo's which resembles characteristics of Trivium, to me anyway. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jv1v7dbQbHk Fight Song must be a popular choice for songs from artists who like to scream and shout with raw power as lets admit, there must be hundreds of them if you typed it into Youtube. Nontheless, it works for this song. The chorus is filled with gang vocals and enticing lyrics around the name of the song, Fight Song, with again melodic guitars instead of thrashing instruments which does get tiresome from repetitiveness, works well. With a time and place for everything, Sister Sin knows when to put a blazing solo in and musical stings to revolve around the aggressive vocals well. Everything is tight, punchy and without a moment where you think this song goes on for too long. This song, and most other songs in fact. Running Low is the final track I will discuss as if I talk too much, theres not much point in you looking at the album for yourself is there? Opening with a heavily distorted guitar and strong drums, Sister Sin creates an impressive opening. With a verse for guitars to ring out make the vocals create a much bigger impact. At times, this song especially I actually think they could be a bit 'more Metal'. If there was ever a lack of solo (thank god theres not), I would actually class them as more Alternative Rock so ultimately Sister Sin wouldn't be too much of a big change to follow a transition from one genre to Metal. Thanks Sister Sin! A short and snappy review but what do I think? Sister Sin definitely has a different look on Metal. More melodic than thrash which is slightly more easy listening compared to having to be in an angry mood to listen to. Something more similar to The Damned Things where singer Keith Buckley's gruff vocals make more of an impact than the guitars and instruments, to what you normally associate with 'Metal' bands. Hopefully you don't have to be a Tool listening, black-hoody wearing metal head to enjoy and hopefully you will have another 'most listened' to album in your iTunes playlist. Facebook Website