Attacker – Sins of the World

Coming off of the very successful “Giants of Canaan”, USPM stalwarts Attacker are back a few years later with their next release, “Sins of the World”. In general, this album really isn’t all that different from the last one. Attacker’s sound is firmly planted in raging, high-speed power metal from a time when that subgenre only referred to one style of music. Right from the opening of “Sins of Man”, you are assaulted by the two common themes of this record: wicked riffing and absolutely insane, shrieking vocals from Bobby Lucas. If you can’t stand vocalists who sound like an air raid siren, “Sins of the World” will be a difficult sell because Lucas spends much of this album annihilating his vocals cords. He does have a more normal upper-range singing voice that is also effective, but Attacker is at their best when Lucas is emulating Rob Halford’s performance on “Painkiller”.

That Judas Priest album really is an appropriate comparison to “Sins of the World” in general because this release is a constant onslaught of balls-out heavy metal. Attacker is really going for it on this record, and the outcome is an album that should appeal to all metal fans. Beyond the vocals, the other driving force of this record is the guitar playing. These tracks are filled to the brim with charging riffs, many of which have a galloping feel to them even if they’re more complex than that. There is definitely some intricate playing on this record, though nothing completely unreasonable. The intro to “World Destroyer” is perhaps the most effective example of the sheer power of Attacker’s riff arsenal, but there is no shortage of mind-bending fretwork. 

Relative to “Giants of Canaan”, the one area where “Sins of the World” falters slightly is that this album just isn’t as memorable. Tracks like “Carcosa”, “We Rise”, and especially “Archangel” are definitely going to stick with you, but I’m not certain this album will have a ton of lasting power beyond how enjoyable its overall sound is. That doesn’t diminish the fact that “Sins of the World” definitely scratches the modern USPM itch, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to call Attacker one of the better old-school bands of this style. At times, this album might feel like too much: it’s so ridiculous, and so over the top, but that’s exactly its appeal!

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Highlights

"Carcosa"

"We Rise"

"Archangel"

Final Rating

3.8/5 or 76%. 

Written by Scott