Review by JD on February 9, 2012.

I love ceratin aspects of Prog Metal. And then there are others I totally despise. I love the intense need of having pure talent and hate that sometimes it is so boring and over complicated that I end up deciding that watching my arm hairs grow would be a better option than to listen to the Prog band I happen to be listening to. That is just how it is for me.

Finland’s Sinfully Yours is a four member Dark Prog Metal band, which plays a style of music that is melancholy with rich lyrics and heavy riffs that have this almost orchestral sort of feel shooting through the album. It seems to move and pulse along with almost a life like animation that is very pleasing to the ear that still satisfies the most picky metalhead with its heavy guitars.

Each of the three tracks on the album is a lyrical masterpiece, and so musically sound, yet the vocals of Benjamin Varonen stop the good vibes cold. Remarkable musicianship needs a great set of lungs to make it all come together. The uninspired, underpowered and very mediocre singing of Mr. Varonen kills the mood and knocks Sinfully Yours down for the count. With thin tonality and a inability to have any range whatsoever, the album falters and sinks into a darkening pit.

Getting a new singer with some balls and making sure there is a bigger budget for better production will make Sinfully Yours a band to watch if they decide to do so. As it stands right now, listen to them for the amazing and fresh music and ignore the whine of the ‘muppet’ on vocals. It is sad that it is all ruined by one part of the machine that does not belong in it - but like all machinery, it can be improved and maximised for optimal usage. God, I hope they do just that.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 5 (vocals kill this rating)
Production: 6
Originality: 7
Overall: 8

Rating: 6.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on November 16, 2020.

Music is for the ears and not for the eyes. Normally! Yet here comes a piece of art one has to consume with both ears and eyes. Inquisition are back with one new track and the video is maybe the best I’ve ever seen. The band performs at a coast with bizarre rock formations, the cloudy sky puts everything in a sallow light and the endless sea seems to open the gates to eternity. Last but not least, the Grim Reaper is also present, but slightly disoriented. Anyway, fantastic pictures of a drum kit in the sea and a front man who performs on one of these rocks deliver the perfect visual component for a song that deserves exactly this monumental sight.

Despite the time span of five years without new recordings, Inquisition’s majestic Luciferian Rays presents a seamless follow-on to the last equally great albums of the duo. No typical trademark is missing. The demonic yet well understandable voice sings lyrics which are formed by many “usual” and “simple” words, but exactly the simplicity of the text conveys a very special form of spirituality. The musical grandeur is based on a dense sound and among other things on the fantastically miniature melodies which show up after every line of the verses. 'Luciferian Rays' is no overly extreme song and the dominating mid-tempo underlines the rather mid-harsh approach. However, it is full of passionate adoration, diabolic aesthetics and unsolved mysteries. The perfect flow of the melodic chorus (and the entire song) and the really great and profound guitar solos with their tragic and fatalistic tones add the final touch to a true masterpiece which lies in close proximity to perfection.

Two open questions remain: where the hell has this video been filmed? And, even more important: how long do we still have to wait for a new full-length? I don’t expect an album with ten or twelve killers of this kind – nevertheless, I eagerly await the successor of Bloodshed Across the Empyrian Alter….

Rating: 9.5 out of 10