Review by Alexi on May 6, 2005.

King + Fredrick = Kinrick

[sarcasm]Holy shit, what an brilliant band name![/sarcasm]

Does Kinrick deliver groundbreaking, original material on Sense Your Darkness? The cleverness of the bands’ name (ed.: and album title!) speaks for the quality of their music. Even the most easily influenced aficionados of heavy metal would label Sense Your Darkness as poor.

Hailing from Atlanta, GA. Kinrick consists of former Firewind vocalist, Stephen Fredrick and Vainglory axeman, Corbin King. Rounding out the lineup are bassist James Martin and drummer Stian Krsitoffersen.

The album emphasizes and is structured around the guitar. King writes three or four commendable riffs throughout the course of the first five songs, as exemplified in “Call of Honor,” the dramatic opener. However, the sparse originality of the first half of the album disappears for the final seven tracks. With no commendable leads and a few tasty riffs to his credit, King could have been replaced with a session musician to achieve a similar result.

The other aspect of the music which eats away at your nerves about one-third of the way through the record are the vocals. With all due respect to Fredrick, his vocal range is not suited for this music at all. He was somewhat successful in Firewind, however, that does not mean he can automatically assert himself into a role for which he is clearly inappropriate. If I could go back and change one thing on this record, I would have found a vocalist who could sing some falsettos, rather than one who half-assed screams lines of cheesy heavy metal lyrics, reminiscent of a constipated 40-year-old in the midst of a mid life crisis.

If you are a promoter, label executive or band member, you know you are in deep shit when the two selling points of the album lose their potency after four songs. It’s safe to say that the people at Leviathan Records made a poor investment in a band which is so uncreative that they couldn’t even think of a good band name, let alone put forth a valiant, creative effort. If you want to waste some money, go for it. I challenge you to buy this record and have a more enjoyable listening experience than when you bought St. Anger by Metallica.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Production: 4
Originality: 2
Overall: 4

Rating: 3.4 out of 10

Review by Anna on March 10, 2010.

Listening to this album is like reading diary accounts of someone's severely fucked up life, and apparently mind... at times humorous, often times sobering, and many times heart-wrenching. Quite frankly, this work of art is honest as fuck. It is only through this level of dignified honesty that one can connect to a work on such an intimate level. "Live At Colonia Dignidad" is a glimpse into a psyche that's trudged through the most putrid cesspits of life, a point where nothing but the raw filth of your unyielding, agonizing existence is felt. It will certainly conjure forth what pain lies deep within you, and if you're anything like me, a most extreme and maternal sympathy. A journey through this mind-altering insanity offers a purifying release in the most enlightening of ways.

This work is first and foremost a free-form emotional outlet of subsequent spiritual cleansing, not something to pick up if you're looking to be entertained. For the sake of the "music" aspect of this review, there is a basis in depressive doom accompanied by a stream of vocalized agony, with elegant yet sparse instrumental utterings in between. Yes Sir Albert does sing a bit, and if you think it's worth it to pick this up for the two tracks of his beautiful voice tugging on your heartstrings then you know what to do. But thou must take heed: you have NOT experienced the true essence of this work if you have not perused the visual art accompanying the music. It is vital to the utterly sublime experience of "Live At Colonia Dignidad".

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.2
Atmosphere: 9.5
Production: 10
Originality: 10
Overall: 10

Rating: 9.3 out of 10