Sinister

The more that death metal's general tempo accelerates with each passing year, the more that Dutch death-mongers Sinister stay the same. For over a decade now the band has championed the "less is more" philosophy of old-fashioned, "no holds barred" death, and Creative Killings is another in a long line of solid records. Beginning in fine form, as every Sinister album does, with a brief atmospheric intro ("Relic Of Possession"), the decimating thrash of the oddly titled "Bleeding Toward The Wendigo" lunges straight for the jugular. Plenty of The Bleeding-era Cannibal Corpse guitar chordage saturates "Judicious Murder," "Reviving The Dead" and the title track, while "Early Gothic Horror" slows down the action judiciously to invoke Slayer, circa Seasons In The Abyss. "Season Of The Wicked" sees long-time guitarist Bart shredding the frets like Kerry King, but a fiendish cover of the Possessed's "Storm In My Mind" has him soloing as if he were playing to a stadium of 50,000 fans. Growling like one of the boys, new female vocalist Rachel (ex-Occult) is indeed into metal for the cause and not to exploit her sexuality, unlike the majority of her cohorts. "Meat and potatoes" death is what Creative Killings is all about, and Sinister deliver a more than hearty meal once again.