Album Review: Second Sin

Deathnir (pronounced Death Near) are a four-piece thrash outfit from Hamilton and have recently released their long awaited second release, Second Sin.

For anyone familiar with Deathnir’s sound, you’d know that their musical influences are everything that is good in the world of metal; Megadeth, Metallica, Judas Priest etc, and while you might be thinking that anyone who tries their hand at thrash metal might just be ripping off said artists, a carbon copy of noise, well your kind of wrong.

Yes, you can hear those excellent influences, but the way Deathnir execute each riff, drum kick, bass line and vocal style, it’s all their own and done so flawlessly.

Maybe it’s their young years, but Deathnir remind me a lot of former American heavy metal band, Black Tide (although plenty would disagree I’m sure) a somewhat hidden gem that once uncovered relinquishes this absolute beast of great music that otherwise could have gone unnoticed in the wrong hands. Either way, Deathnir are masters of their genre and the ten tracks ofSecond Sin are worthy of more than just a handful of second and third listens; this is a great album.

To some, the beauty of Thrash is the technicality involved, a sure-fire way to separate the amateurs from the kings. Sure, its impressive how fast you can shred, but if every other component doesn’t gel alongside, especially vocally, then it can throw the listener off, a lot. Fortunately, Deathnir seem to be old hands at their tight musicianship and every nuance just rolls the way its intended and sounds like a hell of a lot of fun too.

I love the diversity of each song, Epitome of Darkness is a definite stand out with its deep foreboding, crunchy riffs and change in tempo. There is a nice mix of melody throughout Second Sin and I can imagine just how well they would execute this live too.

If you’re looking for a bit more Thrash in your collection, look no further than Deathnir. Second Sin is an album worth shouting about and I see a long future ahead for these guys, well done.

_{Review written by Kerry Monaghan}