SISTER – Vengeance Ignited

Although the current situation has been taking a heavy toll on live music for over a year, that does not mean there is nothing to look forward to there. Some artists do anything but lose their drive and motivation and use the lockdown as an excuse to get a new record done, so the fans can get the overwhelming gloominess out of their heads at least for a while. One of those bands is the Swedish quartet Sister with their new album titled Vengeance Ignited which certainly is something fans of such bands as The Misfits or Wednesday 13 will be beyond happy to blast as soon as they can get their hands on it.

The record starts off with a song called “Bring Out The Dead.” That volatile flanger-spiced guitar intro might make the listener think of some Hard Rock songs, such as “Mean Street” by Van Halen, but that’s as far as any comparisons to Van Halen go. The song begins properly shortly thereafter and Sister just get on with doing what they do best, that is delivering a mixture of various subgenres of Punk they incorporate into their music. Some Thrash Metal influences along with ’90s Alternative Rock can be heard too. The overall heaviness and cocksure riffs certainly do bring such bands as Overkill or Pantera to mind. In other words: this stuff kicks. This first song probably could do with a bit more of catchiness to it, especially in the chorus, but fans of Horror Punk most likely won’t be disappointed.

One thought that may cross the listener’s mind while checking Vengeance Ignited is that the band probably cannot wait until gigging can be resumed. Considering the fact about half of the songs on this record are nothing but perfect sing-alongs, one can only imagine how much fun they are going to be when experienced live. That concerns particularly the self-titled track and “Walk With Me,” being the tracks number 2 and 8 respectively. These two songs are highly likely to be the main crowd-pullers off this album. Overall, just like said before, much of Vengeance Ignited can be described fairly aggressive and high-energetic punk with some influences from Alternative Rock and Thrash Metal. There is also one exception to that rule. It is the 9th track on this album called “Whispering Winds.” Compared to the rest of the record, this song sounds really understated and sober. Perhaps it would have been even better if the singer decided to do clean vocals there; the only time he does is when he gives a snort of laughter at the end of “Die With A Smile”, being the track number 7. His clean vocals don’t sound bad at all and he should definitely give it a try because “Whispering Winds” does have a lot of potential to it, especially as that way the band might also appeal to those who are not the keenest Punk fans out there.

Yet another thing that should be mentioned is the contrast between the crude, raw and punchy riffs and the guitar solos, some of which are really melodic and thus really good. “Scream For Pleasure” definitely is an example of a great solo. Scream for more songs like that one! The band might also want to do something about the bass sound – because the bass sure could do with some boost. Even though it’s nowhere near as bad as it is in case of Metallica’s …And Justice For All, it could still be a bit louder and more distinct. It is particularly the song “One Last Ride” – which also happens to be the last track on the album – where the bass could sound really splendid with a bit more punch to it. Perhaps playing it an octave higher could result in a really nice outcome too. Yes, that way it definitely could stand out more. But that is just wondering what if – the album has been released and nothing can be changed.

To put it shortly, Vengeance Ignited certainly is something to look forward to for the fans of many subgenres of Punk Rock. Some orthodox Metal fans may not be fully impressed here, although one never knows, especially if Sister happen to have a really good stage presence and can pull off a great show that could blow more than one Heavy Metal band away. Time will tell. And one last remark: all those who need the singer to sound like Ronnie James Dio or Robert Plant – don’t even bother to check Sister. But on the other hand, as the Exodus drummer Tom Hunting once said in an interview: Paul Baloff was not a good singer. But Exodus was not a kind of band that ever needed a totally good singer. That can be applied to Sister also. Anyone who prefers the real love for music and dedication over impeccable vocal skills may want to check Vengeance Ignited. And if they happen to dig Punk, then they definitely should give it a try.