The Sinner Rides Again
I’ve been talking about this album with the guys in Kks priest since before the last album came out. Sermons of the sinner was an epic album, and everything that I’d heard about The Sinner Rides Again says it’s going to be a much heavier, hard hitting album. And boy was i in my element on the first listen. This is a heavy offering from KK Downing and the rest of the guys.
KK is joined by Tim Ripper Owens on vocals, AJ Mills on second guitar and the rhythm section is Tony Newton on bass and powerhouse drummer, Sean Elg.
Opening with ‘Sons of the Sentinel’, the album starts where the debut finishes. The long sustained guitar chords, before the drums kick in and Ripper screams. This is the way to open an album, it pins your back against the wall and doesn’t let you go! A real metal anthem!
Up next, possibly the heaviest thing that KK has ever done, Strike the Viper is an epic track, that despite it coming in under three minutes packs one hell of a punch! This is one to see live from the centre of a mosh pit. It’d be mental!
Second single, Reap the Whirlwind follows. Another crowd singalong, I absolutely love the twin guitar attack complete with whammy bar dives from KK and Rippers vocals are on point. This whole album is Ripper at his absolute best! Machine gun fire drums bring the track to a close.
The first thing you hear on the next track is Tony Newton’s haunting bass intro, ‘One More Shot at Glory’. This song was our first taste of this new album, another full on assault that slows mid way through for some glorious guitar work and as the track nears the end, it picks its pace back up and ends with Ripper calling out ‘one more shot’ that is echoed by AJ’s BV’s
Hymm 66 gave me chills. The hairs on my arms stood on end as the riff kicked in. The guitar harmonies are to die for and the engine room of the band Sean and Tony thunder on through! Definitely one of my album highlights.
The title track follows and starts quite sedately compared to what we’ve been hit with so far, the track slowly builds up to a climax, yetmore glorious guitar harmony and then more dive bombs on that whammy bar, I’m hearing echoes from the first album here. Another crowd singalong chorus, I can hear them chanting along already. A standout KK solo to rival any of his ‘Top Ten best solos’ – another belter!
Things slow down quite drastically in the next track, there’s even an acoustic and chants. Keep of the Graves reminds me a little of Maidens ‘Fear of the Dark’, it’s certainly a track just as epic. Two minutes in, the drums kick in, and we’re back into Hellfire and Thunderbolts! Sean’s drums are relentless, so heavy!
Pledge Your Souls is another anthem. The highlight is the solo in the middle, absolutely mind blowing! And then all too soon, the final song, ‘Wash Away Your Sins’, it begins again with an acoustic, with a flange guitar over the top. This is yet another highlight, Ripper is on fire, everything is epic. There’s something to be said about saving the best ‘till last and this is certainly the case here.
This album is much heavier than Sermons. The drums are harder, the guitars are edgier and the vocals are top drawer! An absolutely stunning album, a metal masterpiece. If you’re a metal fan, you will love this album, you’ve got to listen to it, simply put, it’s an album of anthems and there’s not a bad song on it! Bloody Epic!
Released by: Napalm Records
Release Date: 29th September 2023
