24 April 2024

Attic – Sanctimonious

[schema type=”review” name=”Attic – Sanctimonious” description=”Label: Ván Records ” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2017-08-18″ ]

Attic is a heavy metal band hailing from Germany. Formed in 2010, the band has been delivering some dark heavy metal; the concepts of the songs revolve around occultism and horror. The first full-length has been released in 2012… 5 years have passed and they are back with a brand new record called “Sanctimonious”.

I am normally not the biggest fan of this genre but Attic’s style impressed me ever since I discovered them through a friend’s recommendation. When we are talking about Attic, we are not talking about a typical heavy metal band but I see a blend of a few styles and genres; heavy metal and black/death metal in particular. The darkness got me hooked on this band and so I decided to dig deep into “Sanctimonious”.

With the first spin, I am sure that many of you will say King Diamond!…. Indeed, the vocals and the band’s style resemble King Diamond a lot; a lot of falsetto in the vocals, theme of the songs and also the overall sound…. Although I am sure that this aspect might have made some fans raise their eyebrows or even make them think if the band is unique or not, I found this style quite fascinating. What impressed me is the indirect ‘black metal’ and this dark sound that the band delivers. This is not a ‘black metal’ album of course but the dark atmosphere, the riffs/melodies delivering the dark atmosphere and the theme of the record is quite black metal I must say…. and I love it! I look for certain diversity and unique elements or harmony of styles in this genre and Attic gave me exactly what I wanted with “Sanctimonious”… so I gotta say they did a great job.

One downside of the record is the length of it. In this genre, I prefer songs that are shorter and a bit more ‘punch in the face’ even when the sound is atmospheric or when the concept is dark. Although “Sanctimonious” is quite impressive, it is quite long sadly and so some listeners might lose interest after a while. However, this is the only downside of the record (apart from some of you maybe saying the band copies King Diamond and other similar styles…. but it’s up to the listener….right?). So I am sure that anyone who is a fan of this genre will enjoy more than 1 hour of awesome heavy metal!

With “Sanctimonious”, Attic definitely has shown improvement in their overall sound and I am sure they even gained many new fans… including me! Get this album not only if you are a fan of heavy metal or acts like King Diamond or bands which are heavily involved with the occult concepts… but also if you wanna enjoy some good and dark music… with falsetto vocals!
Let’s keep the heavy metal spirit alive.

Highlights: Sinless, Die Engelmacherin, On Choir Stalls

Line-up:
Meister Cagliostro – vocals
Katte – guitar
Rob – guitar
Chris – bass
JP – drums

 

 

Tracklist:
01. Iudicium Dei
02. Sanctimonious
03. A Serpent in the Pulpit
04. Penalized
05. Scrupulosity
06. Sinless
07. Die Engelmacherin
08. A Quest For Blood
09. The Hound of Heaven
10. On Choir Stalls
11. Dark Hosanna
12. Born From Sun
13. There is no God

Links
Attic Facebook