Hailing from Lapland, Finland the band’s newest album “SINister” will be a true gem for any fan of bands like Children Of Bodom, In Flames or Soilwork. In between heavy riffs and punchy breaks (“Warriors”), I Am Your God succeeds in writing huge guitar melodies intertwined with a crisp sound and catchy refrains. Surprises like a dancey clean part opens up for an emotional and melodic climax (“Jailbreak”) and a synth-based pagan vibe similar to Wintersun and other traditional Finnish metal bands (“My Venom”, “Burden Of Blasphemy”) create an enchanting ambiance that fits “SINister” incredibly well. At parts, I Am Your God can go really heavy, as on “Another Day To Die”, a song that slams with blast beats and heavy double bass drumming. Some moments, as in “The Hell I Create” might even remind you of Dimmu Borgir, also because singer Julius Vetämäjärvi offers a dry and black metal influenced style of vocals that perfectly match the band’s guitar work and synth sounds.
All in all, there are so many aspects within the sound of “SINister”, which always maintains an affinity to melody, which makes all songs on the album easily enjoyable. Describing their record as “the culmination of our journey from the past two years with massive development as songwriters and musicians”, which clearly shows within the outcome of eleven individually strong tracks. As the band comments:
“At the same time this album process has been the biggest pain in the ass, and also the driving force on our lives. While listening to the record, you can taste lots of these kind of extremities, and feel our mighty struggling in life, which is also one of the main themes lyrically.”
If you consider yourself a fan of modern and melodic metal music, “SINister” might be one of your new favorite albums of 2023. In between melodic death metal, pagan metal, and bits of metalcore and slight black metal influences, I Am Your God creates a sound that easily stands out from most bands around. Don’t sleep on this release that comes with a bombastic sonic design and huge momentum. “SINister” will be released on May 5 via Out Of Line Music.
