It must be something in the water, but New York has long been a hotbed of heavy music. Whether it be the eerie arcane steel of Blue Öyster Cult and over the top shock n’ roll of KISS, or the denim clad sleaze punk of The Dictators and thrashing hardcore of Cro-Mags, the Empire State has had its fair share of kickass contributions to the worlds of hard rock, metal, and punk. As of today, there’s one more band you can add to that list: Sanhedrin. Formed in 2015, this trio quickly made a name for themselves with their brand of classic underground metal that drew from power metal, epic metal, and doom; all of which are further explored and then some on their latest release, Lights On.
Whereas some retro metal revivalists like to incorporate the sound or style of a certain classic band (i.e. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, etc.) and stick with it, Sanhedrin aren’t afraid to switch things up from song to song. This results in Lights On being both fresh and diverse from beginning to end. The album opens with “Correction”: a balls out slab of meat and potatoes metal with melodic yet muscular NWOBHM riffage. If this were the direction of the entire album, I couldn’t complain. Fellow New Yorkers Tower did the same thing last year to much acclaim, but I digress. The denim and leather clad daze of early 80s England is but only one component of the Sanhedrin stew.
The title track (not to be confused with the similarly titled UFO song, “Lights Out”), is a dark and dramatic headbanger which conjures shadows of Sin After Sin era Judas Priest and mid 70s Scorpions. It’s eerie riffs and melodies galore, with a bizarre passage roughly halfway that borders on post-rock with its hypnotic delivery. If you’re struggling to wrap your mind around that description, “Lost at Sea” is a much more conventional and familiar cut to satisfy your ears. This melodic heavy rocker would feel just as home on Priest’s Point of Entry (1981) as it would Pat Benatar’s Precious Time released the same year. Call it an odd comparison, but it’s the only way I can describe the sweet yet lethal hooks of this song, as well as the sexy and mysterious “Code Blue”.
While the odd couple of “Lost at Sea” and “Code Blue” serve as a musical palate cleanser of sorts, the rest of Lights On plays like a heavy metal mixtape your high school pot dealer/lab partner in 4th period biology made for you in 1985. “Change Takes Forever” is maximum gloom and doom packed into a powerful hymn, one completed by a barrage of aggressive riffing and mind melting solos. “Sycthian Woman” is an exercise in motörcharged power speed, while “Hero’s End” is a pummeling epic that boasts fantastical lyrics, passionate delivery, and monolithic riffs. Closing it all out is the ancient metal assault of “Death is a Door”, whose epic undertones come off as nods to Manilla Road and Warlord.
I must say that 40 years since starting Metal Blade Records, Brian Slagel still has a keen ear for true heavy metal. It especially speaks volumes for a man who grew up in the heart of the NWOBHM revolution. Sanhedrin doesn’t need flashy imagery or asinine gimmickry to lure listeners in. They stand head and shoulders above the bulk of the “NWOTHM” crop. Why? Because the music speaks for itself. Be sure to pick up this one and play it at maximum volume! Anything less would be a disservice to the metal gods.
8 out of 10
Label: Metal Blade Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Tower, Judas Priest, Manilla Road