Great production and at least 4 great songs
EerieVonEvil | The Rabbit Hole | 02/19/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Most people (from what I understand in past reviews) did not like Zeromancer's last record from 2004, ZZYZX. Obviously, this has to do with the mainstream nature of the songs like Erotic Saints and Famous Last Words. This review is kind of bias because I thought that album was as equally strong as Eurotrash. Blood Music, Stop The Noise, and Feed You With A Kiss are probably some of Zeromancer's best written songs.
Fast forward to 2009. Changes should be expected. Are they major? Well, not really. Unfortunately, the biggest change is the songwriting quality. Sinners International owes more to Clone Your Lover and Eurotrash than it does ZZYZX as it is definitely a return to a harder sound, especially the guitars and vocals. Alex Moklebust's vocals sound great on here and will remind the long time fans of the Seigmen days. He has a gritty quality on here that we haven't heard in a while. The production is tight, and the mix is great. This is truly their most polished effort, with swirling arpeggiated synth lines, buzz saw guitars, low end bass, and solid drumming. I'm Yours To Lose and Doppleganger I Love You are the true highlights as to be expected, considering they have been released to the public for two years now. Other highlights are My little Tragedy and Your Imaginary Friends. Great melodies in those songs.
Now for the negatives. The songwriting has gone a bit downhill. The hooks and melodies are not as memorable and the lyrics are kind of lacking, perfect example would be in Sinners International and Two Skulls (the heaviest song on the album). I have listened to the record several times and I'm having a hard time recognizing memorable songs, mostly because there aren't much. Anyway, if you are a fan, you need this album because it does have some essentials as noted above. Just expect some re-hashing and overly familiar song structures and themes. One would have hoped that a 4+ year absence from the scene would have given them the time to make a truly epic record.
Zeromancer's best years were between Eurotrash and ZZYZX. Sinners International wont win them any new fans but it will surely please the old ones, for a while anyways. It is worth purchasing but don't expect to be blown away.
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1