‘Female-fronted’ is a contentious descriptor, but Patricia Andrade’s voice lends Portuguese doom quintet Sinistro such powerfully, uniquely feminine qualities that it seems remiss not to flag up her sex straightaway, alongside all those classic gender-stereotypical adjectives like ‘sweet’, ‘sultry’, ‘sassy’, ‘angelic’, ‘graceful’, ‘ethereal’ etc. And yet, even if Sinistro had a longhaired beardy dude popping his temple vein with every furious bellow (or indeed no singer at all, as was the case on their 2012 debut), this band would still carry a rare undercurrent of delicacy and grace on their third album. It’s not just the standard light-and-shade dynamism, it’s that Sinistro sound equally at home crafting emotional Floydian ambient textures as uranium-weight riff constellations. Happily, they’re ultra-adept at weaving these elements together with subtlety and taste, while Patricia’s radiant ululations take them to a higher plain altogether.
Sinistro - Sangue Cássia album review
Progressive, Portuguese doom with acres of grace
You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
More about metal hammer
"Like being unexpectedly dragged down into cold depths and finding yourself surrounded by blind, carnivorous eels." Oranssi Pazuzu's Muuntautuja is the weirdest and most wonderful black metal record you'll hear this year
“The festival lost so much money they asked us for our fee back!” How Rage Against The Machine's generosity helped Coachella recover from a potentially ruinous start to become the world's coolest music festival
