Album review : ROBLEDO – Broken Soul

July 8th, 2023 by brianmc

Frontiers [Release date 14.07.23]

Second “solo” album from Sinners Blood frontman, James Robledo.

Broken Soul is a tough as teak mix of metal and hard rock, driven by the skilful, tuneful axework of his Sinners Blood bandmate, the man with only one name, Nasson.

This is a skilfully composed, imaginatively arranged and slickly produced album, making it very entertaining as a genre piece, with an underlying thread of social commentary that gives it extra weight.

Alex Jansen (bass) and Jacopo Martignoni (drums) form a rock solid, bolted to the floor rhythm section, sending shivers through the timbers. The ubiquitous Alessandro DelVecchio limits his keyboard fills and frills to the minimum… less is more.

From the first stuttering chords and booming rhythms of title track, Broken Soul, the band’s massive guitar crunch, sturdy but buoyant melodies, thundering drums, and Robledo’s macho vocals deliver what is clearly being promised.

At times Robledo is outshone by the driving, relentless energy of Nasson’s axework … surging, uplifting, melodic, lyrical even, but when he hits his mark, when he creates his own groove… most especially on ‘Right Here’, ‘My Own Hope’ and ‘Fire’ … then his dramatic, high density, hard rock vocals take centre stage.

In the second half of the album, from the slightly overcooked ‘Victims With No Crime’, to the fast paced rock/metal anthem of ‘Dead City Lights’, the band maintain the anguished, emotional, heavy rock and metal that kick off the album. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)