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After All > Cult of Sin > Reviews
After All - Cult of Sin

Tight thrashing longevity - 85%

autothrall, December 19th, 2009

Though new to my own ears, and possibly yours, After All is an established Belgian band with 20+ years and seven full length albums to their career. If their previous albums are as tight as this, I have to think it's a shame I didn't pick up on them sooner. Cult of Sin is a thrash metal album, largely, though the vocals of Piet Focroul have a vibe about them that recalls the dirtier European power metal vocals of Grave Digger, Excelsior, Paragon, and Piet from Iron Savior. They have a lot of character, and combined with the solid riffing in each of the 11 original tracks, they create a good album with some listening longevity.

The acoustic "Another False Prophecy" initiates the album, closing with some power/thrash guitars akin to Paradox. Once the chugging for "My Own Sacrifice" begins, you feel like you're about to hear the new Metallica. I'm serious, the riffing that opens the song sounds like something from Ride the Lightning. The verse and vocals change it up a little, with a slight melodeath feel to it and Focroul's distinct vocals. "Scars of My Actions" is a thrashing romp with excellent riffing and the perfect vocals. "Betrayed by the Gods" is a nice, slower thrasher with powerful grooves and a catchy bridge/chorus. "Devastation Done" uses some driving death metal rhythms and breakdowns for impact. The band's ability to mix diverse influences like this into a thrash core is what truly makes Cult of Sin a strong record. No two tracks sound quite a like, and all of them are memorable. "Embracing Eternity" and "Hollow State" are two more of the ragers. "Release" simply rules. The album ends with a cover of Dio's "Holy Diver", which has been covered far too many times and essentially a waste of space, but this is the only track I didn't care for. There are a number of guest musicians on the album, including Andy LaRocque, Joey Vera, Juan Garcia, and James Rivera.

Cult of Sin sounds down to earth, with powerful guitar crunch and excellent drumming. The bass takes a back seat to the rest of the band, but you'll still hear it plodding along. One of the more grounded and song-heavy thrash albums I've heard this year, it has provided me with more than enough reason to track down some of their earlier material. I definitely recommend this to any fan of quality thrash/power metal, nothing too showy but full of impressive hooks and a fairly original sound for the genre. It's the type of album that will stick with you for some time.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

After All - Cult Of Sin - 70%

ThrashManiacAYD, August 27th, 2009

So, time for review of another band whom I have to wonder what they have been upto since forming apparently just the 21 years ago? Today its Belgium's (hardly a hotplace for metal) After All for whom we are in the release cycle of album no. 7, "Cult of Sin". My only previous encounter with the band comes from their support slot to King Diamond in London in 2006 who serve as a good template for half of the sound which After All produce.

Though perhaps I was probably at the bar at the time, I find myself not remembering these Belgians primarily through possession of such a bland moniker. It's fair judgment to say all the cool words were grabbed long as band names but these guys formed in '88 so they have no excuse for 'After All'! If the then youthful EW did watch their support slot 3 years ago, he would've seen a band that would ultimately be classified under that odd, modern category 'death/thrash' - think Darkane, Dew-Scented and Gojira perhaps. But are After All more than that? Vocalist Piet Focroul certainly gives it his best shot as pushing the album from a respectable solid release to something more memorable. Mr Focroul has an interesting hoarse tone which bares grit, passion and a feel of wisdom in moments like "Hollow State"’s chorus which does so much more than a plain growl or simple inexperienced singer would. In "Cult of Sin" you'll hear a variety of influences common to many of the 'new-old-school' (Municipal Waste, Evile) thrashers but the execution comes across very different here. Pantera in "Devastation Done", Slayer in "My Own Sacrifice", Testament in "End Of Your World" all become apparent but those influences are fleshed out with a chunkier more precise performance and production on both guitars and drums than the aforementioned Municipal Waste's of this world. The King Diamond classic metal influence is there across the album and possibly the key reason for "Cult of Sin"'s semi-success. Instead of the simple chuggathon of far too others many today, After All only descend to that state briefly in "Hollow State" as this void is filled more pertinently by some classic chorus and backing vocal structures. The glorious, pompous feel inherent in "Land of Sin" displays this very nicely.

Short instrumental "Doomsday Elegy (2012)" does nothing but sound forced and as such is a waste of space in such a short format, but otherwise "Cult of Sin" is a perfectly amiable record. Infact it is quite good and I want to be able to say it will get further listens at some point after this review but that is hard to commit to through, Piet Focroul aside, the overly-sanitised feel of the whole 'package' that sits After All and their album no.7 alongside so many others in a 'death/thrash' pool that neither reeks of the best in death, or thrash. Perhaps I need to see them live again and take some notes this time.

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net