Mixing Tarrie B / Katy Jane Garside lady mania with System of A Down’s more acceptable face of commercial insanity, Sanguine’s self-titled debut presents some fairly unhinged metal in remarkably palatable melodic pill form.
Like many people, my main gripes with the mainstream metal scene these days are excessive plank wank and the endless, mindless and incessant growling, and that’s something this Exeter bunch have managed to deal with quite eloquently here. Understanding the value of a little at the right time, they have used all the elements available to them, but have directed them rather than drench the record to unlistenability with them – where they scream, they scream for impact.
The general feel straddles the rock / metal divide nicely, with vocal hooks leading nicely into moments of sheer anger and brutality. It’s been done before, but the crisp melodic female vocal backed ably by a mix of psychotic boy / girl duelling works nicely.
It’s not perfect, on some tracks they do overdo it a bit and let the death roars take over, and there are a few lyrics that hit teen angst and need to profane a bit too squarely, but on the whole they achieve depth and pathos through a mix of styles on a happy equilibrium akin to My Ruin, Tura Satana, etc.
Loud, shouty, but ultimately, very listenable.
