Review Summary: Continue their winning streak with a hard rock slant
Sanhedrin has always presented their doomy heavy metal with a catchy edge and their third album only intensifies their hard rock tendencies. Lights On is easily the New York trio’s most accessible effort to date as the songs favor consistently upbeat tempos and a more vocal-oriented delivery complete with big choruses abound. Fortunately, such a move keeps from sounding watered down thanks to the guitars retaining a heavy crunch, the vocals keeping their snarl, and the lyrics mixing contemporary themes with the mystical aesthetic.
It also helps that the musicians can take on this streamlined approach with their usual variety. The opening “Correction” and the title track both serve up driving rhythms, but each goes about it differently with the former kicking things off with a beefy chug and a stomping chorus while the latter puts in more methodical chords and leads. “Scythian Women” amps up the aggression even more with pounding double bass, precise guitar gallops, and empowered vocals. The closing “Death is a Door” may be bookended with slow moodiness but even that is largely defined by an upbeat classic rock exercise.
And while there isn’t quite as much time devoted to doomy brooding, the band finds plenty of space for their dynamics to keep shining through. “Lost at Sea” sits somewhere between Spell’s last album and mid-eighties Rush thanks to a post punk-rooted haze that takes on a more emotionally distraught turn on “Hero’s End.” “Code Blue” feels like an answer to something like Judas Priest’s “United” with its prominent rolling drums and mid-tempo pacing that almost dips into arena rock territory.
Overall, Sanhedrin continues their winning streak with Lights On. The push into slightly more accessible territory fits right in with the band’s trajectory and the snappier structures still maintain their penchants for varied compositions and energetic musicianship. I might prefer 2019’s The Poisoner by a hair but this would be a solid gateway for any potential new listeners. Sanhedrin is a band in the NWOTHM movement that could stand to be talked about a whole more and any release that could net them a wider audience is an instant win.
