DYNAZTY – Sultans Of Sin

Lots of stuff has happened to this Swedish five piece in the last couple of years. Both good and bad. On the bad side, they have had to swallow a lot of crap for, in 2011 participating in the Melodifestivalen (the Swedish part of the Eurovision Song Contest) where they did a remake of 2010’s winning song ”This Is My Life” and then this year they were there as contestants in the same competition. For true metalheads, you can’t sell out more than that. On the other hand, by doing just that they made sure that everyone in Sweden knew who they were overnight and in this day and age, smart marketing is crucial if you’re a melodic hard rock band! It would of course be stupid not to strike while the iron is hot, so why not put out a new album at the same time!

It was only a year ago that they released their previous album,  the killer Knock You Down and I was a bit worried that they might had hurried this one a bit. Normally it takes longer to both write and record an album without letting go of the quality. But it took only one listen for those worries to throw them-selves off the balcony. Because with Sultans Of Sin, Dynazty haven’t only made their best album so far, they have also made
a beast of an album where almost every song is a true killer! Production, this time was held by Peter Tägtgren of Pain fame, which caused a bit of head scratching. Tägtgren’s music in Pain is more in the Metal vein and his other project Hypocrisy is a plain Death Metal band. On the surface it felt like this would be a head butting as Dynazty is a hard rock band with minor metal influences, but that worked out great because Tägtgren’s heavy production fits Dynazty like a glove.

The songs on here are so good it’s almost ridiculous. ”Come Alive” is a killer opener, catchy yet hard, second single, the Chris Laney co-write ”Raise Your Hands” is a hit if there ever was one. It has a groove that reminds me a bit of Gotthard’s ”Lift U Up” and a hook that is unforgettable.
The contest contribution ”Land Of Broken Dreams” is the odd one out. It’s a pretty good song, but way too cheesy for these guys and easily the weakest track on this album. Still, it’s lots heavier on here than what we heard on TV!

”More Than A Man” is a killer heavy pop / rock track, ”Love Junkie” is catchy hard rock and also a hit, ”The One To Blame” is a brilliant 80’s hard rocker with a bluesy input and ”Back Again” is a fantastic power ballad that should be a mega hit. I didn’t think it was possible to write such a classy ballad in this day and age!

”Bastards Of Rock ’n’ Roll” might look like a cliché on the surface, but it’s a furious rocker about not taking any shit from morons or kissing ass and about kicking asses instead. Great! The title track finishes the album. It’s a heavy piece that borders on metal, but still very catchy and it actually has hit potential. I’m not gonna go on and on about the fact that these guys are world class musicians, instead I’m just gonna make sure that  you know that if you’re into hard, potent, melodic rock / metal and still don’t like this, you’re probably a hopeless case. A contender for the Album Of The Year title. Do not miss this.

Jon Wilmenius (9/10)

Tracklist:

1. Come Alive
2. Raise Your Hands
3. Land of Broken Dreams
4. Falling
5. More Than a Man
6. Love Junkie
7. The One to Blame
8. Back Again
9. Bastards of Rock & Roll
10. Sultans of Sin