Beautiful Sin – The Unexpected

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AFM Records
Produced by Uli Kusch

Back in 2002 former Helloween drummer, in Masterplan at the time, Uli Kusch met a Belgian singer called Magali Luyten. Magali wanted to record an album with her band and Uli agreed to produce it. The album was completed but never picked up by a label and therefore never saw a release. The band has since dissolved, but Uli remembered Magali, and when he wanted to start a new band parallel to Masterplan, he called her up.

This new band became Beautiful Sin, and the line-up is completed by Jørn Viggo Lofstad (Jorn/Pagan’s Mind) on guitar, Steinar Krokmo (Pagan’s Mind) on bass, Axel Mackenrott (Masterplan) on keyboards and of course Uli on drums. The resulting album emerged to very little fanfare in May 2006 and Uli has since left Masterplan.

With a line-up entirely comprised of Pagan’s Mind and Masterplan members, musically there are very few surprises. Highly melodic power metal with Lofstad’s usual shredding guitar (check out the squeals on Give Up Once For All) and Mackenrott’s keyboard highlights are the order of the day. In fact, Kusch is rather pedestrian for much of the album, doing his usual stellar job of keeping everything tight and driving it forward, but showing very little in the way of flare. He does impress on Take Me Home, though. Vocally Magali is very similar to Benedictum singer Veronica Freeman or Toxic Minds front-woman Luna Jade, i.e. not the stratopsherically high pitched operatic style of the likes of Within Temptation‘s Sharon Den Adel, but a voice with bass, not lacking in range. A strong power metal voice.

Strangely for a power metal album there are no ballads on offer (beautiful closing instrumental The Beautiful Sin aside). Every track is an anthem in the most epic way, every riff and chorus brilliantly backed, but not overshadowed by Mackenrott’s keyboards. This is the perfect way to use keyboards in heavy metal and too many bands get it wrong (Rhapsody of old, Stratovarious and Sonata Arctica).

All of these elements make for one of the most perfectly crafted metal albums of the year. A regular complaint about certain bands (Evanescence, Nightwish etc.) is the vocals. Many fans (usually men) dislike the operatic style and often denounce female-fronted metal as a result. But with this, if you like singers like Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) then you will like this, and disregarding this because the singer is female would be unwise.

“ perfectly crafted ”

Tracklist: Lost / This Is Not The Original Dream/ Take Me Home/ I’m Real/ The Spark of Ignition/ Closer To My Heart/ Give Up Once For All/ Brace For Impact/ Pechvogel (Unlucky Fellow)/ Metalwaves/ The Beautiful Sin

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Female-fronted, Power Metal, Beautiful Sin