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The city grows quiet. Traffic fades into the distance. Conversations end. Screens dim. For many people, something unexpected happens once darkness arrives: thoughts become clearer. Emotions that remained buried throughout the day suddenly surface. Questions ignored for hours demand attention. The world feels less crowded, yet somehow more real.
Artists, philosophers, and writers have been fascinated by this phenomenon for centuries. Gothic authors filled the night with revelations and confessions. Film noir transformed darkness into a stage where hidden motives emerged. Psychologists later suggested that solitude and reduced stimulation allow individuals to confront parts of themselves that often remain hidden beneath daily routines.
Night is frequently associated with mystery, yet its deeper symbolism may be honesty. Daylight encourages performance. People work, socialize, and navigate expectations. Darkness removes many of those demands. What remains is often a more direct encounter with memory, desire, fear, grief, and self-reflection.
Darkness often reveals thoughts and emotions that daylight keeps hidden.
When Darkness Became a Symbol of Truth
Modern culture often associates light with truth and darkness with deception. Yet many artistic traditions suggest the opposite. Some of the most revealing moments in literature occur after sunset. Characters confess secrets, confront fears, and question their identities when the distractions of the day disappear.
The Gothic movement embraced this idea enthusiastically. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, writers became increasingly interested in emotional experiences that reason alone could not explain. Dreams, obsession, guilt, longing, and mortality all found expression within Gothic fiction. Night provided the perfect setting because it blurred the boundaries between the external world and the inner life of the mind.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein repeatedly uses darkness during moments of psychological crisis. Bram Stoker’s Dracula transforms the night into a space where well mannered appearances begin to crack. Fear becomes visible. Desire emerges. Hidden truths refuse to remain hidden.
These stories are not simply using darkness as decoration. They suggest that people often understand themselves more honestly when certainty disappears. Daylight offers visibility. Night offers introspection.
Poe and the Nocturnal Mind
No writer understood the psychological power of night more profoundly than Edgar Allan Poe. Throughout his work, darkness functions as far more than a backdrop. It becomes a psychological environment where reality, memory, and imagination begin colliding.
Consider The Raven. The poem opens during a lonely midnight encounter that gradually transforms grief into obsession. The setting is essential because isolation allows the narrator’s inner world to take control of his perception.
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…”
The famous opening immediately establishes exhaustion, solitude, and vulnerability. The narrator is no longer protected by the distractions of daily life. He is alone with his thoughts, his memories, and the painful absence of Lenore.
A similar dynamic appears in The Tell-Tale Heart. The narrator’s confession unfolds in darkness, yet the real story concerns psychological exposure. He believes he can conceal the truth from others. Eventually, however, he cannot hide it from himself.
Night serves an important purpose in Poe’s fiction because it removes external noise. Once that noise disappears, the human mind becomes impossible to ignore.
Why Poe’s Darkness Feels Human
Many horror writers use darkness to conceal monsters. Poe uses darkness to reveal them. The monsters in his stories often emerge from guilt, obsession, paranoia, and grief rather than supernatural forces.
That distinction helps explain why his work remains psychologically modern. Readers recognize the emotions long before they recognize the plot. The fear feels authentic because it originates within the characters themselves.
For Poe, darkness was not the opposite of truth. Darkness was the condition that made truth unavoidable.
Carl Jung and the Shadow After Sunset
Long before modern psychology began studying attention, emotion, and self-awareness, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung proposed a powerful idea. Every person carries a “shadow”—a collection of traits, emotions, desires, and fears that remain hidden from everyday consciousness.
The shadow is not necessarily evil. It contains aspects of the self that society discourages, that individuals suppress, or that simply remain unexplored. During the day, routines and responsibilities often keep those elements in the background. Work demands attention. Conversations require performance. External obligations dominate awareness.
Night changes the equation.
As the outside world grows quieter, internal voices become easier to hear. Thoughts that seemed insignificant during the afternoon return with surprising intensity. Unresolved emotions rise to the surface. Memories long ignored suddenly feel vivid.
This is one reason so many people find themselves reflecting on life after dark. The environment encourages introspection. Without constant stimulation, the mind begins turning inward.
Jung believed genuine self-understanding requires confronting these hidden dimensions rather than avoiding them. In that sense, darkness becomes symbolic of psychological exploration. It represents the journey toward parts of ourselves that daylight often leaves unexplored.
Why We Think Differently at Night
Psychology offers several explanations for why nighttime reflection feels so intense. Throughout the day, attention is divided among countless tasks. Emails arrive. Phones ring. Deadlines demand action. The brain constantly processes external information.
Once evening arrives, many of those demands disappear. Cognitive resources that were previously focused outward become available for internal reflection. As a result, people often revisit unresolved questions, emotional experiences, and future concerns.
This shift explains why nighttime thoughts frequently feel more significant than daytime thoughts. The emotions may not actually be stronger. They simply have more space to be heard.
Artists and writers have recognized this phenomenon for centuries. Many describe their most honest creative moments occurring late at night when distractions fade and attention turns inward.
Noir Cinema and the Truth Hidden in Darkness
Film noir adopted darkness for reasons that extend far beyond visual style. The shadows, empty streets, and neon reflections that define the genre communicate a particular understanding of human nature. People reveal themselves most clearly when certainty disappears.
Unlike traditional heroes, noir protagonists rarely possess complete knowledge. Detectives navigate worlds filled with deception. Ordinary citizens discover hidden motives beneath familiar faces. Characters confront truths that daylight either concealed or made easier to ignore.
The visual language reinforces these themes. Streets disappear into darkness. Faces emerge from shadow before vanishing again. Reflections distort reality. Every image reminds viewers that understanding is partial and fragile.
Consider films such as Double Indemnity or The Maltese Falcon. Their most important revelations often occur at night. The darkness does not create the truth. Instead, it strips away illusions and exposes what was already there.
The Honesty of Uncertainty
One of noir’s most enduring insights is that certainty can be deceptive. People often assume they understand themselves and others. Reality proves more complicated.
Night functions as a visual metaphor for this uncertainty. When visibility decreases, assumptions become harder to maintain. Characters must confront what they do not know rather than relying on comfortable narratives.
This idea connects noir directly to Gothic literature and psychology. All three traditions suggest that truth is rarely simple. Genuine understanding often emerges only after familiar assumptions begin to break apart.
Darkness therefore becomes paradoxical. It obscures the physical world while revealing emotional and psychological realities.
Why Creativity Often Arrives After Dark
Many artists have described nighttime as their most productive period. Franz Kafka wrote late into the night after completing his daytime responsibilities. Marcel Proust famously worked in near isolation. Musicians, painters, and filmmakers continue describing a similar experience.
Part of this attraction comes from uninterrupted concentration. Another part involves atmosphere. Night creates a sense of separation from ordinary routines. The world feels temporarily suspended.
For creative individuals, that suspension can be liberating. Ideas that seem impractical during the day suddenly appear worth exploring. Emotional associations become stronger. Imagination moves more freely.
The relationship between creativity and darkness does not mean artists require night in order to work. Rather, darkness symbolizes a state of mind where introspection becomes easier and external pressures lose some of their influence.
Many of humanity’s most enduring works emerged from precisely that condition.
Night in Art: Painting the Inner World
The symbolic power of night extends far beyond literature and film. Painters have long used darkness to explore emotions that resist direct explanation. A landscape illuminated by daylight can appear factual and stable. The same landscape beneath moonlight often feels mysterious, emotional, and deeply personal.
Vincent van Gogh understood this transformation better than most artists. Writing to his brother Theo, he once observed that the night contained colors richer and more expressive than many people realized. Rather than treating darkness as emptiness, he saw it as a source of beauty and imagination.
His masterpiece Starry Night remains one of the most famous examples. The painting does not present the night sky realistically. Swirling stars, luminous clouds, and dramatic movement transform the scene into an emotional landscape. Viewers are not simply observing the sky. They are experiencing a state of mind.
The painting continues resonating because it captures something many people recognize instinctively. Darkness often feels more emotionally truthful than daylight. The world becomes quieter, yet inner experience grows more vivid.
Edward Hopper and Urban Solitude
Where Van Gogh transformed night into emotional intensity, Edward Hopper explored loneliness. His painting Nighthawks presents a late-night diner occupied by a handful of individuals who share the same space while remaining emotionally isolated.
Nothing dramatic appears to be happening. No obvious tragedy unfolds. Yet the painting communicates a profound sense of separation. The city outside feels empty. The bright interior emphasizes rather than eliminates solitude.
Hopper’s work reveals another reason night feels honest. Darkness strips away distractions and exposes emotional realities that often remain hidden during busier hours. The figures in Nighthawks seem suspended between public and private life, caught in a moment of quiet self-awareness.
Many noir filmmakers later drew inspiration from similar imagery. Empty streets, glowing windows, and solitary figures became recurring symbols of introspection and uncertainty.
Why the Gothic Imagination Needs Darkness
The Gothic tradition repeatedly returns to night because darkness creates ideal conditions for psychological exploration. Haunted castles, abandoned streets, lonely bedrooms, and moonlit landscapes all serve the same purpose. They remove the comforting certainty of daylight and encourage characters to confront deeper truths.
Poe understood this. Mary Shelley understood it. Bram Stoker understood it. The goal was never simply to frighten readers. The goal was to reveal aspects of human experience that become easier to recognize when ordinary distractions disappear.
Fear becomes more visible. Grief becomes harder to avoid. Desire becomes more difficult to suppress. Night functions as a mirror reflecting emotions that daylight often conceals beneath routine and social expectations.
This symbolic role explains why darkness remains central to Gothic culture. It represents uncertainty, but it also represents discovery. Characters frequently learn their most important truths after sunset.
The Honesty Hidden Inside Darkness
Night feels more honest because it changes the relationship between the individual and the world. External demands lose some of their power. Noise diminishes. The pace of life slows. Attention turns inward.
Under those conditions, people often encounter thoughts and emotions they had not fully acknowledged during the day. Some discoveries are uncomfortable. Others are illuminating. Either way, the experience tends to feel genuine because it emerges from reflection rather than performance.
This idea connects Gothic literature, psychology, noir cinema, and visual art. Each tradition recognizes that darkness does not merely hide things. It reveals them. The truths uncovered may not always be pleasant, but they often feel authentic.
Perhaps that is why artists continue returning to the night. The darkness surrounding us frequently becomes a path toward understanding what lies within us.
Daylight helps us navigate the world.
Night helps us navigate ourselves.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does night feel more emotional than day?
Night reduces distractions and external stimulation, allowing thoughts, memories, and emotions to become more noticeable.
Why is darkness important in Gothic literature?
Darkness creates psychological tension and encourages characters to confront fears, desires, grief, and hidden aspects of themselves.
What did Carl Jung mean by the shadow?
Jung used the term “shadow” to describe parts of the personality that remain hidden, repressed, or unexplored within conscious awareness.
Why is night so common in noir cinema?
Noir uses darkness to symbolize uncertainty, hidden motives, moral ambiguity, and the difficulty of seeing the full truth.
Why do artists often work at night?
Many creative people find that nighttime provides solitude, concentration, and freedom from interruptions, making introspection easier.
By the time Queen became world famous for their pop anthems, most of their greatest expeditions into progessive territories were behind them. But in 2012 Yes’ Steve Howe and Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy helped us argue the case that Freddie Mercury’s troop were always a prog band.
On 9 January, 1971, Kevin Ayers and Genesis played a show together at the Ewell Technical College near Epsom in Surrey. Ayers was 18 months out of Soft Machine, and making a name for himself as a psychedelically-inclined art-folk rake. Genesis had released their second album, Trespass, a few months earlier, and were carving out a place in the vanguard of the burgeoning progressive rock movement.
There was a third band propping up the bill that night: a bunch of transplanted Londoners calling themselves Queen. In contrast to the wilfully artful approach of the headliners, their music was more straightforward – a heavy, if ornate blend of Led Zeppelin’s earthiness and the flights of fancy of Yes.
Not everyone in the small crowd watching them was impressed, but they caught the attention of one person. After the show, Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel pulled Queen’s blond-bombshell drummer Roger Taylor to one side. Gabriel’s band were about to dismiss their own drummer, John Mayhew, and were looking for a replacement. Was Taylor interested in joining Genesis? The reply was instant: thanks but no thanks. Taylor was utterly dedicated to Queen – there were gigs to play, places to go, and many musical adventures to embark on.
Had Taylor accepted the offer, the course of music – and specifically prog – would have been very different. Genesis would have flourished with Gabriel upfront, though whether they would have survived and prospered as they did without Phil Collins to step into the breach after their talismanic singer’s departure is another matter.
The knock-on effect on Queen would have been greater. Taylor was an essential part of their carefully-balanced four-way chemistry; a chemistry that would go on to throw up some of the most ambitious and game-changing music ever recorded. While Queen weren’t a capital ‘P’ prog band, they were infused with the spirit of the movement, combining its forward-looking values with its absolute disregard for the existing rules.
Taking their cues from the likes of Yes, Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator and even Pink Floyd, their flamboyantly cavalier approach would go on to inspire such modern masters as Dream Theater, Queensrÿche and Muse.
And, in Bohemian Rhapsody, they ensured that one of the biggest-selling singles in history was, at heart, a prog song. Forget the luxuriant moustaches and sawn-off mike-stands that would come to define them: if the prog ethos meant avoiding the expected, then Queen were definitely a prog band.
“Diversity was probably their greatest asset,” says Dream Theater drummer and confirmed devotee Mike Portnoy. “From song to song, they could be so different. You could have something that was folk followed by something that was rockabilly followed by something that was metal. And that’s one of the biggest things about prog, having that open-mindedness.”
Queen’s schooling in prog had come early on. Brian May’s very first band, 1984, played a 4am slot supporting Pink Floyd at the Christmas On Earth Continued all-nighter in 1967. A year later, his next outfit, Smile – also featuring Roger Taylor – played with Floyd again, this time at London’s Imperial College. By the time of their gig opening for Kevin Ayers, they’d changed their name to Queen and recruited Freddie Mercury. Collectively, they admired Yes, Van der Graaf Generator and especially Genesis. “Foxtrot is a prog rock classic,” Taylor later wrote in the sleevenotes to Genesis box set 1970-1975. “Arrangements were highly complex in these early days, setting a benchmark for the style of the times.”
When it came to finding someone to produce their debut album, Queen’s first choice was John Anthony, who’d worked with both Genesis and Van der Graaf. With Anthony and co-producer Roy Thomas Baker behind the desk, the eponymous album trod heavily in Led Zeppelin’s footsteps. But there was another, altogether more visionary band straining to spread their wings: My Fairy King was a filigreed slice of flamboyant rock’n’roll, while Liar metamorphosised through several different time changes and timings.
Those wings were fully unfurled on the follow-up, 1974’sQueen II. The title was the most prosaic thing about the record: the music inside was as fevered and baroque as rock gets, informed equally by Zeppelin, Yes and crazed Victorian artist Richard Dadd, whose 1864 painting The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke inspired one of the album’s most prog-leaning tracks. It may have been rooted in the heavy rock of the times, but its cavalier approach and sheer sense of scale pegged the band as a defiantly progressive proposition.
Every song was so diverse… you had this giant multi-layered epic like Bohemian Rhapsody next to something like Seaside Rendezvous or Love Of My Life
Mike Portnoy
“Queen weren’t like Yes, who had a dualistic role of guitar and keyboards, where both shared the terrain,” says Yes guitarist Steve Howe, whose band were supported by Mercrury and co at Kingston Poly in 1971. “Brian had the terrain to himself. The remarkable thing was that he was the front and the back man. It required him to come up with more than guitar solos… He had to come up with a semi-thematic approach to play the guitar. And what he did was keep colouring.”
Prog inclinations were deeply woven into the fabric of their early albums, from the audacious multi-part theatrics of Queen II’s March Of The Black Queen to the schizophrenic assault of the two-part Lap Of The Gods from 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack. Even in their more commercial moments, they marched to the beat of their own drum. What other band would have dared serve up something so unusual as Killer Queen?
“It was their diversity,” says Portnoy, who first heard them as an eight-year-old in the mid-70s, and covered many of their songs with Dream Theater. “Their albums took the prototype that The Beatles laid down with the White Album, where you had four different artists bringing in very different styles. Every song was so diverse. You get to A Night At The Opera, and you had this giant multi-layered epic like Bohemian Rhapsody next to something like Seaside Rendezvous or Love Of My Life.”
A Night At The Opera was Queen’s grand artistic statement and their most unashamedly prog album. Pitched around the epic twin tentpoles of The Prophet’s Song and Bohemian Rhapsody, it married their far-reaching vision to a distinctly British barminess. Taken on its own, the eight-minute The Prophet’s Song, with its incredible ornate a cappella middle section, would be enough to grant Queen access to the Prog Hall Of Fame. But even that sits in the inescapable shadow of Bohemian Rhapsody. Time and success might have lessened its impact, but that song remains the most dazzlingly unique piece of music ever to sell five million copies.
“There are epic things that come along every so often,” says Steve Howe. “There’s Sgt Pepper, there’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. And there’s Bohemian Rhapsody. I don’t know when I first heard it, but once it was there, it was such a formidable thing. You’re thinking: ‘How many tracks did they need to do those vocals? How did they write it? Who invented it? It really was astounding.”
When I think of my favourite prog music, it’s always the musicianship that draws me. But with Queen, it was the vocals… it was so deep
Mike Portnoy
Bohemian Rhapsody encapsulated one of the key things that gave Queen such a distinct identity. Like The Beatles and Beach Boys before them, they used the studio as an instrument – not least when it came to their vocals. And Bohemian Rhapsody raised the bar about as high as it could go.
“They sang each of those parts and triple-stacked them,” says Portnoy. “You heard all three of their voices singing in all three vocal ranges. That’s what made the depth of their music so complex. It wasn’t the instrumentation, it was the vocals. That’s unusual for prog music. When I think of my favourite prog music, it’s always the musicianship that draws me. But with Queen, it was the vocals. It was so deep.”
For all its success, A Night At The Opera would be Queen’s grand kiss-off to their prog roots. Later albums streamlined their sound into a more conventional format. Much like Genesis, the 80s found them swapping experimentalism for chart rock.
It wasn’t until the end of their career as an active band that Queen would again sound so adventurous. During 1989 and 1990, the band began work on their penultimate album, Innuendo, in London and Montreux. In the summer of 1990, Steve Howe paid a flying visit to the Swiss city, where a chance encounter with a former guitar tech found him being invited to Queen’s studio to hear the album as a work-in-progress.
“Inside, there’s Freddie, Brian and Roger all sitting together. They go: ‘Let’s play you the album,’” says Howe. “Of course, I’m hearing it for the first time: I Can’t Live Without You, I’m Going Slightly Mad. And they saved Innuendo itself until last. They played it and I was fucking blown away.”
They all chimed in: ‘We want some crazy Spanish guitar. Improvise!’ …After a couple of hours I thought, ‘I’ve bitten off more than I can chew here’
Steve Howe
If that was surprising, then what happened next was utterly out-of-the-blue. The members of Queen asked if Howe wanted to play on the title track. The Yes man politely suggested they’d lost their minds. It took the combined weight of Mercury, May and Taylor to persuade him.
“They all chimed in: ‘We want some crazy Spanish guitar flying around over the top. Improvise!’” recalls Howe. “I started noodling around on the guitar, and it was pretty tough. After a couple of hours, I thought: ‘I’ve bitten off more than I can chew here.’ I had to learn a bit of the structure, work out the chordal roots were, where you had to fall if you did a mad run in the distance; you have to know where you’re going.
“But it got towards evening, and we’d doodled and I’d noodled, and it turned out to be really good fun. We have this beautiful dinner, we go back to the studio and have a listen. And they go: ‘That’s great. That’s what we wanted.’”
Released as a single in January 1991, Innuendo gave Queen their third Number One single. Like Bohemian Rhapsody 25 years before it, it was as unlikely as hit singles get: a six-and-a-half minute musical jigsaw, complete with flamenco runs, classically-inclined orchestral overloads and maverick 5/4 timing. Queensrÿche covered the song on 2007’s Take Cover album, while you can hear its echo in Radiohead’s Paranoid Android and Muse’s more elaborate sci-fi epics.
“In the world of rock, Queen stands out as a good example of the clash between guitar and piano in songwriting,” Muse’s Matt Bellamy has said. “I think that’s where you stumble across those more unusual arrangements and chord structures.”
Today, Queen have left a bipolar legacy. They’re arguably best known for their pop hits – Radio Gaga, I Want To Break Free – and of course, Bohemian Rhapsody, that ultimate prog Trojan Horse. But their spirit of adventure remains unmatched by all but the boldest of their peers.
“There was no rule book for Queen,” says Portnoy. “They broke most of the rules that existed, and then they wrote a new set.”
Billy Bonbon‘s Far is a captivating slice of indie rock that effortlessly blends garage rock grit with dreamy, melodic charm. Built on shimmering textures, infectious rhythms, and emotionally sincere vocals, the track unfolds with remarkable patience, gradually increasing its intensity before delivering a truly satisfying payoff. Every layer feels thoughtfully placed, creating a rich atmosphere that balances youthful exuberance with quiet introspection. The band’s knack for memorable songwriting and dynamic arrangements shines throughout, making Far both instantly engaging and rewarding on repeated listens. Warm, nostalgic, and beautifully crafted, this is indie rock with genuine heart and lasting appeal.
This is the third album from US death metallers Nothingness. Following on from 2023’s very well-received Supraliminal comes Godslaughter, which provides us with 41 minutes of new material. Nothingness continue to elevate themselves. In the death metal killing arenas, they take skulls and grisly trophies increasingly easily. So, Godslaughter. Is it God Slaughter, or God’s Laughter? This … Continue reading “Nothingness – Godslaughter (Review)”
KaeoFLUX transforms Kodomo‘s Optimism into a thrilling techno excursion, blending relentless 909-driven rhythms with intricate layers of hypnotic electronic textures. While retaining the spirit of the original, the remix ventures into darker, more physical territory, balancing driving energy with meticulous sound design and immersive atmosphere. Every rhythmic shift feels purposeful, creating an exhilarating flow that keeps the momentum high from start to finish. Bold, inventive, and club-ready, Optimism (KaeoFLUX Remix) is a compelling reinterpretation that showcases the creative chemistry between both artists.
One week before its release, Taake have teamed up with ‘Black Metal Promotion’ channel to stream in its entirety the band’s new full-length effort En Skog Av Nidstang. Read more…
Suspex 78 channel the raw spirit of classic punk on I Hate the Circus, delivering a fast, no-frills anthem fueled by sharp riffs, infectious hooks, and rebellious attitude. Clocking in at just over two minutes, the track wastes no time, charging forward with relentless energy while carrying a clear message against animal cruelty. Its stripped-back approach and old-school punk urgency evoke the genre’s earliest days, proving that direct songwriting can still pack a powerful punch. Fierce, memorable, and refreshingly authentic, I Hate the Circus is punk rock in its purest form.
In 2012, lead vocalist Terje Singh Sidhu got together with a rag-tag group of musicians to form some ’80s heavy metal worship called Sinsid. From Rogaland, on the western coast of Norway, this quintet has now written four full-length records, beginning with 2018’s Mission from Hell. Classic heavy metal is a crowded field, no doubt sparked by nostalgia for the brilliance of some of the foundational stuff written by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Blind Guardian, to name just a few. It’s the genre that allows one to write the sort of catchy guitar hooks and anthemic vocal choruses that can sprout hair on your chest. But it’s also easy for bands to slip through the cracks if they’re not able to elevate themselves above the pack. Let’s see how Sinsid stacks up on their latest LP, All That Remains.
Sinsid has composed a collection of catchy mid-tempo tunes that do their best to summon early Judas Priest, Blind Guardian, and Accept. From classic-sounding opening riffs to galloping blast beats and catchy choruses, Sinsid have not only done their homework regarding their influences, but have crafted some worthy tunes that sound great to boot. The energetic “Sarcophagus” recalls a thrashier time in Judas Priest’s timeline, while the ample use of backup vocalists hark back to the Blind Guardian of a twilight world, particularly on the catchy “Pioneers” and inspired closer, “Lords of the Northern Land.” There’s even a touch of Sabaton on “Azad Hind,” a rollicking bit of history about a fighting force that sought to “liberate India from the British Empire.”1 Sidhu serves as the heart of the music, with a vocal performance reminiscent of a much huskier Mark Tornillo (Accept). While he’s not a technically proficient singer, doing more shouting than actual singing, he provides grit and shows a real passion for the music.
Some solid mixing on All That Remains elevates the material by allowing the instruments room to shine. Often the measuring stick for solid production values is the presence of bass, and Grzegorz Urbański’s fretwork is an omnipresent beast, serving as an important backbone throughout the record. The guitars from Jostein Marø and Erik Westerlund also sound crisp and clear, even when the riffs could use a kick in the pants now and then. The two make the most of their talent on the standout tracks like “Sarcophagus” and the brief solos they’re allotted per song, including one that’s quite good on “The Horror (I Know).” The vocal approach is the true heart and soul of the music. The mix gives Sidhu’s voice prominence, to the point that he almost sounds like a different vocalist compared to 2022’s In Victory. He’s louder here, though not always in a bad way. Sinsid also give prominence to the many backup vocalists who participate, and this turns out to be a wise choice. The use of backup vocals goes a long way in amping up the music and providing a sense of brotherhood that I think serves as Sinsid’s truest identity.
While mostly consistent in level of quality content, All That Remains does suffer a few dips here and there as well as some struggles with originality. Sinsid’s largest blunder is opening the record with “All That Remains,” a bit of a downer thematically, as Sidhu sings about “humanity betrayed.” Outside of that, the track’s also not particularly energetic, and it highlights Sinsid’s penchant for too much repetition. Sinsid also make a few choices down the stretch that make their love for their influences a little too obvious. “Breaking All the Rules” has a title and chorus that are a bit too on the nose for Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law,” while the chorus to “Lawless Hunter” (“You better run for cover”) feels like a lesser version of “Run to the Hills.” Don’t get me wrong, these are quality songs; they just unwisely invite comparisons to better ones.
So Sinsid may not have quite separated themselves from their influences or the myriad other classic heavy metal bands, but they have at least created an enjoyable record. It’s a challenging genre to stand out in, saturated as it is and full of a rich history of some of the best bands the metal genre has to offer. All That Remains proves that Sinsid can write a fun lick or two, and sometimes that’s all you need to have a good time.
Rating: 3.0/5.0 DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3 Label: Pitch Black Records Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook Releases Worldwide: July 10th, 2026
Greek death metal unit Abyssus is excited to announce the signing of a new contract with Fireflash Records and at the same time announce the release of a new single, “The Meaning Of Pain”, on July 31st. The latter will be part of their upcoming new studio record The Reign. Additional details coming soon. Read more…
In 2012, lead vocalist Terje Singh Sidhu got together with a rag-tag group of musicians to form some ’80s heavy metal worship called Sinsid. From Rogaland, on the western coast of Norway, this quintet has now written four full-length records, beginning with 2018’s Mission from Hell. Classic heavy metal is a crowded field, no doubt sparked by nostalgia for the brilliance of some of the foundational stuff written by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Blind Guardian, to name just a few. It’s the genre that allows one to write the sort of catchy guitar hooks and anthemic vocal choruses that can sprout hair on your chest. But it’s also easy for bands to slip through the cracks if they’re not able to elevate themselves above the pack. Let’s see how Sinsid stacks up on their latest LP, All That Remains.