I must admit Black Sites doesn’t do much for me. I followed vocalist and guitarist Mark Sugar because of his previous work with now defunct metalcore/thrash band Trials, but now he is also in the badass death metal outfit, Bear Mace. I thoroughly enjoy two out of the three bands already mentioned, so I’m hopeful the new Black Sites album, For Eternity, finally clicks.
Where the traditional metal Black Sites plays needs to shine is in the guitar playing/solos and catchy refrains. There’s rarely innovation, so you must write quality songs. Fortunately, For Eternity kicks off with “When It Calls,” Martin employs cleans exclusively, and it’s not long before a catchy chorus hits. The dissonant picking on top of the chugging main riff gives the song a brooding feel, which becomes common throughout the rest of the album.
Honestly, it’s very difficult to pick out tracks to highlight because there are many remarkable ones. The last one, “Unanswered for Eternity,” would not be out of place in the “hair metal” heyday. The main riff is far from what I’d call heavy, at least in the traditional sense, but it allows the vocals to carry the track. It’s basically a ballad, although a seven-minute one. The instrumental section that ends near the five-minute mark is as brutal as it gets here, but it does lead the way into a darker guitar solo section. At over 40 minutes, it’s right at the sweet spot before I get bored.
Luckily, there are even better tracks before the end. I would rarely call an album “middle heavy,” but when the best tracks tend to be there, I think it applies. Take, for instance, tracks four and five: “Giving Up the Ghost,” and “Blades (For the Chosen Ones),” respectively. The former has a bass-heavy, driving riff. Of course it has a good hook, but so does the latter. This tune has far more of a bounce to it than “Giving Up the Ghost,” and one could argue that the chorus is better, but almost every one is a fist-pumper.
If you’ve been following along, congratulations, you’re literate, but you’ve also probably figured out this is the album that finally made Black Sites click for me. This is without a doubt the pinnacle of their recorded output. In my eyes, their previous work doesn’t measure up. When I heard those albums, I wasn’t quite over the loss of Trials, so it’s probably not a bad idea to go back and listen to them again. Maybe time has forgotten, or For Eternity just hit me at the right moment, but if they keep releasing heavy hitters, then I’ll continue to pay attention.
You should, too, especially because the new album is self-released. That’s always a strong indication of being in it for the right reasons, including their own artistic expression.
