Siblings Of Samhain Self-Titled Review

Siblings Of Samhain

Self-Titled

Self-Released

2021

I think the “trick or treat” expression fits well here. I’m not quite sure what to make of Siblings of Samhain’s eponymous effort. There are some solid tracks here that are worthy of your Halloween playlist, but a lot of the songs feel uninspired and at times boring. There is an additional factor here that rubs me slightly the wrong way…the vocals. They come across as a bit nasally and remind me of those found on Karloff’s releases. So, is this album a trick or a treat? I think horror rock fans will find some songs to latch onto, but overall, it falls flat. For me, it’s the raisins or toothbrush in the pillowcase.

Everything featured here was originally recorded between 2018 and 2020 and was remixed and remastered for this album. An issue I have is everything sounds too samey. There are two different versions of “Winsome Witch” and “Lonesome Halloween Night”, with the second version on “Lonesome Halloween” only three tracks after the original. The original version of “Winsome Witch” with the female vocals is far superior and provides some much-needed reprieve from the aforementioned vocals. There is also two Friday the 13th-themed songs back-to-back, “The Legend of Crystal Lake” and “Stay Away from Camp Blood”. The mixing on this album leaves a lot to be desired. And with 26 tracks, it wears on you fast.

I don’t want to slam the album in its entirety because there are some pretty good tracks like: “Hyde”, “Epidemic”, “Gravedigger Man”, “Love At First Bite”, and “Vampires Everywhere”, the latter giving off some modern-era Bad Religion vibes. There are a couple of covers here like the Misfits’ “Night of the Living Dead” and Blitzkid’s “Pumpkin Patch Murders”. Unfortunately, neither cover does much of anything for me and they fall in line with the majority of the album. I think what’s most frustrating is that there is a lot of potential here, but everything doesn’t come together as it should to stand out. As of 2024, the band has called it a day, so these criticisms don’t mean much of anything. Maybe one day they’ll release some more music, which I would absolutely be interested in checking out. This near miss could have easily been dead on.

~TJ