Sister

Disguised Vultures (Metal Blade)
By Mike Delano

If you’re in the market for sleazy glam punk rock ‘n’ rolla, Scandinavia has always been the place to look. Backyard Babies, The 69 Eyes, Hardcore Superstar – the list goes on and on. That region has been cranking out the stuff for so long now, though, that new releases in the genre can be very predictable, even if they do deliver the goods. (Keep in mind, they do this style way better up than we do in the States nowadays, so even their D-listers are better than crap like Pop Evil.) And Disguised Vultures, the second album from Swedish outfit Sister, does deliver some fairly predictable goods, but there are enough curve balls throughout the record to keep it interesting.

Opener “My Enemy” might be the most intriguing, since it mixes raspy, straightforward rock with the stop-and-go, staccato chugga of System of a Down. It’s a cool way to steer the genre away from the classic rock approach of The Hellacopters into something more modern sounding. That sound doesn’t really return much on the rest of the album, which is surprisingly heavy and firmly in the style of Turbonegro, delivering rapid-fire rock that rarely takes a breather. Notable exceptions include “Naked,” a slow-burn ballad, and the title track, which wields the album’s biggest, most fist-pumpingly arena-friendly Mötley Crüe riff. Overall, Disguised Vultures is an eclectic release that makes it much easier to distinguish Sister from the retro-rockin’ pack.
(www.metalblade.com)