Although their band name brings one of my favorite Symphony X songs to mind, Sins of Shadows isn’t as proggy as that connection may suggest. There is some pre-Dream Theater prog on ‘The Last Frontier’, but it is clear that strong melodic themes, well-crafted songs and an overall narrative quality to their music are far more important to the French band. Virtuosity is largely foregone in favor of an admirable use of space in the arrangements, though the song structures are reasonably adventurous at times. The 37-minute album hints at larger ambitions, but restraint is actually one of its biggest strengths.

Musically, Sins of Shadows is rooted in traditional heavy metal from the eighties, but there is something distinctly contemporary about the way they choose to perform it. A lot of this is due to the guitar sound of Nicolas Jacon, but there is something to the way the sharp riffing and the melancholic melodies interact that gives ‘The Last Frontier’ more of a late nineties and early 2000s atmosphere rather than a true retro throwback vibe, which reminds me most prominently of how Joe Liszt does that in Ancient Empire and Shadowkiller. Or maybe Blind Guardian without the bombast.

At least for the moment, Sins of Shadows does not have a singer in their line-up. Tasos Lazaris from Greek epic heavy metal bands Steel Arctus and Fortress Under Siege appears on ‘The Last Frontier’ as a session singer, but the material generally suits his voice so well that it would be a reasonable mistake to assume he is part of the band. In some songs, he pushes towards the upper limits of his vocal register a little too much for my taste, but his dramatic delivery definitely has the gravitas that some of the band’s more theatrical efforts require, such as the excellent title track.

Sins of Shadows is at its best when they take a little more time to let the themes in their music develop. No song on ‘The Last Frontier’ is of truly epic length, but the two five-plus-minute songs – the title track and closing track ‘The End of the Road’ – allow the melodic themes and the story that the music tells a bit more time to unfold in a way that elevates the material. However, that doesn’t mean that the shorter songs are underwhelming. In fact, ‘Walls of Past’ is one of the most powerful songs here, while ‘The Void’ is a strong opener, and ‘Rise Again’ has a really nice drive to it.

There was a brief moment in the late nineties when bands that sounded like Sins of Shadows were fairly common, and it happens to be a style that I liked a lot then and still do now. Also, the consistent atmosphere of resigned melancholy in the music on ‘The Last Frontier’ just adds the right feel to the compositions. The band understands how the compositions and arrangements can enhance each other in a way that only musicians with extensive studio experience do. Given the line-up, it seems unlikely they will do any extensive touring to promote ‘The Last Frontier’, but it’s definitely worthy of your attention.

Recommended tracks: ‘The End of the Road’, ‘The Last Frontier’, ‘Wall of Past’