Review: Sentire - Time and Motion - The Progressive Subway

Style: progressive metal, symphonic power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Fleshgod Apocalypse, Wilderun, Angra, Rhapsody, Wintersun
Review by: Matt
Country: United Kingdom
Release Date: 8 September, 2019

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the September 2019 issue of The Progressive Subway.]

Here’s a… band… from England… One “James Sanger” is allegedly in it… Ok, what the hell is Sentire? This album has a professional mix and cover art, musicians that shred, and an orchestral sheen that doesn’t come cheap, yet there’s only hearsay and mp3s to prove it exists. Currently, the top search result for “Sentire band” is Metal Archives. The second most relevant result is the guitarist’s LinkedIn page. We’re dealing with the kvltest of the kvlt.

Whoever these people are, they’ve created one of the best albums of the year. It’s power metal, I guess, but so heavy I was expecting an Arsis-style snarl to come in on the first song. Actually, what we get is a gruff tenor that reminds me a little of Mats Leven, finding the perfect ratio of flamboyancy to toughness for the pummeling music beneath. The riffs are fast and furious, vaguely neoclassical and melodeathy, with a constant massive orchestra presence that doesn’t quite take center stage. It’s easy to forget what this album is, until a stray Yngwie solo or epic choir jerks you back into Power Metal territory. Some songs, like Fall, leave me unsure if they’re any genre in particular besides “heavy and awesome.” This is the sign of a great metal album.

If I have one complaint, it’s that the songs on Time and Motion run together by the end – they’re all similarly epic and crunchy, with the same melodramatic, apocalyptic atmosphere. They’re not particularly catchy either, despite all the elements being there. Every part is interesting, but it’s like a magic trick – at the end of a track, you’ll say “hey, was there a chorus?” because the emphasis wasn’t on it. This is cool, but the lack of musical “signposts” takes some individuality away from the songs… I’m sure I’ll get over it, though.

Sentire: If you’re out there, get in touch! Or at least put up a website. It’s baffling to me how little we know about this release. This would appeal to a broad array of metal fans, if they had any way of knowing about it. Strong contender for my album of the year.

Recommended tracks: End of the World, Fall
You may also like: Novareign, Tanagra, Qantice, Daydream XI
Final verdict: 9/10