CoC : Cardinal Sin - Spiteful Intents : Review

Cardinal Sin - _Spiteful Intents_
(Wrong Again Records, 1996)
by: Drew Snow (8 out of 10)

As soon as you hear the acoustic intro to Cardinal Sin's debut MCD, _Spiteful Intents_, you know John Zwetsloot has got to be involved. The guy just seems to have an affinity for soft acoustic pieces, sometimes with whispered vocals, sometimes without, and who can really blame him? I think we all enjoy a little moody acoustic goodness every now and then, and as long as, along with the acoustic sections, Zwetsloot keeps on writing the kind of riffs he did with Dissection, and now Cardinal Sin, I'm not going to complain. It would figure that the two best songs on the sixteen minute offering are written by Zwetsloot, and bear no slight resemblance, in riffage, to his work with Dissection. For reference, just listen to "Heaven's Damnation" off of the latter's debut, and you'll know what I mean. Dry, sharp, black vocals complement the melodic riffing, accompanied by some fairly simplistic drumming. So, basically, you'll find no surprises here, and it may not be worth one's money for such a short release, but for what it is, _Spiteful Intents_ is well done. Oh, and what's this? The final song is a short acoustic outro...

(article published 13/5/1997)