California based LEXI LAYNE is here to serenade you with some smooth and delicate Dark Metal in her new EP "Sinner And Saint". The artwork for the release could not be more appropriate, with the artist striking a pose as some sort of gothic nun, but not quite one that you may have seen in a certain movie. Really striking and really well done.

Opening the release is "Dominate" and it builds from a fairly innocuous beginning to this really smooth melodic section. But the main body is just superb. I'm hearing some Industrial stylings in there, but what has really stolen the show for me has to be the really effective use of synths to just accentuate the vocal line in the most sublime fashion. Lexi's clean vocals deliver a sultry and dominating narrative throughout that has some serious range and power, showing differing levels of intensity and different vocal styles that really polish the track off.

"Self Sabotage" Picks the pace up a little bit, and really brings that intensity kick up. The clean vocals are intertwined with some more rough growls and roars and I absolutely love it! Picture something like if Lizzy Hale and Alissa White-Gluz came together to collaborate on a track. This was high energy from the start and has left me breathlessly wanting more. "Bloodless"... Ok, a bit of a different introduction but I can get behind this. Seemingly a more stripped back and exposed track that really lays bare for all to see. I really liked the flow of the track, as the verses were much more delicate and stripped back building into a more intense chorus that just feels like it should be screamed by throngs of fans. The solo was fantastic too, but I couldn't help but feel that it should have gone again, one last time into the chorus with some real venom and power. But that is simply my opinion and, hey, I'm not the artist!

As we come into the final two tracks, "Lost Soul" is again seemingly gentler, but looks (or sounds?!) can be deceiving. And before long Lexi's powerful vocals are once again beating against my headphones and I cant help but feel like wanting to move and just cry out the words along, it is utterly infectious. Look out CDC you've a new pandemic on your hands! The finale, in the form of the titular "Sinner And Saint" really takes the best of every track and projects it out in a final barnstorming performance that has left me frantically adding this record to my playlists.

Overall, this is a cracking EP. The tracks are well written and structured, yeah there may be a few things that I would have done slightly differently, but that's the idea of it being someone's own vision, and LEXI LAYNE's appears to be 20/20. Fans of WITHIN TEMPTATION, EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM be sure to check out this cracking release.