SAILOR HUNTER is a Metal band from Sweden that started as a one-man online-project by guitarist Al Rinald. Their influences are, among others, the mighty metal Gothenburg sound. With a touch of Symphonic Orchestra and American Groove Metal together with inspiration from the Mediterranean Sea, they deliver metal "from the heart." Their latest EP here contains five songs.

"Commence" leads off the album. It's a short, one-minute instrumental, consisting mostly of Symphonic elements with positive tones. The picture in my mind relates to ascension. "Scarred" begins with heavy, aggressive guitars and a lot of attitude. The vocals are mostly screams, and the background fills out nicely. Following the chorus, thick bass notes saunter in until the riff returns. "Life" opens with another slamming groove with harsh vocals. The sound is pretty brutal and that seems to be what the band is aiming for. But I do wish for some more of those Symphonic elements to go along with the punishing grooves.

"Alone" is yet another full-force body slam of heavy guitars and incensed vocals. The "pull-ons" in the main riff bring a little variation to the table. The breakdown is also fairly brutal, but through four songs so far, there just isn't enough diversity on the album for me. "Icon" closes the album. It's really the first song where the band explores a different style of their sound. The keyboards add layers to their music, as do the clean vocals which is nice. The piano notes are also well done, but this mid-tempo rocker lacks identity and energy for me.

The band has a brutal sound, fueled by their love of Melodic Death Metal, among other genres. Unfortunately, they sound too much like a lot of other bands out there, and haven't taken the leap of faith to distinguish themselves. Maybe five (four) tracks isn't enough to really judge the band, but they didn't show much of their personality thus far. There is at least some untapped potential here.