From the historic town of Rottweil in southern Germany comes the traditional heavy metal band SIRIUS CURSE, unleashing their debut "Time Knows No Lies" onto the world. Many of the members have a long history, their partnership crystalizing well before the band formed in 2014. This is not a young man's band for core members Frank Wurther and Andreas Spitznagel on guitar and vocalist Peter Hirsch. The trio were well acquainted with one another from their previous thrash/power metal band Exterior, founded in 1986. The group managed to release a couple of demos and even an EP titled "Interior Silence" in 1992 before eventually splitting up 4 years later. The trio formed up again, now well into the family and children phase of life, in addition to having full-time professional lives. They still managed to fill out their lineup, adding bass guitarist Dominikus Sautermeister and drummer Simon Wilde and have managed to attract interest playing festivals and other concerts despite the lack of released songs or an album to promote.

After two and a half years of careful planning, SIRIUS CURSE are now able to release the fruits of their labors and have physically released music with their 8 song debut "Time Knows No Lies". They self-describe their music as "Back to Heavy Metal Basics" and it's a fairly apt description but betrays the creativity and progressive nature featured in their music. While the album may not have a story or be a traditional concept album, all the songs seem to flow into the general concept of which the cover depicts. The lone hourglass on the cover, interpreted in many ways either hopeful or melancholy depending on your view of time. Almost out of place is a streak of blood dripping from the name of the band. Blood on an album cover is a popular trope for metal bands but SIRIUS CURSE insist that it "does not stand for human brutality and destruction but hints at the fugacity of life in general". The concept is a bit of a thinker, illustrating that time is not bothered by opinions, it simply is, and in time, will reveal all lies and secrets.

The many years of experience provided by the members is apparent within SIRIUS CURSE and "Time Knows No Lies" was absolutely enjoyable listen from beginning to end. Intro track "Rain Time" serves to set tension in its 37 seconds of ominous clock ticking and distant rain. But then we crash into "Loud" which serves as a bridge between NWOBHM grit and AOR doubled vocal glitz with a nice clean interlude to provide dynamic. "Relax (It's War)" starts off with a bass and pensive 80s style clean guitar but soon gives way to driving JUDAS PRIEST riffage and high flying vocals beautifully delivered by Hirsch. But what intrigued me the most was the progressive tinged "No Tomorrow". It has doom elements but also sounds like it could have come from DREAM THEATER's more 80s influenced first album with its guitar acrobatics and squeals. Even "Bondage" shows some of these progressive tendencies with its shifts in tempo while still delivering hard driving hard rock and heavy metal with great hooks and even groovier solos. Honestly, the short run times of the tracks make it very tight and compact but always seemed to leave me wanting more. SIRIUS CURSE shouldn't be afraid on their follow-up to experiment a bit more with longer formats and really lean into the sound they have created because it was certainly a winning formula.