14 Seconds
Sun Born Cold
•
March 27, 2015

The divide between clean and death vocals has always been a point of contention amongst the Metal community, with many believing one is far superior to the other for various reasons. Whatever your personal stance, one thing that can't be disagreed with is the fact that as a rule, death vocals tend to be far more difficult to understand, and in the case of Italian band SUN BORN COLD's debut EP "14 Seconds", that rule persists.
The very first thing heard upon playing the album is a death shout, immediately letting you know what to expect. "Cold Embers" is a largely unremarkable track for the most part, with the expected staples present including heavy-duty guitars playing at lightning speed, and a whole bunch of unintelligible shouting. The one saving grace of the vocals is their range within the growls, as Raoul and Daniele are both capable at what they do. However, there's little chance of a live audience singing along with the lyrics, unless they've Googled what they are and practiced religiously beforehand. The only memorable part is a soft bridge, where nothing is heard except a very soft guitar and the consistent roaring vocals over the silence. It's an imaginative technique, and it rescues the song from being forgotten entirely.
The other three songs are an improvement, with "14 Seconds" beginning with an audio clip that's fairly hard to discern at the volume it's played at underneath the guitar intro. Before it begins it's over again, with the brutal vocals eliminating any chance of us ever finding out exactly what happened in these 14 seconds, or why the album has been named after them. In any case, the song contains a solid guitar riff and fairly powerful drumming, slowly winding down during the outro and becoming progressively heavier towards the end.
The Groove label cited on the band's Facebook page comes into being in "Thousandfold", with the interplay between the guitars and vocals providing the backbone of the groove. It's an easy song to get into, and arguable the best of the EP.
"Daylight to the Blind" is a testament to frequent tempo changes, with the track becoming heavier halfway through and shifting between being even slower and speeding up again until the outro, which grinds to a halt before the end nicely. The vocals help bring the song in to land, coming in only when necessary.
There are some good ideas here for a debut EP, but little to separate them hundreds of similar bands who litter the scene. A reassessment of their vocal style may be in order to distinguish themselves more, or at least make them understandable. Good artwork, though.
6 / 10
Had Potential

"14 Seconds" Track-listing:
1. Cold Embers
2. 14 Seconds
3. Thousandfold
4. Daylight to the Blind
Sun Born Cold Lineup:
Raoul Rotili - Vocals
Daniele Frangiamore - Guitar / Backing Vocals
Roberto Magini - Guitar
Francesco Angeloni - Bass
Estefan Gimènez - Drums
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