At the time of this review, VooDoo Terror Tribe remains an unsigned band that hails from New Jersey. Since forming in 2005, the group has put out three releases themselves, with their first full-length offering being issued under a label name "VUDU Records". Symptoms of Sin is the group's third effort, and presents an often haunting, yet catchy musical production that really jumps around through the styles, showcasing some rather haunting, yet catchy Hard Rock songs that border on Gothic Rock, as well as heavily Thrash inspired tracks that, sometimes, have a slight Progressive touch to them, but often not much. Either way, the music is good, but it will take a little getting adjusted to at first.
Symptoms of Sin is not a bad album at all. It's clear that, for an unsigned group, the band has plenty of talent and can compose an addictive album that has enough of a bite to attract fans of harder, edgier rock, as well as metal, but still have a somewhat lighter, radio ready feel to it at times. The production on the release is well done, giving the listener an album that finds everything mixed nicely together, including the more industrial elements that appear in "Never Died Before", but that's not to say that this release doesn't have it's problems. One of the main downers to the release, though not much, are the vocals, which is the main thing that will require some patience with. Much of the vocals are done very well, cleanly sun with some harshness added to suit the music. There are times where there's some real power behind them, and sometimes they even delve into a mock-gutteral sound, like on the aforementioned "Never Died Before", though that style isn't really all that impressive and clearly distorted for impact. But, while the vocals range greatly and sound great with the music, the problem is that they sound a bit washed out, and much of it does come off as the actual vocalist doing it. There are times where the vocal style will vary through the song, and it's the more cleanly sung sections, with or without a bit of a harshness into them, that they sound as if they were recorded during an earthquake through much of the song. Sure, it works on certain parts of songs, like during the chorus of "Wake of the White Devil", but not for practically every line of the song like during "The Victim".
Aside that, this release is a very well rounded effort. As stated, much of the album seems to be geared towards a Hard Rock sound, but things does change up a bit around "Never Died Before". While the first three songs have a strictly Hard Rock/Gothic Rock feel to them, the music branches off out of nowhere into a heavily Thrash oriented sound with some Industrial/Techno aspects, and even features a slight breakdown in the mix. The song features prodominantly gutteral vocals that are distorted, and not really all that effective, and the actual electronic sounds that occur through the song, as well as kick start the track, are catchy and really help the song out, but, sadly, aren't utilized as much as one would hope. Then, there's a more Thrash and Progressive track called "Wake of the White Devil", which just sounds like a heavier Danzig track, having a slight ritualistic-sounding chorus with the way the music is played and the vocals are performed. Of course, things continue along that road on "Looking for Serenity", featuring some really heavy guitars and commanding vocals that harmonize well with the music when need be.
There's honestly nothing bad about Symptoms of Sin other then the sudden musical shift that occurs between "You're My Punishment" and "Never Died Before". The first three songs, as stated, seem a little more radio friendly, but are still fantastic Rock-based tracks that show a bit of a Thrash influence, though not much. "You're My Punishment", however, does feature some pretty rough vocal layering that makes the song hard to listen to. The vocals themselves, again, abuse the shakey clean vocal style mentioned earlier, much like in "The Victim", but in this instance, there are vocals layered over them through the song, and the layering just sounds horribly done. Outside that, there's two bonus recordings at the end of the recording. The first is "World of Lies (Live)", which shows an impressive live performance full of energy and very progressional. The only problem here is that the drumming on the track sounds absolutely horrible through much of the song, as if there are two drum layers put into it that are clashing, but is probably just the recorder too close to the drum kit and the speakers. The final track is "Wake of the White Devil" again. Whether this was just some sort of error in the production, or just an oversight in the promotional version supplied is unclear, but the track lasts one extra second longer then the one earlier in the recording.
In the long run, Symptoms of Sin is a rather enjoyable album, though it does meet with some faults. The band manages to blend a good number of styles together, but the main downfall here was the sudden switch from catchier Hard Rock to a heavier Thrash influence that practically comes out of nowhere. Aside that and the vocals, VooDoo Terror Tribe present us with a recording that shows they deserve the spotlight, both in the studio, as well as on the stage.
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