Simon RushworthStatement — Sinister Thing (Mighty Music)
Jannick Brochdorf might not boast the brand recognition of a James Hetfield or an Udo Dirkschneider.
And unless your Scandi metal scope is impressively wide then Danish stalwarts Statement are probably still to register on your hard rock radar.
But hang fire… Sinister Thing is the album that could change all that — don’t fill the gap in your favourite festival battle jacket just yet.
Brochdorf sounds like he should be opening up for AC/DC, taking on Accept or challenging Shinedown for 2025’s top honours.
Boy has this bloke got a set of full-throttle metal pipes on him.
Brochdorf can growl, grizzle and grunt if the situation demands it: some of Statement’s heavier tunes here even veer towards thrash.
But the do-it-all frontman’s equally adept at delivering something a little more melodic — when the drop C tuning allows it.
Sinister Thing straddles metal’s ever widening landscape with ease as Statement occasionally step into uncharted territory.
At times this is heavier, angrier and more aggressive than anything the band’s attempted before.
But with Brochdorf leading the charge it seems like a most natural move for the ambitious five-piece.
In raising the stakes Statement have raised the bar: Sinister Thing’s a thing of devilish beauty — a menacing fusion of trad metal and heavy rock that’s relentless in its attack.
Raised In Hell, raised on metal
Brochdorf’s at his baleful best on the almost rabid Raised In Hell — it’s the one track here that perfectly captures Statement’s strident reboot.
The mid-set bawler sounds like something dug up from the dying embers of the Bay Area’s first blast of early 80s thrash and polished into a modern metal masterpiece.
Elsewhere producer Tue Madsen captures every strike of lead guitarist Niels Alex Larsen’s lightning bolt plec with trademark precision: a volley of molten riffs perfectly complements Brochdorf’s ominous tone.
Statement’s sound is clean yet caustic: the Copenhagen crew offset corrosive solos with crisp melodic flourishes to create a smorgasbord of expansive modern metal.
The Hive’s another obvious highlight and provides further conclusive proof that the great Danes have put four albums’ worth of expertise and experience into a career-defining fifth long player.
The not-so-subtle shift from drop D to drop C tuning — a move the band is keen to highlight — has freed Brochdorf and co. to explore exciting new territory.
And such is Sinister Thing’s sonic evolution it’s difficult to imagine Statement returning to the Monsters era anytime soon.
More than a decade down the line from that cult debut, a band without boundaries has reset the dial.
A Statement release? Too right.
