Track Listing

1. Lost
2. This Is Not the Original Dream
3. Take Me Home
4. I'm Real
5. Spark of Ignition
6. Closer to My Heart
7. Give Up Once for All
8. Brace for Impact [Instrumental]
9. Pechvogel (Unlucky Fellow)
10. Metalwaves
11. Beautiful Sin [Instrumental]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #141648 in Music
• Released on: 2009-03-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
There is no need to introduce Uli Kusch (MASTERPLAN, ex-HELLOWEEN) any more. For several years he has been one of the few really influencing characters in German metal scene. Wanting to branch out from MASTERPLAN he enlisted the services of Belgian singer Magali Luyten to record the debut of his new project BEAUTIFUL SIN. "THE UNEXPECTED" is a powerful album with traditional metal touches but without losing and the fresh and unique feeling the different artistic characters of the band members bring to the project. Sin can be soooo beautiful. 2006.

About the Artist
Beautiful Sin is a brand new Bandproject of the brilliant german Drummer Uli Kusch (Ex-Helloween, Masterplan). Currently it is a story that has already begun back in 2002 – without him knowing about it these days. Uli met a Belgian singer called Magali Luyten who wanted to record an album with her band. He agrees to produce the demo-CD for that band, but the CD never gets released by any label. Nowadays this band is history.

Uli himself is thinking about doing his very own thing next to Masterplan in the meanwhile. Something unique. This idea gets clearer in autumn of 2004 and Uli starts talking to Magali once again – this time about his own plans and not about producing. A concept, some songs and ideas are worked out and they form "The Unexpected" after a longer while. And as bright and shining this title may sound the music is as well. Without any doubt this release is a brand new debut album. A debut, that connects the experience Uli has gained over the years with the powerful freshness of Magali and the high level playing skills of their bandmates. Charismatic and full of uniqueness Magali `s voice finds a very own path – far away from the typical „metal band with female vocals"-thing. It finds a path that leads into a dynamic and very personal, charming sound.

Melodic, powerful metal with a beautiful female voice will be lifted into a new dimension with this album of Beautiful Sin.

Customer Reviews

One hell of an album!
I'm very surprised that I am the first to review this disc. I know it's a small release, but man is it good. I would have to describe them as a cross between Doro/Warlock and Masterplan. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but this chick can rock, and so can the band!

For those who don't know, the guitarist (Jorn Viggo Lofstad) and bass player (Steinar Krokmo) are from the Norwegian progressive metal band Pagan's Mind. (I don't recall Amazon mentioning that.) They are both extremely talented musicians, and they definitely show it here, although this is straight forward metal, and not very progressive.

Some on-line reviewers have compared this release to one of Uli's Helloween albums, and I think that it's a fair comparision. However, I have to say that I never enjoyed any of Helloween's work this much. A large part of that is due to the singer, Magali Luyten. I am really impressed with her voice on most of the songs. It's nice to see a female singer that can actually sing with power for a change! (I love groups like After Forever and Within Temptation, but they lack the power that Magali has.)

My general rule of thumb is that if I hear 3 or more good songs, from an album, I'll pick it up. This disc has 11 tracks. I'm not going to review them all, but I will say that the first 3 tracks alone justified the price of the disc for me! IMHO, there are 5 outstanding tunes, 3 damn good ones, and 3 I don't care for. Of course your mileage may vary!

Just a tip, since Amazon does not have sound clips of this, try checking them out on www.pandora.com. It's a free streaming radio service where you create the station by listing artists and/or songs you like. They have over half the album in rotation there, and I heard most of it over the course of 2 days. (They also have a link back here to Amazon to buy the disc if you agree with me.)

Solid melodic metal
Beautiful Sin is the new project of Germany's drum god Uli Kusch (ex-Helloween, Masterplan). Kusch must have wanted to find other ways to express himself, as he teamed up with Axel Mackenrott on keys from Masterplan, Pagan's Mind members Steinar Krokmo and Jorn Viggo Lofstad on bass and guitars respectively, and last but not least the amazing female vocalist Magali Luyten. Actually Luyten and Kusch have known each other for quite some time, since Kusch had primarily produced a demo for Luyten's previous band, which unfortunately never took off the ground. So, when the idea of forming Beautiful Sin came to mind, Kusch's first choice for vocalist was Magali Luyten.

Even though this album is meant to be a departure from the previous efforts of Uli Kusch, in many ways, it's just a more keyboard-driven version of his recent output with Masterplan. Mackenrott's synths are all over the place, and aside from the few songs where he delves into deep experiments, the music could be described as a melodic metal release with some serious hard rock leanings, plus modern production values to boot. Also, I was reminded of Jorn Lande's solo albums quite a bit in some ways, as Jorn Viggo Lofstad, the guitarist of Beautiful Sin, is also an integral part of his albums. And it's a known fact that Lande has always been a huge hard rock fan, therefore often releasing albums in this vein. The band start the album with the ambitious "Lost", the definitive Beautiful Sin song. It is highlighted by great keyboards, melodic female vocals (with the occasional male back-ups) and powerful bass and guitars. However, "This Is Not the Original Dream" is a better cut to fully appreciate Luyten's soaring vocals, and the guitar solo by Loftstad is stunning to say the least. Uli Kusch's drumming skills are still intact, as he opts for great rhythmic variations and top-notch double bass as well.

Most of the songs on the album are quite mid-tempo, picking up crunch and heavier parts only during the apex of the piece or the occasional choruses. "Take Me Home" is one of these songs. After delicate keyboards, the music is graced by thundering bass and rhythm guitars as well as a cool multi-part vocal harmony. "I'm Real" is based on pretty much the same formula, except that the drumming by Kusch is the highlight this time around. Speaking of Kusch, even though this is primarily his project, the number of songs where he attempts to put his skills on display are next to none, which makes me admire him all the more. The heaviest songs have got to be "Give Up Once For All" because of Luyten's aggressive vocals (a bit like Kimberly Goss perhaps); "Pechvogel" where the heavy-as-hell intro is perfectly contrasted by a mellow and slightly electronic key patch; the melodic piece "The Spark of Ignition", marked by varied time signatures and impressive harmonies; and the slowed-down power metal "Metalwaves", which in fact isn't as good a song as the others, but it's got a cool energy to it.

There are also two instrumentals on the album of which "Brace for Impact" is the more adventurous number. It is rather modern-sounding because of its very electronic synth sequences, sweeping bass leads, heavy guitars, and shredding synth lead which still focuses on melody rather than virtuosity. The title track, on the other hand, is just a neat and melodic piece that closes the album on a peaceful note. This album is recommended to fans of melodic metal that also enjoy quality hard rock, as well as to listeners of each member's other bands.

Somewhat expected, but superb vocal work!
Beautiful Sin's beginnings can be traced back to 2002 when German drummer Uli Kusch, formerly of the 80s power metal bands Helloween and Gamma Ray, met Belgian singer Magali Luyten. Kusch wanted to record an album with Luyten's band, and agreed to a demo. Sadly, the demo was never released and Kusch and Luyten parted ways.

That is, until the autumn of 2004. Kusch, now part of the band Masterplan, considered starting a new project in which he would write all of the music himself. He began speaking to Luyten again. Two years later, they released The Unexpected under the band name Beautiful Sin.

Even though this album was meant to be a departure for Kusch, it is, in many ways, much like his previous projects. The music is power metal, strongly driven by keyboards,synth (specifically "Brace for Impact"), and an obvious link to the sound of Helloween. This link makes the overall feel of The Unexpected somewhat, well, expected. For example, the song "Lost" is an original version of "The Departed (Sun is Going Down)" from Helloween's "The Dark Ride" album, and the connection between the two songs is fairly obvious.

The band's overall sound will appeal to fans of melodic power metal, synth-heavy metal, and fans of Helloween and Gamma Ray who wouldn't mind having a woman in the driver's seat. As a fan of Helloween, and of 80s rock and metal, I personally loved it. I thought the album's direction was fresh and clean and took the opportunity to exhibit Luyten's talent. Even though I'm not a fan of growling in music, this album had a minimal amount of it and the rest of the sound was so wonderful that I had no trouble overlooking the growling. It can get somewhat overpowering on "Lost" and "The Spark of Ignition," but that's the only issue I have with it.

But what really makes this album stand apart from Kusch's other projects, and from other power metal albums, are the phenomenal vocal abilities of Magali Luyten, specifically on "I'm Real" and "Metalwaves." I listen to a great deal of female-fronted metal (symphonic, operatic, and non) and I think that of all the female metalers out there, Luyten is the most underrated. She has pure, raw talent and a unique voice. Probably the best way to describe it is Janis Joplin-esque. Luyten has a wide range, powerful delivery, and an edge that brings the listener into the heart and soul of the album. After I heard her voice, I started snatching up everything I could find with Luyten attached. So far, I think this is her best project yet.

The only real drawback to this album is the lack of a tour to promote it and the lack of information about potential follow-ups. I can't wait to hear more from this fantastic band, and I eagerly look forward to more music from Beautiful Sin.