The Appice brothers, Carmine and Vinnie, are both legends in their own rite. On one hand, you have the older and more experienced Carmine, who has played with versatile acts such as Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, Ozzy and King Kobra, to name a few. On the other hand, you have Vinny, who has played with influential heavy-hitters Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell. The booming bass drum, groove-based back beat, innovative snare rudiments and well-placed fills define both Appice brothers. Coming off their successful Drum Wars project, Carmine and Vinny take it one step further with this great collection of 13 tunes. Armed with a slew of respectable guest musicians, the Appice’s serve up a tasty blend of ’70s hard rock mixed with ’80s metal.  

Opener “Sinister” begins with a pulsating synth guitar pattern and features fantastic vocals from Jim Crean, while the Appice brothers perform some tasty, alternating drum fills. “Drum Wars” also confirms the brother’s complimentary playing styles. The catchy “Monsters and Heroes” contains a ZZ Top-ish boogie-woogie riff and features Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, ex-Quiet Riot) on vocals. Vocalist Chas West (Resurrection Kings, Bonham, ex-Lynch Mob) nails it on the swaggering “Killing Floor.” There’s not a bad track in the bunch. Even album closer “Sabbath Mash” is a fun mishmash of early-era Sabbath tunes. The menacing vibe of “Riot,” with Robin McAuley (MSG) singing is ultra-catchy, while “Brothers In Drums” has a ’70s blues-rock flavor in the vein of Pat Travers and Robin Trower. A pleasant surprise on the album is that Carmine doubles as vocalist on “You Got Me Running.” After singing decent backup vocals in his previous bands, one forgets that for a drummer, he’s not bad in the vocal department. Overall, Sinister is a dynamite album from two extraordinary drummers.