st.sinner - hearts in hands ep
- Emily Brown
- Aug 7, 2025
- 4 min read
st. sinner just released their latest ep,
hearts in hands and we're gonna talk about how hot it is!
starting off with 'hearts in hands', the title of the ep and the grand opener - an eerie, feminine robotic vocal intro that almost replicates the opening credits of a video game. i personally love when bands have an intro song like this. it really boils the energy for the opening of the ep, then follows a seamlessly smooth transition into "subjects".
"Subjects" was released as a single in early April 2025. The track is raw, intense, and charged with political and existential themes. It really digs into how society manipulates people, and controls the world around us while passing down generational trauma from being merely seen and treated as test subjects. under all of this pressure, brings out the loss of sense of identity and uniqueness.
"subjects" is a deep, explosive track sonically and lyrically, with features occasionally reminding me of bring me the horizon's "parasite eve."
moving onto the third song of the ep, "feel it."
starting off much softer before breaking down into a heavy instrumental eruption. "feel it" touches on heartbreak, the sense of losing your partner to someone else with the lyrics "if you're holding me i know you're feeling somebody else"
the vocalist challenges ultimate high and long notes, exerting the emotion from within stright into our headphones, making it easy for us to connect and feel the misery. this is a very emotional song that is a nice slower change from the rest of the ep.
"h.t.n" [hypertension] is the forth track on the ep. this is vastly different from what we've heard so far, but don't let it fool you as this song is drenched in heavy bass tones, a screaming to rapping vocal change and all-round brutalistic. it is violent, self destructive, threatening, dark and yet still unbelievably sexy! we hear a range of aggression from start to finish, high squeals and the deadliest low riff's of the whole ep.
if you've noticed there has been a lot of unique differences between each song so far, the following song may give you a bit of an explanation as to why. "manic" was a single released mid june of 2025, which is actually on the day hot and heavy sat down with st. sinner for an interview. you can watch it here!
"manic" is fast paced, upbeat and has you trapped from the get-go. this song features a lot of variety from heavy riffs, a lo-fi section, back into electronic explosiveness, all while the vocalist bounces from scream-talking, low growls and rapping.
manic serves as the emotional centrepiece of the ep, depicting an honest representation of spiraling and tying emotional instability to substance abuse. i also feel as though the lyrics "all my friends are not where i'm from, my mind state under the rug." is a call for help, as though feeling like an alien unclear in your identity and alone in the feeling. this track is confrontational, full of layers and blended genre's, but making its way to be a fan favourite.
flowing into our next track & continuing the same themes of crisis and mania, "alive."
it feels so personal and vulnerable, with the harsh lyrics creating an atmosphere of dread and longing for mental release. we're introduced with an almost animated rhythm, again showing inspiration from
bring me the horizon.
this track highlights the vocalist's capabilities once again, hitting long and high notes, merging into low and gritty screams. the lyrics of this song portray being trapped in ones-self, screaming for an escape or to feel something again. while the instrumental's are brazen, melancholic yet urgent, making it hard realise this song is about pain and internal torment.
up next is "over and over again" taking a bit of a different edm style turn compared to the beginning of the ep. while i can't quite decipher the lyrics myself, it's noted that the climax of the song is "over and over again" repeated. my interpretation of this song based off the narrative of the ep so far, is experiencing the unending mental loops of self judgement, anxiety and being trapped in your own criticism. this short song is a fun listening intermission that gives us time to digest everything we've heard so far, before transitioning seamlessly into "the knife".
the second last song on the ep, the knife throws us back to the deep end of the intense layers of heavy, groove driven riffs with electronic features that st.sinner are known for. the knife juggles the vocal style between clean and abrasive screams, with electric undertones and a cheeky bark halfway through. from the lyrics i've gathered from this track, the knife is exploring the explosive elements of emotional rupture and the aggression that comes with it. "dig the knife in!" speaks to me like you're so sick of fighting these battles, like just kill me already! this track was an excellent way to release that last bit of tension we've built from the ep.
and now the big finale, "a terrible thing to remember"
immediately we sway such a different direction from what we've heard throughout the hearts in hands ep. this final song is slower, allowing emotional resonance to deepen. the instrumental and vocal shift towards a lighter metalcore tone resembles something similar to loathe. as this is the final song on the ep, we've been following a story of vigorous emotional turmoil, concluding with this track that to me is based on memory. unable to forget, dealing with the consequences and hinting at unresolved trauma and regret.
while i refer to this track independently as slower and expansive, it is still heavy yet thoughtful, a beautiful ending to this fantastic ep that tells a story of internal pain and mental health struggle.
this was a brilliant ep by st.sinner, and a special shoutout to daniel antix for the production on this masterpiece.
all photos are credited to nico bonfrere
the hot and heavy show will be seeing st.sinner next at elated festival in sydney. don't miss this one, get your tickets here!
you can find all links to st.sinner's profiles, merch and streaming via their linktree here!
