THE CIRCLE PIT - (8.5/10): Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is home to the flourishing Coat Of Arms, a progressive groove band with original nu-metal undertones. Following the noteworthy release “This Is Manslaughter” in 2011, Coat Of Arms takes a colossal step forward with “Sun and Satellites”, which was mixed/mastered/produced by Diego Farias (Volumes). Coat Of Arms sophomore album “Sun and Satellites” is a dreamlike release; exhibiting a strikingly refined sound. Brought upon is a sparkling elation that develops at first sound and remains long after “Sun and Satellites” conclusion. The album glows with positive passion, but ‘brighter’ should not imply ‘lighter,’ there is undeniable power here. The vocal style of Bailouni is a large contributor to C.O.A.’s distinctive sound. Intelligently rotating between growls and singing; the vocals are a stimulating aspect to the surrounding music. Coat Of Arms’ unique sound can be directly credited to the trio of guitars, bass included, whose writing does not bridge between genres and influences, but rather concocts a completely new formula off riffs. Coat Of Arms sure has their way with melody and appeal. “Composure To Remain” is a heavy track loaded with pounding riffs the evolves into a heavier Killswitch Engage-esque power riff, then transitioning into melody and ambience. The lovely lead guitar that closes “Composure to Remain” trickles into the ever beautiful “Pixels.” The lyrics here cause “Pixels” to resonate deep within me. “River Weser” and “Skies Craved” is a duo of commanding tunes that amplify the value of Suns and Satellites with the additional energy these tracks generate. The album is then ushered into silence by “BrundleFly,” a groove-ballad with exceptional atmospheric comfort. The attraction of “Sun and Satellites” starts with my soft spot for the djent groove, but is exponentially expanded on by the familiarity found to music that I originally began my ‘metal journey’ with such as Killswitch Engage and Slipknot. This mash up is executed with flawless overlap to the point that the specifics are so hard to isolate, and at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter anyways. The relevance is the quality of music. And Coat Of Arms shows off high quality and fresh metal on “Sun and Satellites”. - Tyler Dermitt METALITY (8.5/10): As forerunners of metalcore in the Middle-East, Coat of Arms have always maintained an air of individuality over their music. You could always tell a Coat Of Arms track from your average, run-of-the-mill metal band, and their latest metal offering, “Sun and Satellites” seeks to push this dynamic even further. Receiving production from Diego Farias of the progressive metal band Volumes, COA have clearly stepped up their game from 2010’s “This is Manslaughter” receiving clearer and tighter production. In short, this record both sounds and feels big, whilst showing how they have clearly matured as musicians and developed a sound all their own. The album opens with the resinous “Notes & Chords”, clearly displaying that although they may sound cleaner, the band have not lost any of the aggression and ferocity built up on “This is Manslaughter”. Pulsing with ferocity all the way through, this is clearly not a record that will pull any punches. This moves into the song that most people will have heard in the album previews leading up to the release, “Black Holes.” If any song serves to outline the band’s new direction, its this one. Providing a main riff so smooth it almost glides, while at the same time offering a punch every so often to make sure we’re awake. The breakdown to this song is probably one of the best that band have offered, sure to have heads banging for rows on end! Honestly, if I was to say everything that I liked about this record, we’d be here for a while, and to be honest, its something that you have to experience for yourself. It's simply a whole new Coat of Arms, maintaining what we loved about the sophomore record with a whole new sound, that has been well worth the wait in development. In short, Coat of Arms are back after a long awaited break, and I for one am glad to see them returned. - Tristan French ROCKER MAGAZINE (3/5): The 2nd coming of UAE's metalcore boys, COAT OF ARMS, is Sun and Satellites which released in early 2013. Much credit goes to these guys, realising the potential they had through the release of their first album, "This is Manslaughter" in 2011, and directing it towards a bigger factor in probably all aspects as a band. As such, metalcore primarily dominates this album, with brilliantly crafted occasional deviations into more experimental stuff. The album is loaded with signature metalcore guitar riffs and drumming patterns, but never to a point do they take into strides of getting monotonous. The album starts with an intro in the name of "Dimensions Revealed", and kicks into the first song "Notes and Chords", which sets the tone for the rest of the album. The production done sounds much stronger and more enhanced than their first release, as in the case with almost any artist today. On a whole, you witness an intelligent sense of song writing and direction, as compared to their first release. Now these guys are still pretty young, and this being just their second release is pretty impressive. While this album isn't your "nailed it " metal core album, it definitely makes the grade for the listeners of the genre. If I had to pick a single track of the album, that would be the highlight, it would have to be "Pixels". For a guy who has been following this band right from 2009, I must say this is a long way from watching these guys for the first time at a pub in Dubai around 5 years ago. What this album has done is that, it has increased my expectations for their third release. It's just sad these guys don't play around that often anymore. - Adrian Miranda