Shadow
(Century Media)
by Scott Hefflon
Melodic death metal from Japan. Damn good stuff: Catchy, brutal, fleet-footed, harmonious, with great production, and while perhaps lacking the distinguishable personality/songwriting of greats such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Arch Enemy (damn, usually forget to namedrop those guys!), this is a debut, and a fine one at that. Spikefarm nabbed Shadow (and Children of Bodom, and a few other bands of note), and Century Media has been gracious enough to lend their might to the cause. Because hearing is believing…
Until you read more closely and discover that that’s a woman singing! And then ya gotta go back to the beginning, gibbering that it just can’t be, that you woulda noticed, that things like this don’t slip by you… Hell, if that’s a woman singing, how can you be so sure the sky is actually blue? If you assumed incorrectly without noticing this time, when else were you wrong and simply didn’t question it? … OK, let’s not go there. These guys (and girl), rule. Just shy of top-notch melodic death metal, and with a debut release!. Watch for this band live, and keep an eye on them, year after year, as they’re bound to become a household name (in the households that are worth visiting).
(1453-A 14th St. #324 Santa Monica, CA 90404)