“Shadowseer” is the debut full-length album
of the American metal band of the same name. Despite having only 8 tracks, this
album spans the better part of an hour, and it is a journey to say the least.
Throughout the release there is a wide variety of styles of heavy metal. The
band obviously has a good appreciation for the diversity of metal, and does a
pretty decent job working those styles into this album. At its core, the record
is based in a more power/thrash-oriented version of traditional heavy metal. A
couple of tracks feature the use of death metal growls when the occasion calls
for it, most notably on the intro to “Immortality”.
There are a couple of particularly
important components to Shadowseer’s music that will be featured prominently on
this release. The first is the singing of Aleks Ignjatovic. Despite having a
relatively standard power/heavy metal voice, he doesn’t really sound like
anyone else. He has an impressive range, and can change his voice to suit
whatever the music underneath is doing, whether it is something a bit softer
(see “Waltz of Time”), or a more aggressive vocal style when needed. The other
primary element to this album, as with any great metal album, is the riffs. “Shadowseer”
is an absolutely colossus collection of riffs. Even though many of these tracks
stretch into 8 or 9 minutes, the band cannot be accused of recycling material. The
riffs tend to vary from your standard power/thrash riffs into more melodic
sections, and even more rhythmic thrashy sections at times. The album doesn’t give off a progressive
vibe, despite the band’s songwriting tendencies being relatively progressive. With
that said, this length is what makes this a difficult listen. There isn’t a
moment on “Shadowseer” that comes to mind as something the band could get rid
of, but there is so much material that even after numerous listens, there are
still new twists and turns coming up in these songs. The first half of the
album is relatively memorable, which is helpful in combatting this overflow of
material, but by the end of the album, the amount of content is pretty
draining. It’s fair to say that it will take more than the standard effort to
get into everything that goes on during this record.
On the whole, “Shadowseer” is a very
compelling record. Normally I’m quite adamant that bands should stretch albums
for an hour long, but “Shadowseer” never gets boring. The band would probably
benefit from doing shorter songs, only because the opening two tracks, which
are the shortest, are just as good as anything else on the album. With that
said, if you really put the time in with this album, it will be quite
rewarding.
Highlights
"Immortality
"Minotaur"
"Rise To The Throne - The Devil"
Final Rating
4.0/5 or 80%.
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