Shadecrown - Chained
When I heard the self-titled demo from Finland’s Shadecrown, I was seriously impressed. It isn’t often you find a band that takes the time and the effort to create a demo recording that has both well-crafted songs and excellent sound. While I enjoyed the music immensely, I was disappointed that it was so short. At three songs and under fifteen minutes, it was over far sooner than I wanted it to be. I needed to hear more, and to my surprise, my wish has been granted far sooner than I expected! Shadecrown has unleashed a new four-song EP with more of what I was craving. Like their self-titled demo, Chained is dark, heavy and melodic. The sound is, once again, excellent, with a production that rivals releases by the top bands in any genre of Metal. I seriously wish more bands had sound this good, because being an old and admittedly jaded Metal fan, I want to hear the music presented in the best possible light. What good is having a guitarist or a bassist if you never hear him? Every instrument on Chained is clearly audible and properly balanced so that no one dominates the recording. The songs, likewise, are well written and have both power and melody. The music is slightly more Death Metal oriented this time around, giving the songs a bit more punch in the brutality department, but the melodic guitar-work and the atmosphere still infuse everything with a dark and somber feeling that reminds me at times of old My Dying Bride. One of the reasons I loved early My Dying Bride was because they were punishingly heavy and brutal, but there was an underlying beauty amidst the carnage that you can appreciate as the disks in your neck make more snap, crackle and pop noises than a bowl of Rice Krispies. Shadecrown has that quality as well (my chiropractor sincerely appreciates this, as you can imagine) and it’s why I was so excited to hear this. If there’s one flaw with Chained, it’s that there still isn’t enough here to satisfy my craving. Like their debut release, this is over far too soon. Twenty minutes of Shadecrown isn’t enough for me. I’ll definitely be waiting to hear more from this band, and if they can maintain this level of quality, they’ll be a top player in this genre.
(2) Comment(s)
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c said:
one of my most favorite bands <3
Henri Rahm said:
As allways it truly is a pleasure to view your reviews. Thank’s again for the kind words. And i just have to say that you really should see the environment that we have for recording. For example when i was recording the vocal parts there was a party and some nhl13 games going behind me in the living room (we recorded the vocals in a corridor between kitchen and the living room and the cpu wad at the kitchen). This only tells that you can do really amazing things with modern technology 
thank’s again and stay metal!
~Shadecrown - Henri~
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