This is the third album for this rock-solid Brazilian outfit, and, to be honest, I’m a bit shocked that this band isn’t more talked about in power circles. With that constant train-kept-a-rollin’ mid-tempo chugging groove keeping things moving along at a nice clip, and a chugging, punchy feel that will keep fans of everything from BLIND GUARDIAN to IRON MAIDEN happy, SHADOWSIDE also has in their lineup a very talented vocalist in one Dani Nolden, who, somehow, does the soaring melodic female singer thing without sounding at all cheeseball. The songwriting skills are down pat—this bunch knows how to write a memorable, catchy song with the best of them, every tune here elbowing the last one to be the perfect choice for the leadoff single, definitely attention-grabbing enough to get this band opening for a larger one on a North American tour. And I mention power, but this is almost more in line with modern trad metal, somewhere between ACCEPT and, oh, can I reference ANGEL DUST? Plus, the decision to cut back on the keyboards for this release and not to doodle around in long intros and other hogwash worked wonders. Features guest appearances from dudes from SOILWORK, DARK TRANQUILLITY, and DREAM EVIL to round it all off.
