01. A morbid kingdom
02. Walk the shadows
03. Through a dark glass
04. We should not
05. Killing Hearts and End Nights
06. Dark servant
07. The Triumph of the Matador Heart
08. Hand judge
Walk the shadows There is a lot of happening: vibrations of new waves of the 80s, gothic elements, classic rock, a little prog and, unfortunately, a lot of unexplored potential.
I entered this record with certain expectations; After listening in the past, albums like Six must die and Black danceI expected a mixture of epic doom metal and some heavy metal. This is not what we have achieved; Walk the shadows It is a continuation of the style that the band went to Let's overcome (which I had lost at the time of its release and only involved me recently). This is mainly a gothic rock album mixed with some new wave.
Now, in theory that must be a pleasant surprise for someone like me, because even if I like Doom Metal/Rock a lot, I tend to enjoy metal/gothic rock even more. Add to this the fact that I have a weakness for the new wave as well; To give you an idea, I was literally that weird who made a presentation about the new wave at the age of 11, approximately 25 years after the genre reached the peak … So, Walk the shadows It should be a match made in the sky then, right?
It's not exactly: I have some problems with this album, and production is one of them. The drums have no extremely confused punch and sound; Tom On The Drum's main kit looks like someone is hitting rubber soles from a pair of shoes together in the storage cabinet next to the recording studio. The vocals also seem recorded in the same closet, while the microphone is still in the real recording studio. As a result, vocals are too pushed to the bottom. I don't think it's a coincidence that Vinz Cloorto does the vocals and the battery for Mr. Vigo; My theory is that the other members of the band pushed him into the storage cabinet and forced him to record his parts there. At least give the man your microphone, guys!
Frankly, it is a pity that vocals are not so prominent in the mixture, because Vinz has a lovely voice and does a bright work to evoke the new wave style of the 80's, which beautifully complements the Gothic elements. If Gabriel Franco de For others Reminds Rober Smith de HealingSo Vinz's style reminds me a lot of Midge Ure of Ultravox.
I have already spread enough about the production, but it was important to mention because it sucks part of the energy of this album, an album that usually suffers from seeming a little without inspiration. This is a strange thing to say, because I think there is definitely potential here. The general atmosphere of Gothic rock with touches of new waves is there, but the songs themselves look quite generic. The band has the concrete base to build a stunning villa, but decided to build a modest house in it. The final track is the perfect example here; It has a pleasant atmosphere, but suffers from a lot of repetition and lacks those memorable moments you would like in a final epic. If you ask me about this song in a few weeks, I will have difficulty remembering anything about it.
This is the general feeling I have with this album. It is useful and, as I mentioned, the potential exists in terms of general sound. That said, music compositions and structures can use some extra seasoning, and production needs to better complement the sound they are looking for. For others preached this concept with MannaAnd I really want another album that reaches this kind of quality in this kind of style. Until For others They did not reach the same heights with their later albums. Maybe one day we will have this album; As it is, however, I can only repeat what I said at the beginning of this review: Walk the shadows It is full of unexplored potential.
Classification Classification
| Performance: | 7 |
| Composition: | 5 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 5 |
 |
Written on 03.06.2025 by
You know I'm right, you just haven't realized yet … |