[schema type=”review” name=”Shadecrown – Agonia” author=”Juho Karila” pubdate=”2016-10-21″ ]
Shadecrown is a melodeath band, founded in 2012 and hailing from Finland. Their style is loosely put into the limits of modern melodeath with doom metal elements but their debut album gives more than what meets the eye.
When the first track Eremophobia begins with a very delicate and solemn melodic intro, it’s easy to think that these guys have been listening to Insomnium and Swallow the Sun when it comes to creating the soundscape, which is both heavy and hard yet frail and beautiful. The dynamics of the track shifts from dreamlike hovering to traditional guitar-led melodeath with a pretty impressive bridge and I can even hear some Be’lakor in those riffs. This long and very well versed epic track is a real blast for the beginning of Agonia and on later observation reveals to be one of the best tracks of the album.
The next one is called Led Astray and it kicks off with a really straightforward punch-in-the-face aggresive guitar riff, which succeeds only to confuse as the crunch turns into frail melodies yet again. Otherwise the song follows the lead of the previous track but that one single riff breaks the momentum and is just a huge WTF. Ghostlike Existance survives just barely better but the overall result is only mediocre: plain safe melodeath with the occasional doom moments here and there with bits and pieces that just doesn’t fit in; like a puzzle with missing pieces replaced from totally different ones or a bad mosaic.
Dynamic turnpoint for the album is Far off Innocence which is even more radical with changes between heavy rumbling and clean soundscape painting. It’s also the weakest track of the album as Shadecrown has no clue how to write heavy riffs. There are lots of effort but they seem generic and bare, inconsistent and out of the place every time; like they are having a hard time deciding if they want to flirt with doom or thrash. The former option suits better.
Inconsistency is what paints over the album at every aspect. The songs have lots of potential but it’s not harnessed properly and resembles more of a dragon hatchling yet too weak to control it’s fiery breath and causing chaos in not-so-good way. Songs like the opening track or Walk Through Hell are giving me hope of better future for the band but the album leaves lots of room for improvements.
If you like very obscure and strange arrangements, without venturing to the weird world of prog, and you don’t mind that the ideas sounds like borrowed from others, Agonia may be your thing but it fails to impress me.
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Tracklist:
1. Eremophobia |
Lineup:
Jari Hokka-Vocals
Joonas Vesamäki-Guitar
Riku Niemonen-Guitar
Saku Tammelin-Keyboards
Janne Salmelin-Bass & Clean vocals
Kalle Varonen-Drums
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