If you’ve read some of my blogs before you know that already: I firmly believe that
“small” and specialized labels are the most interesting source of Metal
records.
Don’t get me
wrong; I’ve got nothing against important labels such as Roadrunner, Century
Media, Metal Blade or Nuclear Blast… I actually buy some of their chunky
“limited edition” CDs every single month (you know, the ones that come in big shiny digipacks with useless “making
of” bonus DVDs).
The thing is, these important companies do not (and probably CANNOT) have a specific and clear artistic orientation, as
they must enlarge their audience as much as possible. Specialized labels however select their artists according to one very simple thing: their boss's taste! That’s why it’s most of the time a completely passion-driven
and authentic decision. In fact, after following some labels for a while, I feel that I
know their bosses almost personally, because I understand completely their
musical tastes, just by listening to their releases. Awesome right? And so
old-school: you don't need to listen to a CD before buying it, with these labels, you
know just exactly what to expect!
And yes: as
you might have guessed already, Shadow Kingdom Records if one of those
passion-driven labels. Their specialty is Heavy Metal, with a particular
attraction for obscure and doomy stuff. This Pittsburgh-USA based
label have made me discover some amazing new bands, like Argus, Sinister Realm, or Crowned In Earth, it has brought
back from the dead the mighty Iron
Man and it has reissued some hidden gems from the past like Deep Switch, Wolfbane, Revelation and
so many more!
This summer,
there are 3 Shadow Kingdom Released you need to check out if you’re into Heavy
Metal or Heavy/Doom stuff. And the first one I want to tell you about is also
the strangest one. Coven have reformed under the name Coven 13 recently. Probably because of
the other 256 bands called Coven around the globe.
This US
Heavy Metal band has existed quite briefly in the late 80’s, with only one
official release, an LP called “Worship New Gods”. Back in the day, the band
self-released it on vinyl only and split-up shortly after. And guess what, it’s
now re-released on CD by Shadow Kingdom in a remastered version with a booklet
including a bunch of old photos! Seriously, where the hell does Shadow
Kingdom Records find these bands??!! Release after release, SKR's boss shows to be one of the finest Heavy
Metal connoisseurs in the world.
Coven sounds
pretty much like a typical US-Heavy Metal band, with the sharp riffs and the
taste for doomy atmospheres. Some might even classify it as “Heavy/Doom” which
pretty much illustrates the global feeling of this record. I also must insist
on the old-school taste of this one, just look at the artwork, the band photos
and some details. The first song starts with a clear
statement as singer David Landrum says “The Gods Made Men, Men Made Steel!”.
Now that is HEAVY! I also love the old-fashionned effects in the beginning of “The Wicked Day” and “Loki”.
This release may seem a little strange at
first, as it took me some time to get into it, maybe because of the
high-pitched vocals that sometimes get out of control. But when it did click, I
really started to enjoy it, especially some songs like the aforementioned “The
Wicked Day”, “Ruler” or even “Burial Ground” and “Jailhouse”. Another thing I like about this record is that I never really heard anything like
it before... Some songs have a strange and very marked Gothic
vibe like “Kiss Me With Blood” or “Threshold Of The New” (this one is like The
Cure meet Heavy Metal!!). Last track “Loki” is also very original with a very
unusual -not to say weird- structure and chorus.
Trust me,
this release is not just a rarity destined to a few Metal archeologists, as it
sounds like nothing you’ve heard before, although a bit “dated” maybe, but hey,
that’s totally part of it’s charm!
Second
summer release on Shadow Kingdom is another rarity reedition, only this time around it’s by a much more famous band: Pagan
Altar. "The Time Lord" had only been released on vinyl a few years ago and Shadow Kingdom
brings it to you for the first time on CD. These tracks are the very first
recordings by the band, done in 1978 and 1979, so yes; this is another
historical release.
I personally
love this kind of very early Heavy Metal, still filled with hard-rock vibes and
tons of BLUES. The feeling these guys have is just amazing, and it’s unbelievable that this band has been ignored for so
long (although formed in the late 70s, their first official recording was
released in 1998!). There are 5 songs on that release for a total running time
of 32 minutes. The songs tend to be a little long, with multiple developments,
essentially led by Alan Jones (accompanied by Les Moody on the songs “The
Time Lord” and “Highway Cavalier”) who does a fantastic job on the guitars (both acoustic and electric).
The song “The Time
Lord” is truly one of my favorites on this EP, with it’s 8 minutes of pure
transcendental pleasure. “Judgment Of The Dead” is heavier, and really sounds
like many of the “doom” bands you might know from our actual era (Glen Robinson’s bass also gives me the chills on that one). “The Black Mass” has a darker
feeling, still filled with blues and some HEAVY riffing! Really impressive
stuff for a song composed in the late 70s. And that's when I realized that Pagan Altar could have been a real alternative
for Black Sabbath, who are considered like the Godfathers of Heavy Music in
general. History is sometimes so cruel… Last track “Reincarnation” is also a
tremendous one, with a beautiful acoustic beginning that develops into one
heavy and epic song. Terry Jone’s vocals are nothing short of impressive: full of blues and emotion. This EP is clearly an instant classic. What
more can I say? As usual with SKR, the CD comes
with a new and fantastic artwork.
The last SKR
release on the menu today isn’t another hidden treasure. Grand Gesture Of Defiance
is Altar Of Oblivion’s second LP. And as the bio on the SKR website says, this
is probably the best Heavy Metal band to come out from Denmark since Mercyful Fate.
Altar Of
Oblivion are however quite different from their famous predecessors, as
their sound is much heavier and “doomier”. The guitar-sound is very thick and the
guys have got a Scandinavian approach to their Heavy/Doom (this label perfectly fits the band): everything is so bombastic and operatic here. Just look at
the artwork, the song titles and even the style of the booklet. Of course, the very demonstrative vocals also totally reflect that. It’s even clearly specified on the last page
of the booklet (awesome artwork by the way); Mik Mentor doesn’t just handle
vocals, he’s in charge of the “Stentorian Narration & Ars Melancholia”.
There you go!
Music-wise,
this is some pretty classic stuff, extremely well performed and composed, with
crazy riffing all over it, some killer melodies, and a few Mellotron parts here
and there. The production is just perfect; very heavy yet organic and all the
instruments sound natural. The Danish usually master the art of Metal
production, so this is no surprise at all. The first track “Where Darkness Is Light” is really a strong opener, that will dive you into the record and that
displays the band’s talent instantly. However, I absolutely love the second
track, “the Graveyard Of Broken Dreams” because of its fantastic chorus and the
melodic break in the middle of it. The other highlight of the record is the
very heavy “Sentenced In Absentia”, preceded by the acoustic “The
Smoke-Filled Room”. Again, nothing fundamentally new here, but these guys sure
know what Heavy & Doom means…
All in all I
really enjoyed listening to this record, because albeit being pretty classical
in its approach, the band manages to show a unique personality, with a specific
concept, a deep melancholia and an operatic attitude that does make a difference.
These 3 releases are equally awesome, each one of them being
different and special in it’s own way. If you’re into the SKR stuff, then just
do what you usually do, trust the label and get these releases. If you are a
metal archeologist interested by bizarre and original stuff check out Coven, if
you like your Heavy filled with blues then you must get that Pagan Altar EP.
Finally, if you're into Heavy/Doom Metal, then Altar Of Oblivion is
a band you absolutely have to check out!
As for me, I
just can’t pick-up a favorite; I’ve been playing these records one after the
other for the past few days…
Yath
http://shadowkingdomrecords.com/
