Burn All Records [Release Date: 26.04.13]

Ohio’s Shades Of Remembrance are metal band with proggy leanings on an album that straddles both genres rather than fuses the two.

‘Veil’ duly delivers enough speed, intensity, resolute playing and dark themes to attract core metal fans, though some of them would surely recognise some of the band’s more obvious influences such as Maiden and Queensryche.

Cynics could argue there’s nothing new here to tickle the palette, but that would be to overlook an album played with total conviction and real technical proficiency, as well as moments of real emotion. In short there’s enough hard assed rocking here to convince even the most durable of doubters

Above all, Shades of Remembrance have got the chops to be musically adventurous, as both guitarists Al Bauhof and Calvin Burgess consistently sparkle, while drummer Todd Martin and bassist Elm Burgess (who doubles on lead vocals) are never anything less than a mighty powerhouse rhythm section who push the band to new musical heights.

For all their metal posturing, ‘veil’ is an album full of incredible virtuosity and scintillating interplay. And if ‘Pain’ sets the thematic horizon for an album of troubled imagery, it’s also a slice of relentless metal full of incendiary shreds and their proggy resolutions.

In that context the breathtaking ‘Bish’ is an obvious highlight. Its a proggy instrumental that finds the band at its very  best, matching technique with speed before a sudden acoustic break-down that is as unexpected as it is successful and no doubt reflecting some of the band’s classical background.

And as if encouraged by that wig out, they opt for the melodic rock of ‘Let Her Pray’, which is the closest they get to a straight forward rock ballad with lung busting vocals and scintillating shredding.

There’s a balance to be found between the juxtaposition of the sludgy ‘Bad Memory’ and the proggy wall of sound that makes the cascading riffs of ‘Disarray’ so memorable. The latter opens with distorted guitars and a nifty bass line,  as part of a heavy arrangement that elevates the vocal to an Ozzy Osbourne style phrasing full of raw gut emotions; ‘My word is on it’s knees, take it away, standing in Disarray’.

The lyrical intent of the song is mirrored by the distorted guitar tones, before an uplifting guitar led resolution with proggy overtones, as Todd makes full use of this kit. It’s a prime example of the band’s ability to transform a piece with an obvious opening into something with unexpected complexity and emotional weight.

‘Scream’ sounds like early Sabbath and you suspect the band’s true forte is to be found in the high octane shred and caustic growl of ‘Hatred’, a track on which they actually leave a space for your own imagined lyrics, before printing the chorus of a blistering thrash metal piece.

The self evident subject matter of ‘All For Oil’ makes a point about spurious American foreign policy that many recognised over decade ago, on a suitable heavy track bolstered by  feverish percussion, while ‘Perpetual Lies’ finds Bauhof and Burgess riffing away over a mighty back beat.

‘Story of My Life’ is a heavy boogie on which the thunderous rhythm section leads the band into the chorus over power chords and a succinct solo. The title track opens like a west coast piece -all acoustic guitars and a gothic vocal – over a distant electric guitar before heading into a drone metal arrangement with proggy tempo changes. The vocal is excellent and the song is worthy of its status as the title track.

Shades Of Remembrance also dabble with rap rock, nailing a powerful dynamic on the messianic tale of ‘4/19/93’, before finishing with the chanted hook of ‘Wasted’, which is rescued by a magnificent final shred, suggesting that whatever their troubled lyrical concerns, this band can sure as hell kick ass. ***

Review by Pete Feenstra

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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