SHADOWKEEP-ShadowKeep

Pure Steel Records

ShadowKeep does let the blood of any prog power metal fan in the universe flow faster. The band started in 1999 with an EP simply called ‘ShadowKeep’. After that three full length albums followed, ‘Corruption Within’ (2000), ‘A Chaos Theory’ (2002) and ten years ago, through the Dutch label Melissa Records, we got shocked by ‘The Hourglass Effect’. ShadowKeep is a band that went through many line-up changes which didn’t affect the quality of the band because in my opinion the band gets better with every album. The two stable factors in ShadowKeep are both guitarists (and married couple) Chris Allen and Nikki Robson. Bassist Stony Grantham joined them in 2004 and Omar Hayes smashes the drums since 2008. The new guy on this album is singer James Rivera (Helstar, Destiny’s End, Malice, Seven Witches, Vicious Rumors a.o.). With Rivera in the line-up the music has developed more in the direction of early Helstar material. Luckily ShadowKeep has so much more to offer on this new album ‘ShadowKeep’ and its melodic US power metal is from a very high standard. Especially for the guitar players among us there is a lot to discover. Not only the instrumental ,,The Sword Of Damocles” is a great track but every song has its moments. The album opens with a short instrumental followed by the fantastic ,,Guardians Of The Sea”, which immediately lives up to the high expectations I had, given the history of this band. ,,Flight Across The Sand” rubs against the once mighty Nevermore. There are also two ballads on this record from which the refrain of ,,Little Liar” won’t get out of my head. Lucky for me they continue with the heavy ,,Angels And Omens”. The album goes from highlight to highlight ending with the majestic track ,,Minotaur”. Well, if you like bands like Crimson Glory (with Midnight), early Queensrÿche, Iron Maiden and Nevermore and you really don’t have a clue who ShadowKeep is, now is the time for you to discover one of the surprises of 2018. Hail ShadowKeep!!! And please guys and girl, don’t let us wait another ten years for the follow up.