Album Review: Nightshadow’s ‘Strike Them Dead’
Power metal, though done plenty of times before, may never get old. No matter how much time passes, there’s no doubt that there will be plenty of venues exploding with the auditory force of a 1,000 soldiers clashing into hordes of rivaling combatants. To perceive the consistent flow of said genre as a negative or positive is arguably very subjective and one can waste plenty of time criticizing the familiar nuances carried out but fans and admirers alike.
One such band, San Diego California’s Nightshadow, carry the torch with tangible confidence and sharp musical skill to match. Formed in 2012, the band spent plenty of time perfecting their craft, eventually producing their self-titled EP in March of 2017. 4 years later, the band are back with their full-length follow-up “Strike Them Dead” which offers an hour’s worth of shredtastic throwbacks, glistening melodies and precise, in-your-face riff action.
Strike Them Dead begins with an epic emergence. Opening track Legend immediately grabs the listener with a harmonic burst shared between guitarists Danny and Nick, expressive to the likes of a warrior’s valor. A proper setting for the tone of the album and followed by a similar intensity through Witch Queen and Ripper. Love and Vengeance presents the listener with a ballad intro cleansing the pallets before ultimately sucking the listener back into another circle-pit speed-riffing onslaught. With every track that followed to the ultimate closing by Mistress of the Pit one will find an excellent execution of the Power/Thrash formula through and through.
Production is clean with an accurate mix. Guitars, with a tight, chunky tone, flair brilliantly. Bass cuts through just enough to accompany and not overwhelm each instrument while the drums sit nicely behind the rest of the conglomeration. Vocals could be brought back just a little bit however that’s more of a minor, preferential criticism.
To concisely encapsulate the overall viewpoint of Strike Them Dead: this is a fun record. Where the point isn’t necessarily to be “new” but to execute a craft expertly and confidently, of which I would say Nightshadow does very well. If you’re looking for a “raise-your-sword” type of sound to bang your head to, Strike Them Dead is the way to go.
Solid 8/10 from the ITPA camp!!!
Be sure to give a like and a follow to the band on all social media and keep it touch for any future shows.
Links below!!
