Band:	Shadar Logoth
Album:	Curse
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	September 2008
A review by:	Lucas

01. Footsteps In The Snow
02. Here Lyes: Planet Earth
03. Spitting His Curse With Venom
04. The Path To End
05. Gallows Hill
06. The Dread Lord

Shadar Logoth, inspired by a writer other than J.R.R. Tolkien or H.P. Lovecraft for a change, namely Robert Jordan, is an American metal band that blends Heavy Metal, (Symphonic) Black metal and Folk metal in a rather diverse début album, dubbed "Curse". What does that remind you of? That's right, the Norwegian metallers Borknagar. Mentioning them in this review feels very wrong, because they have been mentioned in literally every other review about Shadar Logoth, but even they can't deny that Borknagar was a huge influence on them.

Is that bad? Of course not, as there are to my knowledge not a lot of bands that dwell in the same battle worn fields. And they do it good. Heavy Metal melodic riffing, soaring clean vocals alternated with shrieks and growls, covered in layers of symphonics, you know the deal. A few slower parts break up the pace and monotony. It is hard to pinpoint the style exactly and most people will end up calling it Dark Metal, but that doesn't really make it any clearer. Just remember that it is a hybrid of Heavy, Black and Folk with progressive touches and if you like Borknagar, it is for you.

At first I was not impressed, even bored, but after a while it got to me. My problem, but even more so the band's own problem, is the production of this album. Every instrument is balanced well and perfectly audible, but the entire thing sounds very amateurish, as i fit had been recorded in a garage, compressed to low-quality mp3's and then thrown on a cd. Now that might work for more straight-forward Black metal bands, but not for this type of music. They surely hand in some of their strength because of this, which is not a good thing for a blood craving viking warrior.

Labels, listen up. This album is self-released and the band is probably still unsigned, it is up to you to make an end to that shameful situation. I've heard so many shit bands with record deals, how come Shadar Logoth does not? Sure, not every cleanly sung note is perfectly executed (yet) and not every riff is a killer (yet), but the good sides of this début are definitely the dominant factor. Give them a budget, give them some time and these guys will definitely pay you back!