Band:	Whispered
Album:	Shogunate Macabre
Style:	Extreme power metal
Release date:	February 07, 2014
Guest review by:	BloodJuNkie

01. Jikininki
02. Hold The Sword
03. Fallen Amaterasu
04. One Man's Burden
05. Kappa
06. Lady Of The Wind
07. Unrestrained
08. Upon My Honor
09. Ginga : Nagareboshi Gin [Ginga : Nagareboshi Gin OST cover] [Japanese bonus]
10. Let The Battles Begin! [Final Fantasy VII OST cover] [Japanese bonus]

There's no doubt that there's a lack of creativity in metal music or music in general nowadays. But Whispered, coming from Finland, is one of the most creative and courageous bands of the metal scene. A Finnish band that introduces melodic death/power metal with Southeastern Asian influences needs to be courageous and adventurous.

With their first experience, Thousand Swords, they managed to introduce something creative and spectacular. The album had its own style. But with Shogunate Macabre, there were some differences.

Some of Thousand Swords' characteristics are the great solos, the symphonic influences in some songs, and the astonishing keyboards. Shogunate Macabre lacked the awesome solos, except "Unrestrained" and "Upon My Honor", and the keyboards too, but I wasn't surprised because they announced before that there will be no keyboards in this album. And I think those are the drawbacks of Shogunate Macabre.

But on the other hand, they increased the symphonic influences. The increase is most noticeable in songs like "Fallen Amaterasu" and "Kappa". Not only that, but the vocals are better this time around, which was the only thing you may have disliked about their debut. And you can still enjoy the fantastic Japanese influences in Shogunate Macabre the way you enjoyed it in Thousand Swords. The artwork of this album is more fantastic too.

So generally, this album is more groovy than their debut. It's also more melodic death metal than it is power metal. If melodic death metal is one of your favorite genres and you appreciate the Japanese folk influences then you must give this album a listen, you will definitely like it - I guarantee that. Personally I think Whispered is one of the most underrated bands nowadays and they deserve more attention.

Favorite tracks are: "Jikininki", "Fallen Amaterasu", "Lady Of The Wind", "Unrestrained", and "Upon My Honor".