Shatter Messiah - God Burns Like Flesh
Dockyard 1 Records - 2007
By Adam McAuley
A rather dark and progressive tone is emitted by Shatter Messiah. They have a unique slant on the proceedings with a downtrodden perspective on things that separates them from other outfits. Theres also a traditional flavour to the sound that is unlike what one will find from classics by Iron Maiden, but rather takes precedence from the streamlined nature of the band. They sound slightly more like the somber tone that Nevermore is capable of churning out with guitar licks that drone through the core in a chilling fashion and do display some thrash tendencies. The riffs are harsh to a certain extent, but not overly extreme.
Altogether, the band puts together a compelling enough sound, but it lacks the type of consistent quality that would have made this disc great. There are some moments on the album that are a lot stronger than others and one can sense a decrease in quality as the album progresses. One of the better moments here is the title track God Burns Like Flesh which has enough momentum to carry it through its entirety. Actually, much of the first portions of the album show a reasonable amount of passion and intensity, but with the exception of the largely acoustic final track, the work starts to lose some of the strong moments that happen earlier on.
Still, the band shows promise with their dreary sounds and manages to put forth enough solid moments to catch your attention. I hope for better things in the future from the outfit as they definitely show strong early signs here. I believe with a slightly tighter approach this band should be able to elevate what is right now solid, if unspectacular, material to the next level. God Buns Like Flesh should nonetheless be checked out by metal fans looking for an interesting evil sounding diversion to the normal traditional metal they usually listen to.
Official Shatter Messiah Band Website
Official Shatter Messiah My Space
Official Dockyard 1 Records Website
Dockyard 1 Records - 2007
By Adam McAuley
A rather dark and progressive tone is emitted by Shatter Messiah. They have a unique slant on the proceedings with a downtrodden perspective on things that separates them from other outfits. Theres also a traditional flavour to the sound that is unlike what one will find from classics by Iron Maiden, but rather takes precedence from the streamlined nature of the band. They sound slightly more like the somber tone that Nevermore is capable of churning out with guitar licks that drone through the core in a chilling fashion and do display some thrash tendencies. The riffs are harsh to a certain extent, but not overly extreme.
Altogether, the band puts together a compelling enough sound, but it lacks the type of consistent quality that would have made this disc great. There are some moments on the album that are a lot stronger than others and one can sense a decrease in quality as the album progresses. One of the better moments here is the title track God Burns Like Flesh which has enough momentum to carry it through its entirety. Actually, much of the first portions of the album show a reasonable amount of passion and intensity, but with the exception of the largely acoustic final track, the work starts to lose some of the strong moments that happen earlier on.
Still, the band shows promise with their dreary sounds and manages to put forth enough solid moments to catch your attention. I hope for better things in the future from the outfit as they definitely show strong early signs here. I believe with a slightly tighter approach this band should be able to elevate what is right now solid, if unspectacular, material to the next level. God Buns Like Flesh should nonetheless be checked out by metal fans looking for an interesting evil sounding diversion to the normal traditional metal they usually listen to.
Official Shatter Messiah Band Website
Official Shatter Messiah My Space
Official Dockyard 1 Records Website
