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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Crimson Shadows - Kings Among Men + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.nov-18-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2014 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.crimsonshadowsmetal.co ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Crimson Shadows Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Kings Among Men Label : Napalm ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ôKings Among Menö is Crimson ShadowsÆ first ║ │
│║ release for Napalm Records. While the band has ║ │
│║ achieved some large milestones in their work ║ │
│║ already, there is no doubt that this release ║ │
│║ will be the true stepping stone to building a ║ │
│║ career out of this music. As a long time fan, ║ │
│║ this was my most anticipated record in months. ║ │
│║ Does it live up to the hype? Yes and no. The ║ │
│║ reason it doesnÆt is because, simply put, the ║ │
│║ band has recorded better songs in their career. ║ │
│║ Quite a few of their best songs to date show up ║ │
│║ on this release, but as a whole, it might be the ║ │
│║ weakest of their four offerings. This is more of ║ │
│║ a testament to how good their old material was ║ │
│║ because this album is already amongst my 2014 ║ │
│║ favourites. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ For those new to the band, they play an epic ║ │
│║ brand of power-infused death metal. The songs ║ │
│║ are fast, the riffs are furious, and the solos ║ │
│║ are truly remarkable. On their first EP, it ║ │
│║ would have been fair to describe them as ║ │
│║ ôDragonforce with death metal vocalsö. Since ║ │
│║ that time, the band has slowly started to add ║ │
│║ clean vocals, courtesy of guitarist Greg ║ │
│║ Rounding. His singing has improved tremendously ║ │
│║ over time, and itÆs at its best on ôKings Among ║ │
│║ Menö. Really though, this is the best ║ │
│║ performance from nearly every member. Primary ║ │
│║ vocalist Jimi Maltais sounds better than ever, ║ │
│║ and his range is truly amazing. He can hit the ║ │
│║ lowest of gutturals up to the highest of ║ │
│║ screams. Whether it is death metal or black ║ │
│║ metal styled vocals, his voice is an immediately ║ │
│║ recognizable presence on the album. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Another area of improvement is the bass playing. ║ │
│║ While there have been some sections on prior ║ │
│║ Crimson Shadows releases where the bass playing ║ │
│║ is noticeable, it was largely absent. Bassist ║ │
│║ Morgan Rider is not only easy to hear on this ║ │
│║ release, but he makes his presence known through ║ │
│║ several bass solos (the one on ôMoonlit Skies ║ │
│║ and Bloody Tidesö is the highlight though), as ║ │
│║ well as through his playing underneath the ║ │
│║ guitar solos. It cannot be overstated the value ║ │
│║ he has added to the band since joining. His ║ │
│║ companion in the rhythm section, Cory Hofing, is ║ │
│║ beyond remarkable. HeÆs an absolute rhythm ║ │
│║ machine. There is no shortage of fills, double ║ │
│║ bass, or blast beats in his drumming. All of ║ │
│║ this is done at ridiculous tempos too. He is ║ │
│║ easily among the most consistent and intense ║ │
│║ drummers in all of extreme metal. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ This brings us to the final, and possibly most ║ │
│║ important element to the bands sound: the ║ │
│║ guitars. Sharing lead guitar duties alongside ║ │
│║ Rounding is Ryan Hofing. Both guitarists deliver ║ │
│║ an onslaught of technically dazzling solos. ║ │
│║ Compared to the average band, the sheer amount ║ │
│║ of time the band spends soloing may seem like ║ │
│║ overkill, but they actually used to do even more ║ │
│║ soloing in the past. Nearly every song in the ║ │
│║ bandÆs back catalogue prior to the last EP ║ │
│║ exceeded 6 minutes, and they were all filled ║ │
│║ with even longer guitar solos. While this more ║ │
│║ succinct approach is likely appreciated by many, ║ │
│║ I had no issues with 3-4 minute sections with ║ │
│║ just guitar solos. Nevertheless, they still do ║ │
│║ an impressive job here. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The three songs from the aforementioned EP all ║ │
│║ make an appearance here. While there are some ║ │
│║ slight differences, ôMaidenÆs Callö remains ║ │
│║ relatively similar. By contrast, ôFreedom and ║ │
│║ Salvationö has been sped up considerably. In the ║ │
│║ history of thrash, death, and black metal, there ║ │
│║ are few examples where making a song faster has ║ │
│║ led to it being worse. This is even more obvious ║ │
│║ here as the newer, speedier version of this song ║ │
│║ is even better than the original. MaltaisÆ spits ║ │
│║ out words with incredible speed, doing his best ║ │
│║ to match the mind-blowing pulse of the rhythm ║ │
│║ section underneath. The final track on the ║ │
│║ album, ôMoonlit Skies and Bloody Tidesö, is also ║ │
│║ a re-recording. The primary difference here is ║ │
│║ the addition of a minute-long synth outro. ║ │
│║ Another change is that the gang vocals in the ║ │
│║ chorus have been changed so that MaltaisÆ is ║ │
│║ doing multiple layers of harsh vocals instead of ║ │
│║ the rest of the band. Despite these two changes, ║ │
│║ the 10-minute opus is largely the same, and yet, ║ │
│║ it somehow feels much better than the already ║ │
│║ great original. A lot of bands feel the need to ║ │
│║ put a longer song last, even if they can't ║ │
│║ justify writing something so lengthy, but ║ │
│║ Crimson Shadows truly saved their most epic ║ │
│║ moments for the finale of the record. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Aside from an intro and an interlude, there are ║ │
│║ 5 new tracks here. ôBraving The Stormö is the ║ │
│║ highlight of these 5, primarily because it ║ │
│║ features the best clean vocal melodies from ║ │
│║ Rounding, as well as some of the more memorable ║ │
│║ parts of the album. ôA Gathering of Kingsö and ║ │
│║ ôDawn of Vengeanceö are also impactful, largely ║ │
│║ for the same reasons. It is actually the two ║ │
│║ opening songs that were most surprising. They ║ │
│║ are by no means weak songs, but in the context ║ │
│║ of the album, they are both unexpected choices ║ │
│║ to kick things off with compared to, say, a re- ║ │
│║ invigorated ôFreedom and Salvationö. The most ║ │
│║ puzzling bit of the song selection is that the ║ │
│║ band has an un-recorded song in their arsenal ║ │
│║ that is among their best work: ôRuler of ║ │
│║ Mankindö (for those interested, thereÆs a video ║ │
│║ of them playing the song live on YouTube; there ║ │
│║ also used to be a recorded version on MySpace ║ │
│║ that never appeared on a release). Nevertheless, ║ │
│║ this is somewhat of an unfair criticism, largely ║ │
│║ because what the band provides on ôKings Among ║ │
│║ Menö is more than satisfactory. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ In the end, ôKings Among Menö is an album that ║ │
│║ is going to make waves in the metal scene. There ║ │
│║ are a lot of interesting extreme metal hybrids ║ │
│║ out there today, but none more potent than ║ │
│║ Crimson Shadows. The band delivers absolutely ║ │
│║ everything one could want in a metal release: ║ │
│║ crushing riffs, spectacular melodic leads, and a ║ │
│║ mix of both insanely brutal vocals and cleaner ║ │
│║ singing. These elements are all bundled together ║ │
│║ in one epic package of glory-filled metal. ║ │
│║ ôKings Among Menö is among the most essential ║ │
│║ records of 2014, so you donÆt want to put off ║ │
│║ hearing this album! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Jimi Maltais - Vocals ║ │
│║ Cory Hofing - Drums ║ │
│║ Greg Rounding - Guitars ║ │
│║ Ryan Hofing - Guitars ║ │
│║ Morgan Rider - Bass ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - March Of Victory [01:11] │
│ 02 - Rise To Power [04:16] │
│ 03 - Heroes Among Us [04:34] │
│ 04 - A Gathering Of Kings [05:29] │
│ 05 - Maidens Call [06:24] │
│ 06 - Braving The Storm [06:54] │
│ 07 - On The Eve Of Battle [00:58] │
│ 08 - Freedom And Salvation [04:42] │
│ 09 - Dawn Of Vengeance [05:21] │
│ 10 - Moonlit Skies And Bloody Tides [10:15] │
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│ Total Length : [50:04 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
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