Sounding like many melodic metal bands with the more
AOR rock element mixed in for almost near pop sounding repertoire, treading the fine line between the two,
Shylock mixes the combination of melodic riffs, strong songwriting, discrete vocal harmonies, and a sense of brining melodic metal back down to a more basic approach.
Shylock are more guitar and song oriented, causing their latest record,
Welcome to Illusion to follow in the same paths of records by TNT, 220 Volt, early Harem Scarem, Bonfire, and Extreme, with the vocal chops of Matthias Schenk crossing the gravely sound of late period
Alice Cooper and the range of TNT's
Tony Harnell added to the dueling riff driven guitars, provided by Stefan Appel and Johannes Lohr, adding different clean to crunch textures, with leads, pings, and near guitar God stance for soloing.
Within the fifteen tracks there are rockers such as the grind driven
"Darkness," the funk/groove toying of
"Out in the Streets," the dark
"The Need," not to mention the title cut and
"Guilty," where these two cuts follow almost the same song structure, almost sounding like the two cuts could have been prototypes for each other. Of course there are more emotionally laden cuts brining power to a more laid back vibe found within cuts like
"Closer," the sub progressive
"Tomorrow," and
"Middle of Paradise," as well as ballads such as
"Lose You" and the acoustic
"I Will Come Back," adding the diversity when appropriate.
Overall, it's a good record, nothing we have not heard before, but it has its high points that do stand out, being that the musicianship and songwriting is strong, meaning that some of the songs might get stuck in your head. Production is well done, being somewhat slick considering the more basic vibe found within
Welcome to Illusion, but who can blame them, it's a good way of showing what they can do and making that point on disc. Check this one out if you are into melodic metal, or are looking for the vibe of a more rock driven record.
Written by
Hashman Friday, March 26, 2004
Show all reviews by HashmanRatingsHashman: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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