Graveshadow (USA)

[Horex]

Graveshadow - Nocturnal Resurrection (2015)













Year : 2015
Style : Symphonic Metal , Female vocals
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 130 mb

Bio:

Graveshadow is a 2015 “Sammie” nominated (Sacramento News & Review) symphonic metal band from Sacramento, CA. Graveshadow was originally conceived in the winter of 2012 by rhythm guitarist, William Walker.The line-up features Walker along with vocalist Heather Michele, lead guitarist Matt Mitchell, keyboardist Valerie Hudak, drummer Roman Anderson, and bassist Ben Armstrong.The Graveshadow sound is defined by crushing guitars, beautiful keyboard melodies, thundering bass, and earth shattering drums. Powerful operatic vocals shift into unearthly growls to create a rich and dynamic atmosphere that is ripe for storytelling. Whether it is a tale of personal struggle or of fantastical creatures, the listener is sure to find themselves immersed in a world apart.In the winter of 2014, the band signed with Jeff Keller (now with The Artery Foundation) for management representation after releasing their debut EP and opening for thrash legends, Flotsam and Jetsam (whom Keller manages). Shortly after this, the band began work on a full length album. Emil “Nightmare” Nodtveidt from the Swedish industrial metal band Deathstars (Nuclear Blast Records) was brought in to mix and master the recordings that were produced by Matt “Hazmatt” Thomas. Adding to this, powerhouse vocalist, Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear (Frontiers Records), was brought in to sing guest vocals on the Doctor Who inspired song “Blink”.The band is poised and ready to leave a lasting impact within the metal community. With an electrifying stage show and a sound as large as the Dragons of Westeros, they are as talented as they are unforgettable.

Album:

While the name Graveshadow would suggest a band dabbling in a number of genres, the album art pretty much narrows that list down to a select few. Just seconds into Nocturnal Resurrection and all your wonder transforms into 100% certainty. This album clearly bleeds with the Nightwish-washy inklings of symphonic keys and power-metal attitude. I suppose this makes sense being that this sextet hails from the magical forests of Finlannnn… oh wait.. Sacramento. Not exactly Dr. Grier‘s cup o’ tea and a definite trivia stumper for when your friends draw the “Can you guess where this band is from?” card at your annual holiday party, these Californians dish out their own form of Disney metal that has just enough dimension to give it some potential and avoid a bit of the typical cheese of this style.“Namesake” opens with some organs and orchestration very much in the vein of… well, every other symphonic metal band. But when Heather Michele’s harsh growls hurl hatred at the mic and the rest of the band shows up with some crunchy riffage, you discover the type of weapon this band has sheathed. Taking on an almost Anette Olzon-beauty in her cleans, Michele drops in harsh vocals to add depth and dimension to the fairly standard songwriting. The band expands on the formula for follow-up “In the Road of Desire” with more alternating vocal work (ranging from Elizabeth Blackwell altos, Olzon highs, and Amy Lee dramatics) and pitching in shovel-fulls of heavy synths, chugging riffs, and a back-end emotion that combines the powerful with the poppy. From here the album progresses into “Lycan Lust;” a straight-up Nightwish number full of orchestration, storytelling, and powerful choruses. The song weaves its way through heavy leads and the emotional builds of the midsection interlude before accelerating and allowing Michele to drop the album’s best written passages. It’s executed well and that extra bit of anger in Michele’s voice adds the perfect cap to the song.Other catchy choruses include the melodic delivery in “Winter Comes To Call” and the male-female duet of “Blink.” The former is straight-laced but Michele comes to the front and delivers some classic memorability that isn’t offensive, even if it’s not overly novel. The chorus repeats multiple times and right before it takes on a radio-friendly feel, the layered clean and harsh vocals smash it out. The latter utilizes some Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) vocals that swing around to tag-team with Michele, resulting in one of the better choruses of the album. On top of that, “Blink” has perhaps the sleekest riff on Nocturnal; charging, chugging, and groovy.However… the cheese on Nocturnal Resurrection cools a bit and becomes quite thick at times; an effect that causes even their better tracks to suffer some pretty cringing moments. While “Lycan Lust” is a good song, the moment where Michele desperately calls out, “run, love, run” doesn’t work and feels so much like Nightwish‘s “The Poet and the Pendulum” that it hurts [Is it any worse than crying out, “run away, run away, run away”? – Steel Druhm]. If it wasn’t for her harsh vocals adding something new to the songwriting, my eyes would roll so far back I would be able see my brain (and don’t get me started on that video below). “Fading” is a decent “ballad” but it borders on Evanescence material with its Amy Lee delivery, typical chugging guitars, and a truly poppy chorus (again, thanks goes to the growls for making it bearable). Finally, closer “Blood and Fire” is only memorable for its layered vocals and cathedral-like organs at its conclusion. Otherwise, I find myself tuning-out for most of the song.Production-wise, I have to hand it to the band. For their debut, the recording and mix are quite good (minus the clipping and so-so DR score). Everyone is present, the orchestration and keys don’t overpower, and it sounds pretty damn professional. I also have to give it to Heather Michele for what success Nocturnal does possess. Her mix of harsh and clean, alto with soprano, and aggressive with beautiful adds some originality to the standard songwriting of the genre and shows some real potential for the band.

Line Up:

Heather Michele Smith - Vocals (2013-present)
Ben Armstrong - Bass, Vocals (backing)
Matthew Mitchell - Guitars (lead)
Valerie Hudak - Keyboards
William Lloyd Walker - Guitars (rhythm) (2012-present)
Roman Anderson - Drums - See also: ex-Inebriator

Tracklist:

01. Namesake 05:32
02. In the Road of Desire 06:15
03. Lycan Lust 05:20
04. Winters Come to Call 06:59
05. Blink 06:05
06. Fading 04:47
07. Exhumed 03:31
08. Blood and Fire 05:46



Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Graveshadow - Ambition's Price (2018)













Year : 2018
Style : Symphonic Metal , Female vocals
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 110 mb

Bio:

Graveshadow is a 2015 “Sammie” nominated (Sacramento News & Review) symphonic metal band from Sacramento, CA. Graveshadow was originally conceived in the winter of 2012 by rhythm guitarist, William Walker.The line-up features Walker along with vocalist Heather Michele, lead guitarist Matt Mitchell, keyboardist Valerie Hudak, drummer Roman Anderson, and bassist Ben Armstrong.The Graveshadow sound is defined by crushing guitars, beautiful keyboard melodies, thundering bass, and earth shattering drums. Powerful operatic vocals shift into unearthly growls to create a rich and dynamic atmosphere that is ripe for storytelling. Whether it is a tale of personal struggle or of fantastical creatures, the listener is sure to find themselves immersed in a world apart.In the winter of 2014, the band signed with Jeff Keller (now with The Artery Foundation) for management representation after releasing their debut EP and opening for thrash legends, Flotsam and Jetsam (whom Keller manages). Shortly after this, the band began work on a full length album. Emil “Nightmare” Nodtveidt from the Swedish industrial metal band Deathstars (Nuclear Blast Records) was brought in to mix and master the recordings that were produced by Matt “Hazmatt” Thomas. Adding to this, powerhouse vocalist, Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear (Frontiers Records), was brought in to sing guest vocals on the Doctor Who inspired song “Blink”.The band is poised and ready to leave a lasting impact within the metal community. With an electrifying stage show and a sound as large as the Dragons of Westeros, they are as talented as they are unforgettable.

Album:

Graveshadow is a symphonic / gothic / power metal band from Sacramento, CA. They are fronted by vocalist Heather Michele. She sounds great, and shows off her fantastic range and in an instant, can switch to growling vocals that tear right through you. I was lucky enough to see them last year open for Sirenia and they are great live. The new album “Ambition’s Price” is a giant leap forward for this band in my opinion. The recording quality of this album is top notch and every song has raw guitars, as well as solid bass, drums and keyboard work. At the end of the day, the album is carried by Heather’s incredible talent to sing in about every way one can sing metal music. Add the very catchy choruses and you have a very good album! In the bands music you will find songs about vampires, werewolves and other creatures, along with songs about personal struggle.The album opens with Doorway to Heaven. A great keyboard into sets the mood and then the guitar riffs kick in with the drums and bass picking up the tempo. This song has it all and gives you a great feel of what is to come. Heather starts out with her very melodic singing which takes us through the first part of the song. Then out of nowhere, her growling vocals explode into the song and are simply awesome. The song never loses it melodic feel, even with all the different vocal changes. Toward the end of the song, it becomes very soft and you really get to hear how perfect Heather’s voice is. The whole song is an emotional ride throughout.The title track Ambition’s Price is another song that stands out. Once again it has a great musical opening. All the songs have a great atmosphere in them that is dark and haunting. Heather is once again singing in a perfect voice, and we are treated to a nice melodic guitar solo. Aaron Robitsch is a very good lead guitarist and along with William Lloyd Walker III, they make a great guitar tandem.The next song Hero of Time has a great pace to it that always feels like it is moving forward. We are treated to a blistering guitar solo in this song that just rips into you. It is a short song at just over three minutes, but it leaves a lasting impression on you.On the flip side, we have Gates that is almost six minutes long. A solid one-minute intro really sets the tone of this track that starts as a power ballad, and that has its share of growling vocals. We also find another solid melodic guitar solo in this song. As we near the end, the intensity picks up and finishes strong.Return to Me has a totally different feel then the first part of the album. Vocally it is Heather just singing straight forward. Her vocals throughout this song are a bit haunting, we have no growling vocals on this track. What we do have is some great melodic keyboard and guitar music, especially towards the end of the song. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album. I just love the haunted feeling it leaves you with.Liberator comes at you like a thousand tons of bricks. It opens with some seriously thrashing guitar and growling vocals to boot. The first minute of this song tears you face off. It is definitely one of the hardest songs on the album and really shows the range of Graveshadow. It also has a nice organ piece in the middle. This album has melodies, growling vocals, thrash metal and everything in between. There is nothing about this album I do not like.Warchief does not make you wait for a guitar solo, it opens with one that is completely in your face. Then Heather starts in with more outstanding vocals. The song also has the endless guitar sound chugging through it. It is another stand out song amongst many.I never review every song on an album, because I want someone who buys it to experience some songs for the first time themselves. I can honestly say this is my favorite release of the year so far and I was not expecting that. This album is great in every way and has eleven songs and over 50 minutes of music for your listening enjoyment. I highly recommend you pick this album up and get ready for some great in your face music.

Line Up:

Heather Michele Smith - Vocals (2013-present) - See also: ex-Helion Prime
Ben Armstrong - Bass, Vocals (backing)
Roman Anderson - Drums - See also: ex-Inebriator
William Lloyd Walker - Guitars (rhythm) (2012-present)
Aaron Robitsch - Guitars

Tracklist:

01. Doorway To Heaven
02. Widow And The Raven
03. Ambition's Price
04. Hero Of Time
05. The Gates
06. The Unspoken
07. Return To Me
08. Call Of The Frostwolves — I. Slave
09. Call Of The Frostwolves — II. Liberator
10. Call Of The Frostwolves — III. Warchief
11. Eden Ablaze



Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Graveshadow - The Uncertain Hour (2022)











Year : 2022
Style : Symphonic Metal , Female vocals
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 130 mb

Bio:

Graveshadow is a 2015 “Sammie” nominated (Sacramento News & Review) symphonic metal band from Sacramento, CA. Graveshadow was originally conceived in the winter of 2012 by rhythm guitarist, William Walker.The line-up features Walker along with vocalist Heather Michele, lead guitarist Matt Mitchell, keyboardist Valerie Hudak, drummer Roman Anderson, and bassist Ben Armstrong.The Graveshadow sound is defined by crushing guitars, beautiful keyboard melodies, thundering bass, and earth shattering drums. Powerful operatic vocals shift into unearthly growls to create a rich and dynamic atmosphere that is ripe for storytelling. Whether it is a tale of personal struggle or of fantastical creatures, the listener is sure to find themselves immersed in a world apart.In the winter of 2014, the band signed with Jeff Keller (now with The Artery Foundation) for management representation after releasing their debut EP and opening for thrash legends, Flotsam and Jetsam (whom Keller manages). Shortly after this, the band began work on a full length album. Emil “Nightmare” Nodtveidt from the Swedish industrial metal band Deathstars (Nuclear Blast Records) was brought in to mix and master the recordings that were produced by Matt “Hazmatt” Thomas. Adding to this, powerhouse vocalist, Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear (Frontiers Records), was brought in to sing guest vocals on the Doctor Who inspired song “Blink”.The band is poised and ready to leave a lasting impact within the metal community. With an electrifying stage show and a sound as large as the Dragons of Westeros, they are as talented as they are unforgettable.

Album:

Graveshadow are back on the scene with a story to tell. Intertwining melodic highs and crushing lows to sweep listeners away on a journey of self-discovery, loss and the will to carry on.Sacramento symphonic power metal band Graveshadow emerged in 2014 with their debut, self-titled EP. Fast-forward to 2022, and we find Graveshadow releasing a new album – The Uncertain Hour – with a revamped lineup. Let’s take a peek at the new incarnation and tease out what changes and similarities are evident in the new music.The album opens with “Soldier of 34” – a song that starts subtly then moves into strong riffing supported by furious drumming. The verses have alternations with one line in clean singing followed by another using harsh vocals in a call-and-response fashion. The chorus is a more mid-paced. It’s not a bad track, but personally one didn’t really do it for me.Track two is “Gwynnbleidd,” the first song released featuring the band’s new line-up well over a year ago. The guitars have a nice sound to them on this song, and while the chorus is again a bit restrained for my taste, overall the song is well-executed. New singer Rachl ‘Raxx’ Quinn sounds strong and capable here as she does throughout the album – she’s more than a capable replacement who brings her own style while still delivering the classic Graveshadow sound.You get even more of a feel for new vocalist Quinn’s vocal approach and prowess on the next one - “Sea of Apparitions.” This is a nice, rollicking track – uptempo, strong and bouncey. There’s some great riffs hidden in there. And I really like the pre-chorus section that builds the song’s energy into the crescendous chorus. An excellent track.“The Swordsman” – which is also one of the pre-release singles from the album – has a pleasant, cohesive feel. The vocal melody doesn’t always quite do it for me on this one, but the instrument-work and overall composition more than make up for that. This one also features a guest harsh vocal assist by Chelesea Murphy of Prosthetic Record’s Dawn of Ouroboros.Back to the tracks: “Vengeance of Envy” is an energetic, mid-paced rocker with an amazing chorus. Quinn’s voice really shines here, successfully selling out on her high notes and melding perfectly with the guitars. This one gives me mid-80s era Judas Priest vibes. The next song, “A Beautiful End,” really harkens back to the older Graveshadow sound in its riffing and pacing, so much so I wonder if Walker and Robitsch developed it from ideas unused from a previous album. Regardless, it evokes some nostalgia for me. The kitwork of new drummer ‘bones’ really pulls this track together.Working through the later tracks: “The Betrayer” has some nice flourishes, including letting the keys show themselves at a bit higher level in the mix. It’s another solid rocker. “Shadow Battles” is another song that for me evokes memories of previous Graveshadow songs. In fact, this track would have been right at home on their debut record. I really like the ability here for the guitars to create some brief fits of sonic frenzy while still keeping a consistent melody rolling.Perhaps the biggest surprise on the album is the pentultimate track “The Two Lived,” which has a very different feel to it, albeit still recognizably Graveshadow. It’s a bit slower tempo, and the clean singing plays more of a support role to the growls which do most of the heavy lifting. There are hints of Insomnium on this one. A nice change of pace and approach; I hope they do more of this in the future.The finale is “Damsel’s Finesse,” which at seven minutes is the longest track on the album and one of my favorites. The keys are fresh and visible, the guitars crisp in their attack, and the singing colorful. I really, really love the vocal melody on the verses and the build-up to the glorious chorus. An absolute gem of a song and one I’d love to hear the band play live!Given their significant lineup changes, I’m impressed and happy that The Uncertain Hour has retained so much of the magic that makes Graveshadow one of my favorite bands. This album met my own high expectations, and so I can only recommend it highly to others.

Line Up:

Rachl "Raxx" Quinn - Vocals (2020-present) - See also: DiAmorte, ex-Shokker
William Lloyd Walker - Guitars (rhythm) (2012-present)
Aaron Robitsch - Guitars (lead), Keyboards (2016-present) - See also: Crepuscle, Niviane
Luci Rae - Bass (2020-present)
Bones - Drums (2022-present)

Tracklist:

01. Soldier of 34
02. Gwynnbleidd
03. Sea of Apparitions
04. The Swordsman
05. Vengeance of Envy
06. Beautiful End
07. The Betrayer
08. Shadow Battles
09. The Two Lived
10. Damsel's Finesse



Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/