SHADOW HUNTERS
Norwegians Shadow Hunters are a duo: Will who plays guitar and handles vocal duties and Ingar who plays drums. They formed in 2013 and ‘Avatar’ is their self-produced debut album, which contains ten cuts of self-proclaimed “modern energetic sci-fi rock” that fuses electronica with substantial riffs. The album is short, at just over 30 minutes, and contains three instrumentals of varying lengths, but Shadow Hunters still manage to impress on the listener their distinctive sound which, although containing elements of Muse, Feeder, HIM and even Jean Michel Jarre amongst others, has enough about it to not be branded a rip off of anyone else.
The aforementioned combination of, at times, ethereal sounding electronica and meaty riffs are built on a framework of a good production effort which gives the overall sound an almost bombastic quality. The standout tracks are probably 'Winther' [sic], which manages to be evocative of the season it is named after, and 'I' which the band themselves say was inspired by the Foo Fighters classic, 'Everlong'. But, the main criticism I have is that all of the tracks are very similar and they tend to blend into one another. Hopefully, as the band progress, they will become more adept at writing songs which are allowed to develop further and bring more variety into their already not inconsiderable offerings.
In essence, ‘Avatar’ is a pleasurable listen which skilfully combines two distinct musical forms and I would be interested to see if Shadow Hunters can translate their sound to the stage. I look forward to hearing future releases from this talented duo.
The aforementioned combination of, at times, ethereal sounding electronica and meaty riffs are built on a framework of a good production effort which gives the overall sound an almost bombastic quality. The standout tracks are probably 'Winther' [sic], which manages to be evocative of the season it is named after, and 'I' which the band themselves say was inspired by the Foo Fighters classic, 'Everlong'. But, the main criticism I have is that all of the tracks are very similar and they tend to blend into one another. Hopefully, as the band progress, they will become more adept at writing songs which are allowed to develop further and bring more variety into their already not inconsiderable offerings.
In essence, ‘Avatar’ is a pleasurable listen which skilfully combines two distinct musical forms and I would be interested to see if Shadow Hunters can translate their sound to the stage. I look forward to hearing future releases from this talented duo.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Self-released
Album
AVATAR
Review by Dave Uphill
RUNNING TIME:
30:33
RELEASE DATE:
8th July 2016
TRACK LISTING
1) Winther
2) Billion Stars Away
3) Fire Will Be Free
4) Satellite
5) Cosmodrone
6) Wait
7) Astral Journey
8) Into Tomorrow's Yesterday
9) I
10) Gates of Heaven
2) Billion Stars Away
3) Fire Will Be Free
4) Satellite
5) Cosmodrone
6) Wait
7) Astral Journey
8) Into Tomorrow's Yesterday
9) I
10) Gates of Heaven
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Norway
"...ethereal sounding electronica and meaty riffs..."
