It’s always good to come across some fresh-sounding death/doom, and a band that is certainly on the up is Shadecrown, who are gearing up to release their debut album Agonia. Agonia follows on from a demo and an EP, and is a well-rounded and powerful release that definitely showcases the band on top form.
The album gets off to a powerful start and early highlight comes in the second track Led Astray, courtesy of the clean vocals in the chorus. They’re beautifully melancholic, with a lot of emotion in the delivery, and will inevitably wind up stuck in your head after a couple of listens! Additionally, they couple up nicely with the harsh vocals, which really help to give the song an extra kick.
There’s plenty more great inclusions on the album too, with another highlight being slower number Longing For Sleep. It’s more of a melodic track in an instrumental sense, with lots of ace guitar soundscapes, but is led by harsh vocals for the most part and the balance between the two is just right – which is great to hear as it’s refreshing to hear two different approaches blending seamlessly together.
As a whole, Agonia is great, and Shadecrown have got a lot of potential to go far if this album is anything to go by. Make sure you watch out for this talented band!
9/10
