Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: ShadowIcon
Label: Self-released
Release: 2011
Length: 76:14
Rating: 4.5/5
ShadowIcon are a Slovenian symphonic power metal outfit whose roots go back to 2005. Constant lineup changes, driven by the search for a musical vision, finally settled two years ago to the point where a studio debut became a realistic goal. In fact, ShadowIcon only locked in the full lineup, vocals included, toward the end of 2009. A female vocalist, to be precise.
The by-now well-worn tag “symphonic power metal” doesn’t raise the same eyebrows it did back in 2005, but let’s get one thing straight right away: ShadowIcon are a slightly different beast. Broadly speaking, they absolutely belong in the general symphonic power metal universe of bands that fans of Epica, Within Temptation, Leave’s Eyes, Nightwish, Delain,… simply have to check out, but at the same time they bring their own approach.
These are musicians with some mileage behind them and a clearly defined vision they all stand behind together, and, most importantly, the core of the whole story is a superb band instinct for arranging and implementing musical ideas effectively, with all kinds of moods in constant dynamic contrast that suck the listener in and effortlessly carry them off into the heart of a new musical adventure. The idea that ShadowIcon are perfectionists practically suggests itself. And you can feel it. While recording the album, the band was looking for a drummer. Since, in their quest for perfection, they didn’t want to leave anything to chance, they turned for help to the excellent hired gun Jure Doles. On top of that, ShadowIcon found enough willpower, courage and strength to send their recordings off to Germany for further sound treatment. Thomas Geiger handled the mixing there, and none other than Charlie Bauerfiend did the final mastering. Let’s just mention that the latter has produced the sound of albums by Saxon, Rage, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Blind Guardian, Angra and HammerFall. So? No question about it. “Empire In Ruins” has a fantastic sound!
The band didn’t want to leave anything to chance. From the nicely designed album cover, rich in symbolism tied to the concept behind the record, to the band’s care in optimizing the sound so that listeners can really connect with the music, it’s all been thought through. The album is a concept record, and each of the 14 tracks is backed up in the booklet with a rich accompanying text. “Empire In Ruins” refers to the decline of the Roman Empire, and the story kicks off with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The remaining adventures, including the ill-fated love between Cleopatra and Mark Antony, are written down in history textbooks, so let’s focus on the music.
ShadowIcon went at it in depth. The basic guitar riffs are given a grand sweep by an incredibly rich and challenging layer of orchestral, symphonic arrangements. It’s exactly this bold combination, which of course leans on the core idea of bringing the chosen concept to life, that achieves the intended effect of stringing together a highly vibrant mood across the album. Just as the story brings East (Egypt) and West (the Roman Empire) together, the arrangements join hands in the music, colorfully seasoned with arabesques as well as the clean lines of Western European classicism. The band clearly spent a lot of time polishing every last detail in the individual songs. Despite the long running time and a whopping 14 tracks, and despite the fact that ShadowIcon don’t offer a musical revolution, this is an album that doesn’t bore you for a second, never feels empty, hollow or characterless, and on top of that isn’t quick to win you over, so it demands plenty of spins in your CD player!
Still, there’s no fear that ShadowIcon would get tangled up in overcomplicated arrangements and fragment the record, something symphonic power metal fundamentally can’t stand (or handles very badly). The album is rich in information but by no means complex, even though creating it demanded total focus on polishing the details, which means working on it called for a wide-open and complex approach.
On that front ShadowIcon came out of the battle victorious, which is why this is a very high-quality album. It flows dynamically from start to finish, it’s honestly convincing in its moods, and with it ShadowIcon have managed to carve out a still-unclaimed corner under the free sun of musical creativity, in a genre that was oversaturated long ago, which puts them in a special spot within it. They sound “Scandinavian”, meaning bold and stylish, so even their debut reaches a level of quality that easily stands toe to toe with the best studio work from the bands that are really the flagbearers of the genre!
The interplay between keyboard and guitar arrangements feels remarkably fluid. ShadowIcon have a feel for the extreme dynamics of rolling moods, built right on the foundation created by the flexibility of these two building blocks living side by side on the album. Where the keyboards step up front, the guitars duck into a wall of riffs in the background, and vice versa. Where the riff takes center stage, the keyboards cling to it and build it up into something atmospherically full. It’s simply chemistry between the members of the team, and the result of great communication between the musicians, who want to put across and intensify the album’s individual ideas as clearly as possible. It’s worth remembering, too, that there are two guitars in the band. Here too the harmony works at an exceptionally high level of idea-driven pragmatism. When one guitar leads the riff, the other punctuates it with concise embellishments or builds on it with a different motif, and of course the classic guitar harmonies in thirds are with us as well, but above all the multiple uses of “arabesques” across the album are full of spark. The two guitarists also take care of the distinct character of the solos themselves. They don’t squander notes; instead they craft solos that are first and foremost subordinate to sustaining highly charged moods, and are completely in service of the leading motifs of a clearly defined melodic compactness.
The album is so rich in information that a veil of unpredictability hangs over it throughout, even though we’re talking about the basic starting rigidity of the “symphonic power metal” template. Since this album is meant to be listened to in one go, there’s not much point in singling out its highlights or individual songs. Simple as that! It only really catches fire when you listen to it in one piece. With “Empire In Ruins”, that’s rule number one. For all its motif variety, “Empire In Ruins” keeps a common thread and the recognizable stamp of symphonic power metal throughout, aimed at effectively graded build-ups of epic, bombastic moods that climb from the verse, through the pre-chorus, to the “crescendo” in the chorus melody.
Of course, none of this would work without the right vocal interpretation. ShadowIcon only brought a singer into the team at the very last moment! Ana, just 21 years old, proved to be a bullseye pick. In the sound picture, her voice keeps just the right femininity, girlishness, fragility, grace and bittersweet longing, which works in every single moment of the album. In the most sophisticated passages, where only piano accompanies her, or in bombastic power metal assaults! In arranging the vocal lines, she diligently sticks to the middle register and doesn’t force her way into the high notes that would tear up your ears. What’s more, ShadowIcon cleverly harmonized her vocals, widening and thickening the sound and boosting the dynamic flow of the album’s many moods. Her English is convincing too! With the outstanding production of the vocal harmonies, meaning multiple vocal lines layered together, ShadowIcon set the bar of the “general Slovenian standard” in this department at a high level with this debut. It can serve as a handy little lesson and example for other Slovenian metal and rock bands, especially those who subordinate their musical expression to the pursuit of the melodic optimum.
To wrap up. We know how rare album releases by Slovenian metal bands are. When it happens, it’s a truly nice and worthwhile event for our scene, regardless of the quality of the content. In ShadowIcon’s case, though, we can say flat out that this is an absolute high point for Slovenian metal bands overall. This is an album that’s top-notch from head to tail. First-rate in its insightful, convincing delivery of the music, which painlessly takes the listener on a sweet musical adventure of a special kind, and in all the other details that are essential, artistically speaking, to the full impression of this release. From the cover design, the lavish booklet and the nice digipack packaging, but above all it’s the excellent sound that wins the listener over. Behind all of this sparkles the exceptional artistic value of this release.
With this album, ShadowIcon have set a new milestone, one that should give the other Slovenian metal bands a positive wake-up call to tackle things in a comprehensive way and to challenge the best studio work from Western European, Scandinavian, British and American bands! The great musical talents of Slovenian musicians and performers urgently need to be carried out into the developed world! And ShadowIcon are fully aware of that. “Empire In Ruins” doesn’t bring a musical revolution, but it is an excellent studio debut that not only the band but the whole Slovenian public should be openly proud of. This is an album that throws the doors wide open for the band to fight its way, in the future, into a prominent spot among the best acts on the international stage in the genre it belongs to. “Empire In Riuns” is, as a debut, a release worthy of admiration. An album you’ll be able to enjoy and discover for a long time. And when a number of years have passed since its official release and your eyes, scanning the shelf of your CD collection, one day land on it again, it will always stir up warm, respectful feelings in you.
Lineup
Ana Prijatelj – vocals
Tomaž Lovšin – guitar, orchestral arrangements, percussion programming
Bojan Kostanjšek – guitar
Peter Smrdel – keyboards, backing vocals
Matej Ravšelj – bass guitar
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Jure Doles – drums
Teja Saksida – backing vocals
Production
Tomaž Lovšin
Tracklist
1.Before The Storm
2.On The ides of March
3.A New Chapter
4.Lex Titia
5.Endless Shades Of Pain
6.Eastbound
7.King Of Kings
8.The Alliance
9.Battle of Actium
10.Deceptive Dreams
11.The Haunting
12.End Of Days
13.Immortal
