SHADOWLAND
“The Necromancer’s Castle”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Shadowland are a heavy metal band from the USA formed in 2018, releasing their debut E.P. ‘The Watcher’ in 2019. The bands first full length album ‘The Necromancer’s Castle’ was released in 2021.

Featuring eight songs of straight-up traditional heavy metal, Shadowland echo the glorious sound of the early eighties when bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Saxon were defining the traditional metal sound. Thundering into life, Shadowland get their debut album underway with ‘Ligeia’, a menacing short intro, gives way to a traditional “foot on the monitor” gallop. And what a gallop it is! Full of thunder and NWOBHM styled guitars, your head is gonna be vigorously rocking back and forth. Title song ‘The Necromancer’s Castle’ keeps the foot firmly on the monitor, and the thunder roaring loudly. Heavier with a bit more menace, ‘The Necromancer’s Castle’ (the song) is a mosh pit pleasure.

A touch more melodic than the opening double, ‘Walking In Shadows’ retains the albums overall incredible eighties metal feel. Closing my eyes, I can almost feel the bite of ‘The Number Of The Beast’, the roar of ‘Screaming For Vengeance’, and the smell of ‘No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith’… Those were good times – good times I’ve been reliving for the past forty years, and with bands such as Shadowland, the good times keep on coming! ‘Rising Tide’ has pace in abundance, fairly rocketing forth, the vocal snarl of lead singer Tanya Finder in fine form. The infectious level of ‘The Necromancer’s Castle’ (the album) has been getting more and more infectious since the album began, with heavy metal traditionalists the world over hooked right from the start. The melodious side of the band comes to the fore once more with the galloping ‘Warhound’. Catchy as hell, ‘Warhound’ maintains the albums one hundred percent head bang ability, with fists everywhere raised high punching the air in sheer delight.

The recent upturn in the melodic intent of the album is at its highest level right now, as ‘Remains’ strides in, proceeding to rope in fans of the heavy and hard rock genres. The boundary breaking ‘Remains’ effortlessly opens up the bands sound, without Shadowland deviating from their heavy metal roots. The early eighties sound of bands such as Angel Witch, Girlschool, Raven, and Rock Goddess is the driving force behind ‘Easy Livin’ – a foot on the monitor mid tempo gallop, planting smiles a mile wide on the faces of traditional metal fans everywhere. The final song on the album ‘Pretty Faces’ is also the fastest, powering on at a head bangingly ferocious pace. The intensity of ‘The Necromancer’s Castle’ (the album) hasn’t relented for one second of its forty minutes run time, with ‘Pretty Faces’ rounding off a very good album with its fist pumping, head banging, smile inducing zest.

Overall, a glorious gallop of classic sounding traditional heavy metal, Shadowland will have eighties metal fans drooling with delight.

TRACKLIST

Ligeria
The Necromancer’s Castle
Walking In Shadows
Rising Tide
Warhound
Remains
Easy Livin’
Pretty Faces

https://shadowlandnyc.bandcamp.com/

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