Label: Great Dane Records
Date: October 6th, 2023
Shrapnel Storm is a death metal band formed in 2006 in Finland. Before they released their debut album “Mother War” (Witches Brew, 2015), the band was working hard and released four demos: “Battlefield”, “Bullet Trails”, “At Dawn” and We “Come in Peace”. In 2020, Shrapnel Storm released three singles as an announcement of their second album “Shrapnel Storm” (Great Dane Records). Three singles again and on October 6th, 2023, their third album “Silo” was released.
From the band name and song titles, not just on their last album, but overall opus, you can conclude that the main lyrical themes are war and battles. And the intro “Silo” clearly shows in which direction the band goes. I must admit that after the last war we had here in 1999, I did not feel amused when I heard the red air siren and bombs. However, this is a very effective intro that leads to “Wastelands”. Great bass line opens the song. Aggressive and brutal vocals with very good articulation, which is, at least for me, important so I can understand the lyrics, tempo change, solid drumming and great guitar work will draw your attention.
“Justice and Glory” follows in the same direction. Here I would like to single out verses in which the band asks the same question I asked myself a million times. Is being a soldier really a profession and does killing by order make those people murderers?
“They told me to kill on sight,
Does it make me a murderer?”
A killing growl opens “Only Snake Here Is You”, the song that has great rhythm. Here, drums dominate. Very short and effective track.
“Alive Ammunition” is a mid-tempo song and here we have really strong message interwoven through the verses:
“Fuel for cannons,
Human sacrifice,
Even in death they serve,
As fire rains from the skies,
This ammunition is alive.”
“Bring Me The War” is something I am 100% sure none of us would like to say, especially in the world in which we are living at the moment. Of course, along with the theme, the sound is a bit heavier and the overall tempo perfectly fits the subject.
“Conquering The Gods” is my personal favourite. The song has great melody and rhythm, it simply moves you and the lyrics:
“Blasting angels out of the sky
Screaming and screeching in despair
With their wings of fire”,
are one of those referring to someone with great imagination who could write a great script for the memorable video.
“Icon Of Destruction” is the song with the heaviest atmosphere, and in the end “Obey & Perish” is the song that delivers a great guitar intro, great melody, killer drumming and brings back the energy.
Is it too late to change my mind and say that “Kinslayer” is the best song of the album? Just listen to it, no words are needed.
Until you hear the last song, “This is Where I Fell”, you will realize that Shrapnel Storm is the band that does not experiment a lot. They have found their own path leaned on old school death metal, and they do it well.
What do we have here?
Shrapnel Storm is a mid-tempo death metal band. Implementing speed, thrash and groove elements to their music, “Silo” is the most variable album by now. As expected, at least from the band’s name, you can expect 40 minutes of the storm of heavy artillery.
In self-defence… The album was released on October 6th, 2023. Although we give priority to those bands who are sending us physical releases, this time luck was not on the band’s side. Serbian posts were on strike and even though the CD arrived in Serbia, it was captured in dark rooms of our national post office. Our Abaddon crew, at least the Serbian squad, had the meeting last week. Our favourite bar was closed due to legal issues, so we found another hole. In that hole, the man who talked to himself with two glasses of beer and mouth organ with which he abused other guests, overheard our conversation. Just like that he approached our table and started his fairytale: “I used to work at the post office… Twenty or thirty years ago… You could put a vinyl on the doormat, and no one would steal it… The vinyl cost was 5 £…” Well, in the present time, no one would steal anything that refers to metal. Just Shrapnel Storm was collateral damage. If they put the CD on our doormat, they would have a review earlier. This way, a bit later, but it is here. The strike is over.
