Published on Nov 14, 2001
As much as I enjoy progressive rock, so many bands seem to think
that the longer they stretch out their songs, the better they will
be. That’s why a group like England’s Shadow Keep is a cool drink
of water on this scene: they seem to know that less can sometimes
be more.
Their full-length debut (and second release overall),
Corruption Within, features some music which, frankly, works
better because this quintet tries to say what they have to in under
five minutes. Of the 11 songs here (not including the bonus cover
of Queensryche’s “Queen Of The Reich” tacked onto the end of “Inner
Sanctum”), over half clock in at under the five-minute mark, and
one just misses that by two seconds.
Now, I realize that some of the die-hard prog-heads out there
are saying, “Haven’t you learned by now that the length of the song
means nothing?” Well, yes, I have. But the group – vocalist Rogue
M., lead guitarist Chris Allen, rhythm guitarist Nikki Robson,
bassist James Daley and drummer Dave Edwards – almost seems able to
make their statement without wearing out their welcome – and though
the music isn’t always the strongest, it is a bold move for them to
make.
The one major complaint I have with
Corruption Within is that Rogue M.’s vocals often sound like
he’s not in tune with the rest of the band. These variations on
songs like “Murder” tend to throw the listener off, and does weaken
the band’s power a tad. It’s not that he’s a bad vocalist; indeed,
he sounds a bit like Geddy Lee with a thicker accent (fully
understandable, since he’s Belgian-born), but it sometimes sounds
like he’s straining to match what his bandmates are producing.
Musically,
Corruption Within has some solid moments, and does hold out
more than a gleam of hope for this band in terms of success and
fame. Tracks like “Dark Tower,” “Alter Of Madness” and “Inner
Sanctum” all suggest that Shadow Keep – while still very much a
young band, despite the plethora of experience the members bring to
the table – is just now beginning to hit their stride. If this is
indeed the case, they could well prove to be unstoppable.
This being said, the group still occasionally seems to be trying
to find its niche. Some tracks, like “Mark Of The Usurper” and
“Cast Out,” don’t quite hit the target as strongly as one would
hope, though I’m having a difficult time pinpointing where things
went wrong. Likewise, I’m not going to knock the performances of
any of the musicians, but sometimes one finds themselves wishing
that there was the occasional keyboard line thrown in. It’s just
engraved in my head that progressive rock means keyboards have to
be somewhere in the mix.
Corruption Within suggests that the best is yet to come from
Shadow Keep – and though there are the occasional mis-fires on this
disc, it’s safe to say that the band is well on their way to
hitting their creative peak.