Shades of Sorrow – Ascension

Label: Sliptrick Records Release date: June 12, 2018
The fourth album of the Canadians Shades of Sorrow was recorded at their own One Eyed Cat studio which took two years, Danny Bourgeois at Pump’kn Patch Studios did the mixing and Michael Bourgeois the mastering. Originally the band had released Ascension themselves, now it is available worldwide via Sliptrick Records.

During the first tracks I was reminded of their compatriots Annihilator – “On a Hot Summer Night” and “Soul Hyperdrive” are quite rough and fast, combining Metal / Thrash, yet I wasn’t fully convinced. Maybe because singer Monise Ouellette could not really shine yet. But then the semi-acoustic hymn “Fall from Grace” and then the highlight “Parade Of Lunatics” (clip below) there’s no complaining any more. No matter whether they tackle Hardrock, Prog or whether they cooperate with the Hip-Hop band The Cauldron Project, Monise and her colleagues Mike Taylor – Guitars, Pascal Deslongchamps – Drums and Julien Leblanc – Bass show off their skills admirably. A well-done genre crossover finishing with another the ballad Sleepless, containing a touch of Prog quirkiness just like   Fall from Grace to keep it unpredictable and edgy …

http://www.shadesofsorrow.ca