Schattenmann signs its fourth album.
Since 2016 in Germany, the band made up of Frank Herzig (vocals), Jan Shook (guitar), Luke Shook (bass) and Nils Kinzig (drums) plays a mix of Industrial Metal and Dark Rock, which we discover in 2023 on AFM Records with Día De Muertos.
The band opens with Día De Muertos, a rousing track whose festive tones blend perfectly with their Industrial roots, including a touch of Spanish in the German lyrics, before letting darker tones haunt the verses of Jeder ist schlecht, while choruses are much happier. The contrast is very catchy despite the language barrier, and allows the band to let the two worlds meet on the final, before the motivating sound returns to the fore on Hände Hoch, a heady track which nonetheless deals with a relatively pessimistic topic. But the band once again manages to get its message across via energetic riffs, before weighing down the atmosphere on Menschenhasser, a much darker composition focusing on a crushing rhythmic pattern complemented by cybernetic samples. The danceable sounds come back to life with Dämonen and its heavy riffs, which easily calm down on the chorus to let playful keyboards join simple riffs before they become more aggressive, as on Meer aus Licht where the jerky rhythm is regularly adorned with light-hearted samples. The track remains relatively effective, allowing the singer to use his skills before Haters gonna hate, which suddenly returns to darkness and ominous sounds with a martial approach complemented by the riffs’ jovial touch, contrasting again with the song’s subject. The tone changes again with Dickpic and its denunciation with catchy riffs in the company of vocalist Anna Lux, creating again a striking shift filled with second degree before the sound becomes much more majestic with In deinem Schatten, a slow impressive composition letting epic samples join the haunting rhythm. The band keeps the melancholic tones with Ewigkeit, the final track, but the musicians add their Industrial patterns, while offering some more upbeat influences.
Schattenmann are fastly becoming an indispensable band on the German Industrial Metal scene, and it’s a safe bet to say that Día De Muertos will be a huge asset to their future career, skilfully blending playful sounds and effective riffs!
85/100