I’ll be honest – reading the announcement that Canada’s Crimson Shadows would, after 11 inexplicably long years, finally be releasing the full-length follow-up to the stellar Kings Among Men, caught me at a bit of a crossroads with how to react.

On the one hand, that album was such a blistering, impressive debut that, over a decade later, it still holds a place in my weekly (often daily) music rotations. It hit at such an intoxicating crossroads of breakneck Dragonforce-inspired Power Metal, Children of Bodom-esque Finnish Melodeath, and a uniquely-Canadian brand of just straight up epic metal ala Blackguard, Karkaos and others that scratch such a litany of itches that they become appealing to nearly any and all fans of Metal. Imagine if Wintersun were both unpretentious and unannoying, and have them pack an even heavier punch, that’s kinda what we’re looking at here. So yeah, I was definitely more than a little fucking pumped for this new album.

On the other hand, I was also REALLY nervous. Like, what if this was Caddy Shack II or Jaws: The Revenge? What if well enough should have been left alone? Sometimes it’s better just to kill off the great thing you love than let it linger and become a mere shadow of what it once was. And sure, the band did give us a tease in 2020 with 3 blazing tracks (including a blistering rerecording of “Betrayed by Thy King” which was phenomenal), but in many ways that just set the table for an even bigger disappointment. What if, after all the setbacks that kept the band from releasing new material, they just didn’t have “it” anymore? What if it had been beaten out of them?

OR, hear me out: What if it’s everything you couple possibly hope it would be?

What if, indeed.

From any sensible viewpoint, Whispers of War is an IMMENSE success. Expecting the band to have taken some gigantic leap forward, even given the time they’ve had to work on and perfect this thing, was always unlikely. Instead, WOW is like a grand reintroduction to these guys – a chance for longtime fans to become reacquainted, and for listeners new to the band to both come into this album on equal footing, because this has everything that made their prior release so completely compelling, but delivered in a shinier, more refined package from a production standpoint. It’s everything anyone could reasonable want.

From the foreboding intro of “Dawn of an Age,” Crimson Shadows show their ready to prove they haven’t lost a single step. A blitzkrieg Power Metal attack from guitarists Greg Rounding and Ryan Hofing certainly lead the charge, with riffs that would make Herman Li himself struggle to keep up, and the blistering dual guitar soloing these two continue to deploy is every bit as impressive and mind-blowing as anything you’d get from Dragonforce‘s legendary pair. Drummer Cory Hofing (also of Lutharo) is still an absolute beast, keeping the throttle fully planted into the ground the entire time in a seemingly endless attack of double-bass thunder.

But what has always separated Crimson Shadows from similar acts is the dual vocal attack of Jimi Maltais and Ryan Hofing. Jimi’s harsh vocals sound scathing as ever, continuing to give the band much more of an edge about them than other bands of this ilk. On “Guardians,” he sounds like a goddamn berserker owlbear, ripping and tearing through enemy ranks with reckless abandon, hitting with a lethal range of highs, mids and lows that are as dynamic as they are utterly terrifying (seriously, I would not want this dude mad and screaming at me like this). But where you find maybe the most improvement from this unit is guitarist Ryan Hofing’s clean vocals. While they were never a weak point of the band, he has clearly spent time rounding out some of the edges to make for a more impressive and compelling delivery, and goddamn if they don’t make you want to sing along with every chorus, like glorious battle cries on the eve of certain impending doom. His performances on “Defenders of the Crown” and “Embrace the Fire” will fill your chest with pride and power, while Jimi goes all scorched Earth in a way that will spur you into a frenzy quicker than seeing the lit beacons of friggin’ Gondor. The combination is completely intoxicating.

I’ll also say, it’s always so satisfying when bands who’ve flown under the radar as much as Crimson Shadows has for so long, get some support from more heralded talent – even sweeter when it comes from fellow countrymen. In this case, guest appearances by Cryptopsy‘s Matt McGachy (“Whispers of War”) and Unleash the Archer‘s Brittney Slayes (“Secrets of Our Time”) give this album the extra sense of occasion it so desperately deserves. The former is one of the album’s true highlights, expertly riding the line of blistering brutality and soaring, epic vitality. It is every bit the proverbial “makes you wanna run through a brick wall” song, which this album has NO shortage of. Perhaps none go harder than the amazingly titled “Battle Hard II: Battle Harder,” a follow-up to a fan-favorite from their debut album in 2012, one that delivers everything longtime fans could ever want from this song: a beautiful, epic piano and guitar intro, that gives way to a friggin’ FURY of blast beats and finger-shredding riffs that will whip the entire Earth into one giant mosh pit if given enough amplification. Not only is it an instant classic for the band, but it brings in a bottom-third of the album that is strong as any I’ve heard in quite some time, including Brittney Slayes’ fantastic cameo on the dynamic “Secrets of Our Time,” which features a surprising and totally fucking rad old-school metal riff halfway through the song that catches you completely by surprise, but also gives you an instant stank-face with approval.

In reality, there are no drastic changes or big sweeping surprises here. If you loved Kings Amongst Men, goddamn are you gonna love this one. If you’re new to this band, goddamn are you gonna love Whispers of War. Then go back and listen to Kings Amongst Men and fall in love with that album. THEN go back and listen to Glory on the Battlefield and start to wonder “how the fuck has this band not become a bigger thing by now?” because I can’t figure it out, either. It makes no sense. This band is too talented and, most importantly, too goddamn fun not to force their way into every single metal heart on the planet. So quit fooling around and get your hands on this one ASAP, and join the goddamn battle. We are so back, baby, and so is Crimson Shadows. FIGHT ON!

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments