Skadika

Artist: 
Album Title: 
Frozen Legends
Release Date: 
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Label: 
Review Type: 

This Coln-based German band was founded in 2005, but has found so many changes happening to its line-up, that currently only female lead singer Jule is the only remaining member.

Over the years, the musical style of the band changed slightly along with its members as well, but generally speaking it's safe to say that each change was for the better, and a refinement to where the band is today. In 2010 the band released its debut full-length Winter, and positive reception of the album resulted in several gigs (some of which in front of somewhat larger audiences, and one even outside Germany's boundaries) being played during that same year and the following. The beginning of 2012 became a low-point in the band's history, as no less that three members decamped. However, the remaining members (Jule, plus guitarists Chris and Base – the second also performs the growled male vocals) stuck together, and with the addition of drummer Phil went on to record the new album over a period of almost 4 ½ months.

Weirdly enough, the booklet does not give any credits for whom played the orchestrated keyboards and the bass on the album, and that's odd, because they are an integral part of the music, which is a slightly Gothic Symphonic Extreme Metal, which the band says is stylistically influenced by the likes of Nightwish and Ensiferum. The powerful and driven music is perhaps best explained by the fact that, where Chris and Phil are actually mostly listening to and play Melodic Pagan Metal (elements of which occasionally creep into the keyboard play), Base's tastes lay foremost in the more extreme kinds of Metal. Jule is a somewhat different vocalist in the genre, having been influenced by Pop singers like Leann Rimes and Bonnie Tyler. In other words, don't expect her to do any operatic soprano singing! As a whole, the music is driven, and carries out all of the elements mentioned in a perfect hybridisation. For audio samples of the band's latest album, or of any muic at all, you'll have to make due with the album trailer the band posted in the “Media” section of its own website (www.) shadika.de. Oh wait, that ain't true...the album has a page on bandcamp (surf to (http://) shadika.bandcamp.com to get connected), and there you can actually listen to the whole album...or you should be able to! The band, by the way, also has a facebook page, on which I regrettably found no music of video made available.

Here's a band which deserves to get wider attention, both from the Gothic, Symphonic, and Extreme Metal corners of the music palate. I certainly hope the band finds the suitable extra members it needs to promote its music on stages in Germany and beyond! And may that happen pretty soon too!

90/100