Somehow I missed hearing 2 Shadows until now. I intend to redress that oversight with this review. The pair of lead singer Glen Bridden and guitarist Tyrst Germaine first banded together as 2 Shadows in 2015 yet still deliver new music with every bit of the passion you’d expect from a hungry debuting act with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. They are in full effect during their new single “Mad God” and, frankly, I haven’t heard metal this immediate and bracing in many years. This band is definitely ready for prime time and I don’t think there’s any stopping them.

Tryst Germaine’s mammoth guitar sound will be a big reason why. It is one of the chief characteristics of their music that I believe separates 2 Shadows from many of their brethren. It immediately dominated the song once it entered the picture in full force, but I must say that it never diminishes the vocal. This is because both Tryst’s guitar, as well as other elements of the song, are so well produced that there isn’t a single component that stands out at the expense of another.

Glen Bridden may be the only singer alive who could keep up with him and this demanding track. Segueing from the bleak and ruminative opening featuring his voice and piano into the six-string bloodletting that follows isn’t something every vocalist can do. He does and, in my opinion, makes it sound easy. He hits many particularly thrilling high points during the song’s more aggressive sections that will leave all but the hardest of hearts thrilled by his musical presence.

Presence is something that this song and band have in abundance. I mentioned that Germaine’s guitar has an all-consuming sound, but it’s really the band as a whole that cannot be denied. The opening section with its piano and singing creates a world all its own without ever seeming like some sort of put on. There’s no doubt in my mind that 2 Shadows would still make music together even if they never recorded another note. These guys are “lifers” and you hear it in their voice and playing alike.

It ends conclusively bookended by the same quiet atmospherics that begins the song. It’s another indication of how the band began the recording process for this track with a clear imaginative vision and followed it through to its logical conclusion. Their focus pays off with one of the most thunderous metal/hard rock tracks in recent memory high and leaves a mark on listeners.

There’s so much music out there and so little time. 2 Shadows simply hadn’t landed on my radar yet. Well, they’re here now, and here they’ll stay. As an older metal fan, I am thrilled to hear a band that likes living on a creative knife edge, but I’m even happier to hear a band that compromises nothing and says take us as we are because we aren’t going anywhere. The single “Mad God” proves 2 Shadows will be with us for some time to come and we, as music fans, are better off for it. 

 

Brent Musgrave

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