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Shadows of Steel > Second Floor > Reviews
Shadows of Steel - Second Floor

Half Good, Half Filler... - 67%

dragons_secrets, August 17th, 2004

Yet another Italian power metal band on Underground Symphony. This isn't really face-less and unimaginative as their name would imply, but half the songs are bland and missing that extra something. The vocals are the standout element. Wild Steel can really hit the high notes and he can sing in the right key really well. He also doesn't feel he has to sing every song the same way. He does however has that accented shriek that he seems to do during every song.

The style is in the infamous symphonic power mode, with occasionally brilliant guitars and passionate guitar soloing shining through. Biggest problem: the underproduction! You can't hear everything so well..The guitars sound like your listening through a telephone and sometimes sound out of place and tune. Plus alot of it is your typical palm muting, not too mention most of the soloing is garbeled mush, and lot of the leads are recyled traditional power metal leads with little originality. Not that they don't sound nice, atmospheric and sublime at times....because they do.

Classical keyboards run amok here and its a great thing too because this would be alot worse without it. They add all the flavor and accompany Wild Steel's voice nicely. The sound of the keyboards is light, airy, and imaginative.

The songs that are boring are that way because the riffs are uninspired and flavorless, but the songs that are good are that way because the voice and they keys really shine through and create a unique atmosphere.

Here's another problem. The backing vox are horrendous. They often ruin songs with perfectly clean, accessible verses and buildups but then they have to go and have a chorus. They try to incorporate the Blind Guardian style choirs and they fail horribly. This is because the production makes them sound like your listening through a really long pipe, or from inside a porcelain toilet...whichever sounds worse.

There are many impressive sections to be found though, for instance, the ultra high note at the end of Heroes is something that not many singers can accomplish. But I'm sure glad for the track "December". This is the shining star of the album. Its a symphonic ballad with really passionate vocals.

And then there are alot of sections of really recyled power metal cliches, but some of them are good...especially the power metal galloping Rhapsody like sections. But let me tell you, Wild Steel sings alot better than Fabio Lione, who isn't bad by any means.

Memorable moments account for only half this cd, but about every song has at least one interesting albiet generic power metal moment (whether a classical keyboard interlude or a blazing tapping guitar solo) even if the rest of the song is plaged with a chorus that goes nowhere. Usually, though the verses are more memorable than the choruses themselves, unintentionally of course.

Back to the songs.... the other ballad Talk the the Wind. Its slow, epic, emotional, and gleams with an original spark of passion that they fail to capture in most of the presented tracks. A great vocal performance here is heard as Wild Steel's voice is able to send shivers down one's spine because his vox are so clear, in perfect key, and bleed emotion. The guitars are sharp, melodic, and fiery and pierce through the atmosphere. And the solo is one that could even conjure up some pretty deep feelings from the listener.

Good songs with little flaw: December, Talk to the Wind, Dame and Lord (because the chorus is really a nice and shiny symphonic and regal sounding interlude) and Crying.

The rest of the songs are either half good or for the most part are pretty bad. This means that they have something imaginative in it (like a brightfully refreshing keyboard fill or interesting vocal approach) but is ruined by a stalemate chorus or uninspired riffing. Even most of the songs with a good, original effort from the guitarist are plagued by a lackluster chorus that sounds like every other power metal band you've ever heard.