Shining Fear – “Apocalife” (2010)

Label : Emmeciesse/Heart of Steel Records

Review by Tony Cannella

One thing I have learned over the years is that there are so many great, unknown and talented bands/musicians in the metal world. Italy’s Shining Fear are another perfect example of this. The band had only previously released one demo “…Catch the Breathe” in 2005. Now, 5-years later they have issued their debut full-lenght “ApocaLife”. The style that band displays is energetic, Power Metal with a bit of Progressive Metal mixed in as well, to create a cool, atmospheric debut. The band is fronted by Barbara Mischeri and her powerful vocal style is definitely one of the strongest aspects of Shining Fear but that is to take nothing away from the other band members, who all prove to be very accomplished musicians and songwriters. There is no fooling around here as the band get right into it from the opening of the very first track “ApocaLife”. From there things only get heavier with “Caresses in Darkness”, heavy but not without melody, which is pretty much the case throughout the CD. There is simply no interruption to the powerful guitar riffs and the instantly like-able and clear vocals of Barbara Mischeri packs a lot of power in it’s own right. The fourth track “No One Erase” speeds up the pace a bit with it’s almost thrashy style and is one of the heavier moments on the CD. This was a big highlight for me. The band manage to incorporate old school metal guitar riffs, cool solos and plenty of melody, as can be heard on the tracks: “Haunting Damnation”, “Eight”, “Two Worlds Collide” and the great closing number “Final Sentence”. After 9-songs and 50-minutes worth of music it is easy to come away impressed with “ApocaLife” and Shining Fear‘s brand of Power Metal. “ApocaLife” is a hungry sounding, juggernaut of a debut and the band prove they have a lot to offer metal fans both in terms of talent and songwriting abilities. Hopefully Shining Fear won’t remain remain “unknown” for long.

Rating – 90/100

Tracklist

1. ApocaLife
2. Caresses in Darkness
3. Haunting Damnation
4. No One Erase
5. Eight
6. Two Worlds Collide
7. Absolute Contrast
8. Come From Hell
9. Final Sentence

Line Up

• Barbara Mischeri – Vocals
• Matteo Migliorini – Guitar
• Lorenzo Tomelleri – Keyboards
• Jacopo Ravagnani – Bass
• Pierluigi Lazzarini – Drums

Links

MySpace