Ελληνικά
Genre: Heavy Metal/Power Metal/Shred
Country: U.S.A.
Label: Pure Steel Records
Year: 2015
Known to most metalheads from his period with Manowar from 1988 to 1994, David Shankle returns with his third solo album, eight years after ‘Hellborn’. Accompanied by new members, Warren Halvarson (also in ‘Damien Thorne’) on vocals, Gabriel Anthony on drums and Mike Streicher on bass. he once again delivers his version of modern American heavy / power metal.
The nickname “The Shred Demon” given to him is I believe worthy of his talent and guitar virtuosity. He has been recognized by many virtuosos of the instrument as one of the most technical and insanely fast guitarists of his generation. Sadly though, his superiority in terms of guitar playing does not match with his poor synthetic skills.
‘Still A Warrior’ suffers from serious lack of inspiration. And that’s not its only weak spot. The production is so noisy and chaotic that combined with the seven-string chatter of David, completely ruins the songs. The vocals and other instruments often sound asynchronously to each other. Strange as it may sound, I could not find a single interesting riff. Most often it feels that the simplified structure of the songs, the boring melodies and the uninspired choruses are there just to pass the ball on the, without meaning and substance, solo outbursts. Perhaps the only song I can say that stands as a complete composition is ‘Glimpse Of Tomorrow’.
This is a really disappointing effort, without a single trace of emotion and nerve. I really cannot understand how the man who cosigned hymns like “Master Of The Wind”, “The Burning”, “Ride the Dragon”, and “Demon’s Whip” can no longer write a decent song.
1,5/6
