Shields
Shields – ‘Shields’ EP
Leeds lads SHIELDS are a medieval heavy-rock outfit with monster riffs, crushing guitars and arse-wrenching, pummelling drums. But this isn’t geek-ridden, “let’s play World Of Warcraft and live in a fantasy world’ medieval, this is full on heavy-riff laden rocking with ironic referencing and fun, tapping into something that’s not really properly been done before.
Opening track ‘My Buddy Went to Azeroth & All I Got Were These Lousy Arrows’ shows exactly how heavy these guys can be. The low end brutality is amazing, yet the shift from heavy to soft is key to this song adding such depth to such a simplistic chord progression. Even the realms of prog-rock are delved into in this track and these lads don’t fail to deliver. Another standout track for me is ‘Your Name is Mudd’. The pace and vocal work brings together an all-about song that (again, delving into prog-rock realms slightly) gave a punkier version of Mastodon (and that is a huge compliment). The spacey and tripping feeling of the track really makes you lose yourself in the track, catching myself running my own music video accompaniment to the track in my head. However, if one track showcases this band’s sheer brutality and breaking teeth heaviness it is the track ‘Christpuncher’. It does exactly what it says on the tin; a sheer divine-induced apocalyptic thunderstorm of death. The introduction creates the most head banging feeling you will ever endure with a melodic breakdown that slays and can only be described as the ‘calm before the storm’.
SHIELDS create a heavy, down-tuned stampede of medieval, sword-wielding rock that captures the imagination. If Richard and The Crusaders could have had iPods and music, this would have been their theme tune. These are certainly a check out for people into bands such as Led Zeppelin, Mastodon, Black Moth, Black Sabbath and Holy Mountain.
To find out more about Shields, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Noel Horton
Leeds lads SHIELDS are a medieval heavy-rock outfit with monster riffs, crushing guitars and arse-wrenching, pummelling drums. But this isn’t geek-ridden, “let’s play World Of Warcraft and live in a fantasy world’ medieval, this is full on heavy-riff laden rocking with ironic referencing and fun, tapping into something that’s not really properly been done before.
Opening track ‘My Buddy Went to Azeroth & All I Got Were These Lousy Arrows’ shows exactly how heavy these guys can be. The low end brutality is amazing, yet the shift from heavy to soft is key to this song adding such depth to such a simplistic chord progression. Even the realms of prog-rock are delved into in this track and these lads don’t fail to deliver. Another standout track for me is ‘Your Name is Mudd’. The pace and vocal work brings together an all-about song that (again, delving into prog-rock realms slightly) gave a punkier version of Mastodon (and that is a huge compliment). The spacey and tripping feeling of the track really makes you lose yourself in the track, catching myself running my own music video accompaniment to the track in my head. However, if one track showcases this band’s sheer brutality and breaking teeth heaviness it is the track ‘Christpuncher’. It does exactly what it says on the tin; a sheer divine-induced apocalyptic thunderstorm of death. The introduction creates the most head banging feeling you will ever endure with a melodic breakdown that slays and can only be described as the ‘calm before the storm’.
SHIELDS create a heavy, down-tuned stampede of medieval, sword-wielding rock that captures the imagination. If Richard and The Crusaders could have had iPods and music, this would have been their theme tune. These are certainly a check out for people into bands such as Led Zeppelin, Mastodon, Black Moth, Black Sabbath and Holy Mountain.
To find out more about Shields, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Noel Horton
