There are a lot of female-fronted gothic metal bands out there, and - frankly - most of them, I think, are not very interesting. Thankfully, Italian metallers The Shiver do not fall under this category, and A New Horizon is a fine hard rocking metal release which is also virtually free of cheesiness.
The obligatory gothic metal elements are there, such as the synths and the piano effects lain over both clean and distorted guitar passages, but these effect are not dominant, and it is still the guitar which, true to the spirit of metal, serves as the primus motor with lots of power chords and lots of riffs, too. So, A New Horizon definitely rocks, but there are also plenty of pop-oriented elements - both in synth and vocal melodies - but this does not disturb the overall balance of the album, and The Shiver certainly belong to the category of artists that successfully combine pop and metal.
There is nothing at all wrong with the musicianship or the songwriting, but my fovorite aspect of A New Horizon is Faith's vocals. She is one of those female rock vocalists who are not afraid to belt out some powerful vocals, and she even delivers some ferocious harsh growl-screams as background vocals every now and then. She definitely is one of the main factors in this release having more oompf than many other goth metal releases do.
Fans of acts like Amaranthe will probably like The Shiver's A New Horizon and, with its many uplifting and catchy melodies, the album might even appeal to some listeners who prefer more poppy music.
Tracklisting:
1. In Obscurity
2. Crushing Down
3. Empty People Empty Words
4. The Fragile Sound
5. Nothing Left to Waste
6. Through This Cold Water
7. Leech and Flowers
8. Answers
9. Feel Tomorrow Light
10. Desire
11. No Longer Here
12. Bring Me to Horizon
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
