Trollheart

Originally Posted in Bitesize, March 3 2015
(Some slight edits)

(Written almost six years ago now as you can see, and what a suddenly appropriate and unintentionally prophetic title!)


Artiste: Shattered Skies
Nationality: Irish (Yay! …?)
Album: The World We Used to Know
Year: 2015
Label: None; digital release
Genre: Progressive/ Djent Metal
Tracks:
Collapse of Man
The End and the Rebirth
Haunted
15 Minutes
Elegance and Grace
Show’s Over
As the Sea Divides
Flipside
Aesthetics
Saviours
The World We Used to Know
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: These guys are from Wicklow, and my ancestors used to be kings there, so technically they are my subjects…
Initial impression: Oh man I hate … um … love this.
Best track(s): Elegance and Grace, As the Sea Divides, Aesthetics, The World We Used to Know
Worst track(s): There’s nothing bad here.
Comments: Oddly, I had no idea these guys were Irish when I bought the album, which I did just because I happened to like the name, and the few samples I heard. I didn’t even know they were prog metal, so that’s two bonuses. Unless this turns out to be crap. Well I thought I would hate the short intro piece, being just static really but then it broke into an emotional piano piece and I really like it. It’s less than two minutes long though and slides into “The End and the Rebirth”, and for a moment I think I’m hearing an electronica album until the guitar bites through, and now we’re rocking!

The vocalist puts me in mind of Damian Wilson or Sean Filkins, and in fact his name is Sean: Murphy, while the guitars could maybe be pulled back a little in the mix; at times they almost drown him out. Very powerful, energetic stuff though. “Haunted” has a lovely jangly guitar intro before it just explodes all over the place in a really good way, but again the vocals are a little swamped. I am a little disappointed to see on their Bandcamp page they describe themselves as “London-based”. Well, sure, but why not Irish? You know, you can take the boy out of Ireland but … something something. Anyhoo, they do admit to being from Wicklow and Dublin, so I guess that’s okay. Great banging piano intro to “15 Minutes”, whose running time does not reflect its title. Excellent vocal harmonies, when you can make them out, somewhat in the mould of Arena, and I love it when the guitars cut back to allow the piano to take centre stage for a moment.

“Elegance and Grace” presents itself as one of the best tracks so far, but I must admit the guitarist is getting on my nerves a little. It’s like he thinks he has to hammer out the chords all the time and doesn’t know how and when to dial it back. I guess this is what they call djent, from what I read. The track sounds like it should be a ballad, but the man on the frets has other ideas. Still a great song though. The keys, when they’re allowed to poke through the guitar assault, really add a layer of grandeur to the music, such as in the opening to “As the Sea Divides”, before the axes grind (sorry) all over it with, quite frankly, unnecessary violence. You can hear the piano still going in the background but it’s almost completely drowned out till the guitar fades back out and lets it have its head.

We also get to hear vocalist Sean Murphy strut his stuff properly before he’s swamped again, which is a real pity, as it’s kind of ruining the song. If this is djent metal, I’m not so sure I like it. The piano-driven “Aesthetics” is a lovely song, closest they come to a ballad, and the guitarist mostly holds himself back here, which is nice. Is there a choir in there? Could be. Title, and closing track, is pretty brilliant too.
Overall impression: While the guitar may be a little too punchy for me, a bit in-your-face, this is still a fantastic debut, and the fact that the boys are Irish, well sure I have to support them don’t I?
Hum Factor: 7
Surprise Factor: 9
Intention: Follow these guys!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018