Shake the Earth is the fourth full length release for NJ metallers Arctic Flame. Their last release was Guardian at the Gate in 2011. For the most part the album is comprised of the usual good solid metal that Arctic Flame is known for but this time out the band is being fronted by Michael Clayton Moore who is using his considerable range of vocal styles on this release. If you are not familiar with AF then you might get thrown off by their unique twists to their songs. The most obvious trait is their propensity for creating intros that suddenly transition into a totally different sound and feel. At times I think that perhaps the intro riff was something that was just too good to throw away so it got used as an intro for an unrelated song. Don't get me wrong those intro riffs are excellent in their own right.
So basically we have 10 tracks here, Although that sounds like a traditional metal track count, the final track is over 9 minutes long. A bit too long for this reviewer but then again I have a certain bias about long songs. For most of the tracks the guitars are crisp and crunchy. They really ring with that pure Marshall tone. Nice distortion but with a certain very satisfying clarity. The beginning of "Two Sides Of The Bullet" really shows off this great tone. While we talk tone Mike Paradine's drums on this are top notch. They perfectly match the guitar tone. No heavy double bass blast beats. In fact the entire tone of the drums is much more mid range than most current metal offerings. It's a nice change and really adds to the overall old school feel. So if you like that 82 era Judas Priest/Iron Maiden sound you will most likely enjoy this. Standout tracks are Last Chance, Two Sides Of The Bullet and Man Made Man.
Okay, there are a few things that did fall a bit flat for me. The big one was track 9 "Rain". To me this was more a nod to Michael's past work but I don't think a ballad that borders on a Broadway piece belongs on an AF album. The second rough spot was the aforementioned 9 minute closing track.
I will add that AF did do something really cool with this release and it revolves around the artwork. I'm always moaning about the fact that the 12x12 album cover is far superior for metal artwork. Although the release is on CD they have included a 12 inch gatefold cover. How friggin cool is that? Check out the artwork below and imagine it blown up to 12x12.
So in total FoM gives this one an 8 out of 10.
We will be featuring a track off of Shake The Earth as the track of the week on episode 113 so you can get a taste before you grab yourself this one...and I think you'll agree that it's worth having.
You can get it right off the bands site and at the Pure Steel Store.
TRACKLISTING
1. Man Made Man
2. Two Sides Of The Bullett
3. Last Chance
4. Call In The Priest
5. Ride Of The Headless Horseman
6. Hangmens Prayer
7. Slaves To The Alchemist
8. Run To Beat The Devil
9. Rain
10. Seasons In The Cemetery (Garden Of Stone)
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You can also get the release at:
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