Shodan – None Shall Prevail
Release Date: 5th May 2023
Label: Time to Kill Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal, Progressive Metal.
FFO: Redemptor, Gomorrah, Rivers of Nihil, Vader, Warbringer.
Review By: Carlos Tirado
The Polish scene has slowly become one of the strongest ones in European metal, despite its controversies. Bands like Vader, Decapitated, Behemoth, Batushka, Mgła, and more underground acts such as Voidhanger, Redemptor, and Obscure Sphinx, have already carved their place in the international metal scene. After a solid decade of metal, it looks like the talent flood will continue in Poland.
Shodan is a progressive death metal three-piece formed in Wrocław, Poland, in 2013. I wasn’t familiar with their previous albums. So, I dove into None Shall Prevail with no preconceptions. The first thing that hit me was the ominous beginning of Tamed in Unison. There’s been an increasing tendency in progressive metal albums to have intro and interlude tracks that rarely add anything to the whole album. However, Shodan avoids this and presents a first track that tell us exactly what they’re about. Relentless intensity and one aggressive riff after the other.
I appreciate that the album never gets boring, despite some songs being stronger than others. Staring Back at the Abyss and Nicość Wiekuista are catchy and show powerful riffs that could make any metalhead headbang. However, I’d say Lords is a track that feels like an unnecessary interlude. I understand that the intention is to give the listener some room to breathe, but space is my only heavy complaint about this album. The music is so loud and compressed, that it reminds me of Fallujah’s The Flesh Prevails (an album that I love, regardless of its production issues); the drumming feels muddy and smothered in the mix. It’s a real shame because the tracks have solid hooks and tons of interesting ideas that for some might feel incoherent, but to me feels just right. It shows how complex yet light None Shall Prevail is. So many of its ideas seem wildly different, but the trio blends them with ease.
The album also has more thrash elements as it reaches its end. Some of these late riffs are reminiscent of Warbringer or Horrendous. There are also sections that jump into furious tremolo picking that seem inspired by old school Norwegian black metal. All these comparisons highlight Shodan’s musical versatility and prevents me from putting a static label on them, which I think it’s good. Though the album is short, I think their second half is the strongest one (if we exclude Lords). I should also mention that the guitar solos are amazing! Death metal tends to have two types of solos, extremely chaotic or extremely technical. I feel Shodan manages a balance between these two, by taking the thrashy approach and making technical solos, but always putting groove and melody as their priority.
In an era where progressive metal albums are getting longer and more pretentious. Shodan brings us 40 minutes of intricate, but direct and catchy music. I think they have potential to grow and that their best work is yet to come. In the meantime, I think None Shall Prevail will keep you headbanging!
(3.5 / 5)
