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Shakra: Snakes & Ladders
Shakra: Snakes & Ladders
Melodic Heavy Metal
3.5/5.0
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AFM Records
Review: Craig Hartranft
Added: 22.11.2017
With vocalist Mark Fox firmly and permanently back in the fold (at least for now), Swiss metal band Shakra returns with their eleventh album, Snakes & Ladders. As expected from Shakra, this album is a do-over, a consistent repetition of their signature melodic heavy metal infused with a hard rock groove.
Shakra
Suffice to say then, if you're a fan of the band, you know what you're getting and you'll be pleased with this album. The signature Shakra elements remain: razor sharp riffs in twin guitar harmony, rabid guitar solos, a thundering rhythm section, and Fox's Bryan Adams-like raspy vocals. Then they invest all these things with a catchy melodies and a hard rock groove. Sometimes their heavy metal can have an AOR-like accessibility as with Something You Don't Understand and The Seeds. Or Shakra can take a turn to a heavy metal ballad with Open Water. But mostly there's hard and heavy metal rockers like Friday Nightmare, The Race Of My Life, and I Will Rise Again, with its cowbell start. Alternatively, while it's subtle, there seems to be a latent blues groove to Rollin'. In the end, Snakes & Ladders is simply Shakra being Shakra, delivering melodic heavy metal infused with a hard rock groove. As the old adage goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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The Bottom Line
Snakes & Ladders is simply Shakra being Shakra, delivering melodic heavy metal infused with a hard rock groove. As the old adage goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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