CD Review: The Darker Shore

The Mechaphysik (Love Muffin)

Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 4:00 am

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On their debut album, the Darker Shore explore a moody metal sound that eventually charts a predictable course. The nine songs on The Mechaphysik are informed by classic metal, with elements of hardcore, thrash, and post-grunge. They tend to linger in mid-tempo — heavy on the atmospheric and epic. Guitarist Tony Klein sounds like he's listened to a lot of clean, slicing chords as well as some grimy Alice in Chains riffs, and Eric Scott channels Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson's operatic style throughout. The Darker Shore make good use of dynamics, but the songs' arcs and tones blend together. The quartet eventually stretches out, especially on the 11-minute "Dark House." — Chris Parker