SHYLOCK - review added 3rd March 2010
Album Review: RockBuster (2010)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and rumours
RockBuster marks more than a decade in music for German band Shylock. Their debut song 'Can’t Let U Go' was released around the turn of the century. Their self-titled debut album follow soon after.
The second release, Pyronized, saw them going out on tour with bands like Bonfire, Axxis, Shakra, Primal Fear and more. Welcome To Illusion and Devotion followed, leading us up to the present day.
The line-up has changed considerably over the years, and is currently Matthias Schenk on vocals and acoustic guitar, Johannes Amrhein and Michael "Nudge" Bayer on lead and rhythm guitars, plus Achim Thiergärtner on drums. According to the Shylock website, Bernhard Schwingenstein plays bass with the band for live shows. It isn't 100% clear who recorded the thick-string-sounds on the album.
Sound-wise, RockBuster is rather splendid. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing any of Shylock's older albums, but they seemed to be held in reasonably esteem. The tunes here mix up heaviness and more melodic styles with abandon. There's plenty of hard hitting rock interspersed with softer effects and harmonies, chunks of metal, even a bit of Egyptian music thrown in for good measure. The end result is full of class and very enjoyable. Special note should be made of Matthias' voice. He is a bloody good singer.
Opener 'Damn Good' is a seriously catchy feel-good track with a huge chorus. 'Dawn' is a near-power-metal experience with a load of top guitar riffs. Matthias dominates the album, but credit must go to the musicianship. It's first rate. The cover of Timex Social Club’s 'Rumours' is on another level though. Cool lyrics, catchy hooks and a big chorus DO a good song make. 'Sunshine vs. Rain' reminds me of numerous tracks from Def Leppard's X. It has a modern, acoustic feel layered onto a bedrock of light breezy rock. It isn't necessarily my thing, but the sound is nice and crisp and the song is well put together.
'Just For U' is fast and fun with a real urgent nature. 'Much' is hard hitting and great too. The chorus is plucked from the top shelf of the excellence shop. As is the one in next track 'Rose Of Cairo'. The song starts in innocuous fashion, but soon finds its legs and turns into something amazing. Love the Egyptian melodies too. 'Strong' - yet again - has a superb chorus. The verses are a tad subdued, but when the song gets going...it really gets going.
'Somebody Else' sees the album suddenly going all punk-mad for a short period. The track eventually turns into something more melodious, but it's a little off the wall in the beginning! 'The Moment' is a fine modern hard rocker which could easily bother the charts in a big way. It's that good. 'We Are' heads back to heavy town. It's not quite as good as some of the other tracks on the album, but perfectly decent by normal measures. Final entry 'Wrong Planet' is a good'un, again considerably bigger on the chorus than the verses, but we'll let it off simply because the end guitar solo is amazing.
RockBuster is a very good album with several excellent tracks. If you have a thing for music in the hard/heavy rock genre, Shylock really are worth a long considerate look and listen. We like it. A lot.
Check out... Pretty much all of it - especially the choruses.
Track List:
01. Damn Good
02. Dawn
03. Rumours
04. Sunshine vs. Rain
05. Just For U
06. Much
07. Rose Of Cairo
08. Strong
09. Somebody Else
10. The Moment
11. We Are
12. Wrong Planet
Label: Metal Heaven
Artist's website(s): Shylock , MySpace
