Snowblind "Shapes In The Trees" EP Review

 

    Over a decade ago a potentially sublime band would come to fruition,this very band is the brilliant Progressive Metal trio Snowblind their early sound was a mix of Thrash Metal in the vein of Megadeth with subtle progreesive leanings in the mould of Rush,these two influences still hold true to this day but their sound has become more expansive and musically they've matured one thousand fold, although their last release was a really long nine years ago,they would still play live pretty regularly including at the renowned Bloodstock Festival in the UK, it will all become apparent why they took so long to bring out the absolutely phenomenal new EP Shapes In The Trees.

  Kicking it off with the infinitely epic title track Shapes In The Trees nothing will prepare you for the absolutely mental time signatures and genre defying gymnastics throughout this, the start sounds similar to something Rush would do then they launch into a really heavy passage that harks back to their early thrash influences,a new element they've introduced which is a huge but welcome curveball is the twin Vocals from Ian McKeon( like a mix of Di'Anno & Geddy Lee) & Sean Boland which sees them switching between really aggressive and soaring vocals to a more Blues/Rock Based Vocal delivery that shows an ode to Thin Lizzy or Budgie,also there's some sort of Psychedelic element to the lyrical and structure of the song which can be best described as like some Hullucinogenic dream were you go between been relaxed and like been lost in some nightmarish dream that you can't escape,the twin vocals help to portray this brilliantly, we treated to some real old school rock tendnecies on Barrow Wight that also have subtle sludge hints similar to mid era Mastodon, there's also plenty of massive homages to Thin Lizzy & Gary Moore with the absolutely killer Guitar work,already two song in you can feel yourself getting lost in the sheer volume of all that is going on,at times it's just so immersive and mind boggling you just need to let it all sink in.

 

   

The blues tinged elements of Burning Red are totally mesmerizing and hint at more old school rock escapades which sound both retro and modern at the same time,everything throughout this oozes quality,the melody and harmonies combined with the sublime drumming of Jake McCarthy drive this in a different territory then the previous tracks,it's almost like some love story gone wrong were you've been through a lot of heartache and  struggle, The shortest and catchiest song on the EP is the brilliant groove laden Primal Spy this has a  real air of confidence and swagger about it with the delivery of the vocals and music, again this one owes an ode to old school rock, closing track Go Forth has a great combo of Traditional Heavy Metal reminiscent of early Iron Maiden,especially with McKeon's vocal delivery,also the guitar harmonies hint at this as well, this gives the overall product a really cool nostalgic vibe while still having plenty of modern elements for your listening pleasure.

 

  

  Despite such a long period between releases Snowblind really have come of age and delivered an absolutely mind blowing masterpiece of epic proportions, anyone who was doubting they'd capture the essence of what they were doing 8/9 years ago will be hugely mistaken this just renders everything they've done before almost obsolete,that's not a condemnation of their earlier work but this release is flawless to me,everytime i listen  to it on i discover something new ,this is definitely a true contender for EP of the year within the Irish Rock & Metal Scene and verifies why Snowblind have always being highly thought of,long may it continue for years to come.

RATING:10/10

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