Shatter Messiah mark an excellent start for a side-project
A new band you've never heard the name of, let alone a song by, a member of an already popular band, an admittedly pretty bad album cover... you could be forgiven for thinking that Shatter Messiah aren't really going to impress or amaze at all considering how often side-projects go astray. However, this band, formed by Nevermore guitarist Curran Murphy whilst not showing anything particularly godlike in their song stylings, are still much better than you might expect.
Their press release describe Shatter Messiah as 'classic thrash and power goth', and call me lazy, but this release was particularly spot-on. Widdly guitars, which unsurprisingly are reminescent of parts of Nevermore's thrashier moment, mix with fine melodies and the somewhat atypical vocals of singer Greg Wagner. With songs like the head-banging-inviting 'All Sainted Sinners', 'Blasphemer Feeder' and 'Deny God' with its mixture of a relaxing acoustic intro followed by pummelling metal, this is a sharp shock to the system and makes for an impressive debut by the band.
Whilst you and I might have hoped for some of the more melodic, perhaps gothic, parts to have had perhaps a little more emphasis, the style of song writing can't be faulted; it is neither too ambitious or too low-key, instead it is a solid, punchy collection of fourteen thrashy tracks which entertain much more than they bore.
Whilst many might pick it up for its Nevermore connections, this album is simply more than just another side-project... Whilst they don't break any musical boundaries, nor do they really hit the peaks some other bands do, Shatter Messiah and their new release 'Never To Play The Servant' are definitely providing something worth popping in your CD player from time to time. A solid, if not amazing, album.