Shadow Wings
Carry On
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Here's a band that's hard to classify. I first heard they were a thrash outfit, and then I saw posters of the band on telephone poles at Cornerstone, which conveyed an eclectic/artsy hard rock image. Then, when I finally hear the tape, it's neither. Blues rock, metal guitar leads, and both male and female lead vocals are what's present here, but no, they don't really sound like REZ. Try imagining Servant with a couple young guitarists in 1991. That's the best reference I can think of, besides the obvious Pat Benatar comparison on the cover of her big hit "Hell Is For Children". Although playing a style with lots of plodding low end, the synth-pop keyboard lines written into most of the melodies keep this from truly being a heavy metal sound, yet the crunchy guitars are probably going to keep top-40 fans away as well. Lyrically the band is very focused on getting its audience to "put your old life behind you, press into the new" ("Live For The King"). "Finders, Weepers" is a very catchy lyric putting a new twist into the old paradox that "He who loses his life will find it, but he who finds his life will lose it." A really cool ending is the spoken prayer of repentance, making this album a useful tool in closing the transaction of redemption with someone. Besides the spirited version of "Hell Is For Children", the guitar leads of Troy Hillstrom in tunes like "Love's Not A Four-Letter Word" and the intro to "Wake Up", and also the Believer-clone thrash-style vocals in "No Condemnation" stand out and get noticed. In conclusion, I see some potential in Shadow Wings, especially Christina Hillstrom's melodic vocals (maybe an Al Dimeola/mellow/melodic Heart-type direction?), but I would've waited for better material for this debut if I was the producer.