Saturday 28 November 2015

Shevils - The White Sea (Album Review)


Release date: November 16th 2015. Label: Self Released. Format: DD

The White Sea – Tracklisting

01. I Wear the Skies
02. We Could Leave the World
03. One Thousand Years
04. The Death of Silence
05. Black Summer
06. Shivers
07. Wordsmiths
08. Fireflies
09. When Will I See You Again?
10. The White Sea

Band Members:

Anders Voldrønning (Vocal)
Andreas Andre Myrvold (Guitar)
Anders Emil Rønning (Drums)

Review:

Norway's Shevils have just released their 3rd album – The White Sea. These guys were a complete mystery to me before I listened to their new album. I can't comment on how they sounded on their earlier releases but damn this is one superb album with plenty of angry vocals and riffs to match.

Shevils play an intelligent mix of Hardcore, Punk, Rock and Metal. Whilst the album offers moments of heavy Sludge Rock, Shevils are primarily a Hardcore Punk/Metal band influenced by the likes of The Melvins, Helmet and Fugazi. If you're a fan of Cancer Bats then Shevils will speak volumes to you.

Opening track – I Wear The Skies – is an intense blend of Hardcore, Punk and Rock played at a fast pace. It's a simply played song but it's how Shevils deliver the music and the message of the song that makes it such an exciting listen. The instrumental work is frantic and choppy at times but at least Shevils are living upto their Hardcore/DIY ethic.

Second track – We Could Leave The World – is a bass heavy affair that fans of Hardcore will dig up in spades. The lyrics are what you would expect from a song such as this. Pissed off and direct off to the point. It's cool the band offer vibes of Psychedelic Noise later on the song. The vocals are crisp through out but lack the menace from the opening track. It can be very funk-driven at times but that's good as it shows there's a lot more to Shevils music.

Third track – One Thousand Years – is one of the albums standout tracks. A proper sludge rock groove merged with hardcore punk as the band blast their way through another hard-hitting track. Lead vocalist – Anders is having a ball here unleashing his frustration to an unsuspecting world.

Fourth track – The Death Of Silence – has an early Cancer Bats vibe running through it and the vocals once again hold your attention. The instrumental work deserve praise as even though they sound rather simple and stripped back, Shevils offer a few moment of progressive style riffs especially for a 3 piece band.

The album offers 10 tracks and I'm not going to do a song by song analysis as the rest of the album follows the same path as the first 4 songs on the album. Fast-paced and hard-hitting Hardcore Punk with a snarling Sludge Rock/Metal outlook on life. Other great songs to check out are: Shivers, Fireflies and the sublime title track – The White Sea.

Shevils offer an exciting take on all things Hardcore. Sure they play their luck at times on the album but that's a minor complaint as The White Sea is a fucking blast from start to finish. The production is loud and crisp throughout. It gives Shevils a chance to shine in the spotlight and believe me they take that opportunity in creating an exciting and pissed off experience that will stay with you for a very long time to come.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Shevils for the promo. The White Sea is available to buy from all good stockists now.

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