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Artist: Shakra |
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Never
has an album's name be more relevant than that of Swiss hard rockers
Shakra’s new opus ‘Back On Track’. A band that had six albums
under their belts and their Everest reaching new peaks so to say, then
vocalist Mark Fox up sticks and left the band. So as the shock waves
spread around the Melodic and Hard Rock communities with rumours that
this signaled the the demise of the band, lucky for us though this
wasn't the case and Fox’s departure didn’t stop
Guitarists
Thomas Muster and Thom Blunier continuing on, building on the solid foundations
they had already laid, and replacing Fox with the very talented John Prakesh. Although
a somewhat unknown Prakesh will certainly not remain so for long if this
album is anything to go by. This
is a whole new chapter for the band and they are definitely ‘Back On
Track’, with a harder edged sound that really does match Prakesh’s
superb power driven vocals. This is none more apparent than with the opener
‘B True B You’. This is full on hard rock at its finest, the meaty
guitar licks of Muster and Blunier leading the way for the might of
Prakesh to take the sound to even greater heights. A real ballsy kick-ass
opener. The
great rocking comes thick and fast with the stunning ‘I’ll Be’ on
which Prakesh delivers a first class power vocal, while the twin guitars
throw out the chunky riffs and the rhythm section of Dominik
Pfister on bass and Roger Tanner on drums, brings that modern melodic
metal tone to the table in huge waves of power. The
band's straight up rock sound continues with the excellent riff laden
‘Crazy’ and the superb thumping rock of the title track ‘Back On
Track’. With its anthemic chorus and heady bass lines this one just
ROCKS! Enough said! After
four ballsy hard rockers it’s time to bring it down a touch with the
gentle rock of ‘When I See You’, a song that showcases perfectly
just what a find Prakesh
is, as he shows that he can not only wail a great tune, but that he also has the full
package and delivers a great gentle melodic vocal when needed. ‘MMTWGR’
brings the tempo and vibe back up again big style, this is verging on melodic
metal with its grinding guitars and thunderous rhythm section, add to
that Prakesh’s angst filled vocals and this is definitely the heaviest song on the
album so far and one of my favourites. It's
back to the more traditional hard rock with the stunning ‘Yesterdays
Gone’ and the excellent thumping tones of ‘Someday’, before
bringing the tempo down once more with the fantastic ‘Lonesomeness’. Another
of my favourite tracks off the album has to be ‘Unspoken Truth’, this
one just delivers on so many levels, from the driven guitars to the
solid bass lines, the monstrous drum beat and of course, Prakesh’s
stunning vocals. This
album just keeps on giving as each new track unfolds revealing power and
melody in massive doses. The album heads towards the end without
letting up any as ‘Brand New Day’ delivers a raunchy guitar lick
enclosed in a powerhouse back beat, a real old school rocker, then
there’s the closer the stunning ‘Stronger Than Ever’, a real classy
finish to a stunning album. This album doesn’t dispel the bands hard work over
the last six albums, there is still that intense melodic sound that is
pure Shakra, but with Prakesh delivering one hell of a vocal force, this
is most definitely Shakra moving onward and upward. |
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Tracklisting: 1. B True B You |
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