If the history of metal has taught us anything, it’s that it’s incredibly risky for a band to change their sound. There have been success stories, but metal fans tend to be quite conservative about musical growth and generally like their favourite bands to maintain a particular style. A gradual, organic evolution is fine, but any drastic alterations usually end in pushback and cries of “sell out.” Anyone remember Cold Lake by CELTIC FROST? No? Good. Chris Martin is only too painfully aware of this. As guitarist for Norwich four-piece SHRAPNEL, he’s spent over a decade writing and performing classic Bay Area style thrash, releasing three well-received albums and building a small but devoted following in the UK underground.
SHRAPNEL were old school thrashers through and through and that’s what drew people to them.
The key word there is ‘were.’ SHRAPNEL have taken a stylistic detour on In Gravity, their fourth full-length and while thrash is still very much in their DNA, it’s no longer alone. This time around, they’ve taken inspiration from more modern acts like GOJIRA and BLEED FROM WITHIN as well as old favourites like TESTAMENT or EXODUS.
“We’ve already done three traditional thrash records and we’ve got to a point where we don’t want to hold onto that,” he explains. “It would be more of a sell out for us to start doing stuff just to appease other people and not doing things that were important to us and what we wanted to do. Is the record slightly more commercial sounding? I mean, yeah, I guess so. It’s a bit more accessible, but we’re doing our own thing.”
Creating something that was true to themselves was an important part of the writing process. Chris and his bandmates are no longer the excitable youngsters they were when the band started back in 2009. They’ve been through some harsh times.
“The last three years have been really, really tough for us all,” Chris says. “We’ve lost family members, we’ve gone through divorce. We’ve had our lives turned upside down for the most part and we used the writing of this record as a coping strategy.”
One of the most difficult experiences was when their former singer Aaran Tucker went through a severe personal crisis which culminated in an attempt to take his own life. The good news is that according to Chris, Aaran is recovering and in a much better headspace nowadays, but he understandably had to step back from the band and concentrate on his own wellbeing. This caused a lot of self-reflection in the SHRAPNEL camp and made it mentally challenging to continue with their old approach. It’s hard to carry on as normal when one of your friends has tried to end it all.
Alongside this, the introduction of Daniel Moran as the frontman was a major factor in their stylistic shift. Chris is full of praise for the band’s new singer, describing him as “an incredible musician and vocalist,” and credits him with the album’s epic three-part finale. As Above, So Below, and Absolution were originally a single track and form a definitive closing statement. It’s the most ambitious composition SHRAPNEL have ever written and demonstrates their confidence in this fresh direction. Dan’s involvement in the band started as a temporary thing, but they soon knew they wanted him full time.
“We needed someone to step in because we had a GAMA BOMB tour to do in the UK. Dan was able to meet up with us and the first time I actually met him was the night of the first show. We hadn’t rehearsed together but he did a great job and afterwards we had to keep him. We were able to convince him to stay and he’s done an amazing job since.”
His confident vocal performance is perfectly suited to In Gravity and it must be said, while purists might be disappointed by SHRAPNEL’s new direction, it’s a really good album. There are catchy hooks, textured songwriting and a healthy understanding of how to balance light and shade. Plus, there’s still more than a little thrash in the mix. On tracks such as Guardian, they’re happy to blast out fast riffs and bang heads like the old days. They might love Fabulous Disaster and Reign In Blood, but they’re not ignoring From Mars To Sirius or Ashes Of The Wake anymore.
So, even if the opening title track does raise an eyebrow or two, In Gravity is a promising start to SHRAPNEL’s new era. They’ve created an engaging and highly competent metal album with a great deal of emotional weight and musical depth. They’ve had some encouraging feedback in response to the early singles, but even if the album flops, it’s still one of their best. Here at DS headquarters, we’ve got a lot of time for The Virus Conspires, Raised On Decay, and Palace For The Insane, but In Gravity is their most honest record so far. According to Chris, they knew they were onto something when they started writing.
“It fell together so easily. I think because we were all going through difficult circumstances at the same time, we were all kind of in the same headspace. We were all moving in the same direction with things and bouncing ideas and our problems off each other. The music came together really quickly and easily, almost too easily, compared to the previous records.”
In Gravity is out now via Candlelight Records.
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