Where the boundaries of wild and wonderful begin to blur oftentimes do daring and dangerous come into the fold. That can apply to many things with metal music certainly being one of them as we delve through the depths of the underground to eventually come upon acts that very much so go against the grain and bring forth material that can only be considered unorthodox, weird, and sometimes downright bewildering to look upon. At some point, those within the underground trying new things sonically come to territory that’s built on loose footing at best with only the quick and the adept able to come out on top, but where does one draw the line? When does your sound become too much for even the best of us to tackle? Surely, that’s something that was a struggle for Mountain Shadow as they crafted their exceedingly eclectic debut album, yet they still managed to come out on top.
To infuse your metal with a bluegrass feel that makes itself known for a large portion of your creation is already a feat that incredibly few are able to take on. Add on top of that a fascinating mix that pulls from many different corners of extreme metal be it in the form of death and black metal alongside funeral doom metal, and you’re met with a wild cauldron of seething ingredients constantly looking to overpower one another with even the most accomplished of chefs sure to throw in the towel when met with such a prospect. Yet, for all that they dared to bring to the table for their debut creation, Mountain Shadows handles it all with astounding competence, more than enough power to match its concepts, and plenty of passion to make it all feel incredibly genuine. Really channeling the eldritch horrors of the Appalachian hills into a form that is quite striking with the old magic clearly flowing in every given moment, this is an album that is as mesmerizing as it is haunting from beginning to end. The very fabric of reality and conventional sense quickly deteriorate in Mountain Shadow’s realm of offbeat serenity where the night is alive with creatures only known to the madness of the hills while their intense stares and haunting visages drive the mind well past the breaking point. Uncompromising in its heaviness and absolutely off-putting with its surprisingly entrancing bluegrass, Mountain Shadow has achieved a blend that we only receive on the utmost rarest of occasions. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but it cannot be said that Mountain Shadow has missed its mark.
It’s heartening to see the influence of Appalachia beginning to find its way even into the dense underground of metal where many wouldn’t expect to find it, yet it’s because of daring acts like what we have here with Mountain Shadow that we’re able to bear witness to what happens when the concept is given the time and justice that it rightfully deserves. Bold and more than a little bit of unnerving, Mountain Shadow is absolutely a name that I will be keeping a sharp eye on.
LISTENÂ to “Mountain Shadow” on Bandcamp here.
FOLLOWÂ Mountain Shadow on Instagram here.
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