Shield of Wings – Unfinished (Elderpath Records)
Monday, 28th February 2022
Although together since the mid 2000’s, Illinois symphonic/gothic metal act Shield of Wings has gone through a major overhaul in terms of lineup. Their debut EP Solarium came out in 2011, the band going on a bit of a break before slowly assembling two new lead vocalists and bassist to round out the quintet. Unfinished encompasses material that has roots going back a decade, a ten-song effort that contains a variety of influences and dynamics across not just the power, symphonic, and gothic spectrums, but also including some modern/extreme accents ensuring a wider depth of sound for the record.
A short orchestration gives way to thunderous double kick and churning guitars in a Kamelot-fashion for opener “Crushing Hail” – the comforting melodies and graceful rising/descending note work from Lara Mordian immediately mesmerizing. Encompassing cinematic/film score influences from Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and Howard Shore builds out specific orchestration and keyboard aspects for “Native Colossus” and “Mind of Myth” – the latter somber in texture, the conventional guitar, bass, and drum instrumentation pulsating in a slightly modern/progressive context while Aliyah Daye provides chilling harsh vocals to contrast Lara’s shimmering clean duties. Folk-like measures penetrate “Cedar” – much like Nightwish have explored over recent years, the stunted rhythms heavier in an Epica meets Evergrey-oriented manner. The guitar playing/ orchestration choices from James Gregor is thoughtful, far reaching in scope, and always services the needs, mood, and atmosphere for the arrangement at hand. When needing to be brooding or dark, you’ll hear it within “Breathing” – while the tender ballad “Come Home” showcases lush strokes, careful electric placement on sparse occasions, letting the vocals and atmosphere carry the workload. The finale “The Scarred Clay Reshaping” at over seven-minutes shifts across the symphonic metal landscape – featuring a bevy of strong verse/musical highlights, the pacing progressive and epic, including virtuoso movements that flesh out to a thunderous conclusion.
Unfinished proves that US bands can still provide their own take on a style already established to headline status for many European acts. Shield of Wings are safely in contender status talk through this professional release – and could ascend much like Seven Spires up the ranks with seasoning and continual attention to detail for future recordings.
