About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

The latest effort from the Swiss melodic/power metal band is good, but there's plenty of room for improvement.



Pros

• Very melodic and hook oriented.
• Nice guitar work.
• Good production values.

Cons

• Songs get somewhat repetitive.

Description

• Released in North America January 24, 2006 on Candlelight Records.
• It's the band's first U.S. release.
• Shakra self-produced the album.

Guide Review - Shakra - Fall


Shakra's fifth album is filled with creative riffs, memorable choruses and clever melodies. Unfortunately you won't find all of them on one single song. That's the frustrating part. All the ingredients are there, but one song will have a great chorus but a weak melody line. The next will have stellar riffs but a forgettable chorus.

Mark Fox is the band's new vocalist, and he does have a unique sounding raspy sort of voice, but his delivery can be pretty mechanical. There are bursts of passion and emotion, but it needs to be more consistent. I'm not giving up on this band, because they do have the ability and show flashes of brilliance. They just need to sustain it.