Shadowfields [EXPLICIT LYRICS] [IMPORT]

Darkside

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 1999)
• Original Release Date: March 23, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics, Import
• Label: Pavement Records
• ASIN: B00000I83H
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #563,235 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Intro

2. Of Vision and Mental Derangement

3. In Nomine

4. Shades of Pictures in Grey

5. In Your Eyes

6. Noohoorsh

7. Shadowfields

8. Blood on My Hands

9. Requiem

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. , January 12, 2006

By	Thomas Mcconnell "PEPE THE GAY WAITER" (Nevada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The only review and what a waste. How you can compare Austrian death metal to the likes of korn baffles me. This is one of the best melodic death metal albums I have ever graced my ears with. The female vocals are simply beautiful. Noohoorsh is my personal favorite. The story is brilliant. Also check out Cognitive Dissonance. It can be found on eBay for quite cheap. Much heavy then this release but but still possesses Darkside's excellent melodic style, deep grunts, and amazing samples.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good album, terrible sound quality, January 9, 2009

By	Justin Gaines "Corporate Rocker" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

1997's Shadowfields was album number two from Austrian death metallers Darkside, one of the early death metal bands to incorporate heavy symphonic and gothic/atmospheric elements into their extreme metal sound.

Darkside has an interesting sound. It's as brutal as you'd expect from a death metal band, but the heavy emphasis on gothic and symphonic/electronic elements make Shadowfields sound almost like a video game or war epic soundtrack. It makes for a very interesting, and for the most part very compelling mix. The emphasis on atmosphere rather than melody makes the songs harder to warm up to, but repeat listens show where the real gems are. The epic-length tracks "Noohoorsh" (9:59) and "Requiem" (11:35) are great examples of Darkside's style used to full effect.

The main fault - and it's a big one - of Shadowfields is that the sound quality is quite poor, even by 1997 standards. You need much more volume just to hear it regularly, and the additional volume only highlights the flaws in production. It sounds almost demo-quality, and this kind of complex music really deserves much better. I also had a problem with the vocals, which are just grating. I know they're supposed to be harsh (it is a death metal album after all), but this is a bit more abrasive than most.

Unfortunately the poor production and vocal issues drag what should be a 4-star album down into 2-star territory. I'm probably being generous with a 3-star rating, but the songs are really good even if you can't hear them clearly. If you're a fan of gothic-influenced death metal like Crematory, Aion and of course Therion, Shadowfields is worth checking out, but only if you run across a really cheap used copy.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Little Bits o' Everything, July 6, 2000

By	Chris (Stamford, Ct USA) - See all my reviews

I first discovered this band on Mtv. Ha! What a joke... but 1 a.m. does harbor some good music. Well i didnt know exactly what Darkside would be like, but i bought the cd anyway. The lyrical content is not so shabby, but the music rocks. Its like Limp Bizkit meets Korn, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff put into one. Revolutionary sounds, fun, original... This is the real thing! The RETURN OF ROCK! This album rocks.