Release: 2020/11/18

Shadow Warrior, founded in 2019, is one of numerous NWOTHM bands who honours classic genre trademarks inspired by the golden era of heavy metal. If you’re willing to give young, motivated outfits a fair chance, you should read on. Otherwise, you may stop at this point and grab your raddled copy of The Number of the Beast or Defenders of the Faith. But that would be a mistake, that’s a guarantee.

Shadow Warrior‘s singer, Anna, has passion and talent. Fortunately, she doesn’t fail to vary her vocal style and offers some surprising elements on Cyberblade. For me, she is the discovery of the year in the category »female metal vocalist«, alongside Kramp‘s charismatic Mina Walkure, of course. A truly stellar performance. But I have to point out the amazing guitar work on this record, too: Shadow Warrior pleases us with soaring solos and blistering riffs. Moreover, the rhythm section is tight and regularly attracts attention. In short, the execution is top-notch.

Next, let’s talk about the songs which mainly deal with Japan and Sci-fi (by the way, do you know the Swedes Katana?). There’s a lot of incredibly infectious melodies to sing along to – check out »Iron Hawk Rising«, for instance. Almost every number is destined to be a blast on stage. You can’t stop banging your head, raising your fists and playing air guitar! There is not a single track I can complain about – the songwriting is quite varied and consistently entertaining. Especially the engrossing, slightly epic album closer »Flight of the Steel Samurai« is impressive – this song shows the band’s full potential. In my opinion, the musicians from Lublin should focus a bit more on compositions in this style in the future.

All in all, the Japan lovers stand out among their peers in the NWOTHM movement. The contagious enthusiasm of the Polish quintet alone would be enough for a safe recommendation to classic metal fans. But that’s not all. Absolutely not! Shadow Warrior isn’t an innovative but a highly talented, energetic heavy metal band who keeps the flame burning. Hopefully, we’ll see them on festivals like Hell over Hammaburg or Keep it True very soon. Dziękuję bardzo!