*SHELS

So, I'm bored. That's why i will review the unreviewed albums from the unreviewed album section in this same web. Right now I'm 17 years old, let's see if i can get to 10000 albums reviewed before I die, because I know that i will never finish reviewing albums, everyday new music is created and published. So, I'm gonna review every song on the albums and give my opinion about every song as well.

This album (actually an EP) is from *shels is a British-American rock group, which was formed in 2003. So, let's see:

Atoll, this is a little introduction to the EP, not even a song itself. "To my dear love, hold me in your memories, and move past our parting, for I am with you always" Is all that it says, a very sad context.

The next song is Fireflystarrs1, the song is mostly a calm and relaxing guitar then suddenly a screaming metal-like part comes up (It scared me, I was waiting for something relaxing, thought it was a rock band lmao). The melody of the guitar is simple but lovely, I liked it

Fireflystarrs 2 is the next one, this uses the same formula as Fireflystarrs1, a calm part, then a screaming part and it goes like that. Something that I like is how the vocalist gets those high notes, very talented. Something that I dislike is the big distortion in the guitars, they are incredibly distorted, but it is a Post-Metal EP so I should have expected that.

Wingsfortheirsmiles 1 is the next song, and it is just a calm guitar part. Nothing interesting

Wingfortheirsmiles 2 now it's an actual song, it starts in a heavy manner, i liked the combination between the heavy and acoustic parts. Although it has some melodic acoustic guitar parts it doesn't have any other interesting thing to offer.

The next and final song is M, a very ambient-like song, with a calm guitar part as well. Nothing interesting either.

If you are a fan of Experimental Post Metal you should hear this album, it has some interesting moments on it, but mostly it's boring and senseless.

'Journey to the Plains' The opening seconds create a vaguely lonely feeling right away, but when the band opens up, the music is as grand and spacious as the plains of the Midwest. The repetitive lead that serves as the pinnacle of the piece works beautifully over the basic chord progression.

'Plains of the Purple Buffalo (Part One)' Thin, distant guitar makes me think of rainfall pattering on a tin roof in the dark desert.

'Plains of the Purple Buffalo (Part Two)' In stark contrast to part one, part two comes in heavy and triumphant. The uplifting nature of the piece reaches a stunning climax midway through.

'Searching For Zihuatanejo' Although a quiet somnolence pervades the first half, the band's characteristic jubilance returns in the second. It's almost as poignant as Red violating his parole and reuniting with his friend Andy Dufrense.

'Vision Quest' This sounds like wandering around in the desert at night, searching for some hidden meaning, only to have the sunrise spill over the horizon, bathing the seeker in its radiance.

'Atoll' Here is a fleeting, angelic interlude.

'Butterflies (On Luci's Way)' This is initially different. Instead of sweeping melodic post rock or still peacefulness, the band offers a gentle acoustic song that quickly evolves into the former style.

'Сrown of Eagle Feathers' This short piece is more in line with generic post rock, only with a heavier wash of sound.

'Bastien's Angels' Incredibly quiet (at times nonexistent) and then explosive, this piece is not on par with some of the more majestic passages that the album has presented up to this point.

'Conqueror' Another quiet but impassioned song, this has an almost tribal, spiritual feel to it.

'The Spirit Horse' Barely audible, 'The Spirit Horse' eventually returns to the tribal-inspired post rock.

'Waking' Another inexplicably quiet piece, this one repeats the same passages.

'Leaving the Plains' Using a brass lead and with a calm, anthem-like demeanor, the final piece seems like a wondrous valediction.

"Plains Of Purple Buffalo" brings Post-Rock to places where it's never been: one of the finest releases of the year.

Post-Metal is not a rarity these days, many bands out there are imitating much of the old school, Post-Rock, or Sludge Metal. This is not exactly the case of this London act, *Shels, one of the most unique sounding bands I've heard in a while. Their attitude towards this kind of music is haunting, dreamy, but especially very sincere, in almost a juvenile sort of way, while at the same time, it becomes one of the most earthly and visceral experiences you'll ever have. "Plains Of Purple Buffalo", the sophomore LP, perfectly represents the enigmatic dichotomy.

This relatively obscure gem redefines for one hour and twenty minutes Post-Rock, but you can tell that this little revolution, sadly, will remain within the boundaries of the album and will most likely never influence much music in the future, due to it's overlooked nature. The music is extremely haunting, whether it is calm or violent: it also goes for an extreme choice volume-wise, as there is minimalism in the mellower parts and visceral, pounding distortion in the heavy moments. The band loves to experiment with new sounds and ideas on every song, meaning there's a great variety of instrumentation with also a different song structure ever time. Some of the most noticeable sounds, besides strange synth noises or guitar effects, are the saxophone, which appears in most of the songs here, some strings, but especially the vocals: these are the most precious and unique addition to the sound, ironically enough; they are always lost in the mix, put at a lower volume than the guitars, so that the lyrics are inaudible. However, this feature strengthens the idea that *Shels wanted to give with this album: they wanted you to feel overwhelmed by sound, and at the same time, cry in joy for it. The violent parts truly resemble being hit by a pack of buffalos that is running only for the sake of doing so. The vocals, like the listener, are resembling someone who's trying to get some air from all that stomping, and the result is so beautiful, it almost makes violence the most gorgeous thing on the planet.

This obscure gem, like it was mentioned, brings Post-Rock/Post-Metal in a place where it's never been, and probably would never again return without *Shels. Entering into the world of "Plains Of Purple Buffalo" is like dreaming to hide in your closet in the dark, only to find in there your little, melancholic, desolate world, that belongs only to you. With this album I couldn't help recalling children's books where you enter fantastic, dreamy places, and you bring with you all of your innocence. But when violence overwhelms you, everything seems clear, and violence becomes part of your conception of beauty and joy. It might seem pessimistic, but in truth, it is the most positive and powerful album you'll hear this year, as it turns everything into a dream, a reverie.

As far as the highlights are concerned, well, the album has plenty: from the multi parted opening track, which gives a perfect introduction, "Journey To The Plains". This track is basically a summary of the album to come, all of the defining traits are found in these seven minutes. After that, the remaining hour is a much more developed, detailed, focused, but also stretched out version of the opening minutes: the two part title track is a very complete sounding piece of music, ranging from Ambient influences (almost exclusively in part 1) to Sludge Metal. "The Spirit Horse"' is probably the most memorable and moving songs here, with a brilliant intro and an absolutely wonderful main section, where I can't help thinking about Shoegaze. Same thing for the more cheerful "Butterflies On Luci's Way", with it's almost childish hook, or "Vision Quest", or the dreamiest atmosphere or all, "Conqueror".

These songs change shape, set a different mood every few minutes, and that is something I've always found magical in an album. A stunningly beautiful, complex, eclectic and finally complete piece of art, a little gem that should be recognized much more. No doubt one of the peak moments of the year, as well one of the best modern albums of Post-Rock.

SOTDD does not fall into clichés of most post-metal oversaturated repetition. A piece like "Water-part I" is the key example, a modern rock ballad sounding like a powerchord-heavy anthem. The band's willingness not to fall into the pitfall of post-rock trappings - based on constant rise and fall of dynamics- is admirable. Listen to the explosion of distorted guitars in the middle of opener "The Conference of the Birds", that smoothly slides to an acoustic crescendo which builds into a reprise of the distorted section and a barrage of strings, brass, and heavy octave guitar work.

Shels has succeeded to integrate some metalcore aesthetics into a progressive rock style. They perform a progressive sound without being syrupy, without entering realms of unnecessary pretension. Shels does not embrace the arty atmosphere of a band like Isis. Every piece of music is perfectly arranged. Shels combines worlds of complete originality and typical clichés, a successful formula.

That definitely deserves a full 4-star rating, impatiently expecting their second album..

The music on Laurentian´s Atoll is a continuation of the style which was dominant on the debut album. This means great dynamic playing which alternates between slow heavy parts and beautiful subtle acoustic parts. Most of the time the music is instrumental but there are both clean and angry ( semi-growling) vocals in the music.

Some of the songs seem a bit like unfinished sketches, but they are still enjoyable and way above standard for the genre. Most songs are excellent examples of the style Shels seem to have perfected already this early in their career. The music sometimes reminds me of Pelican, but I must admit that I enjoy Shels more. The album starts with a short intro and then Water starts. It´s the most commercial song here and I´m reminded of Emo which at first scared me a bit, but in small doses this seems to please me. The Emo influence doesn´t turn up again and the rest of the album is in Post rock/ metal style. The EP lasts for 37:31 minutes so you get a lot of value for your money. They could easily have released this as a full length album. As mentioned the songs are in similar style to the ones on Sea of the Dying Dhow and I almost suspect that the songs on Laurentian´s Atoll are high quality leftovers from the Sea of the Dying Dhow sessions.

The musicianship is great but it´s the production that´s the real winner here. Clean and sharp yet warm.

This is a very enjoyable EP and I´ll recommend this to anyone into melodic mostly instrumental Post rock/ metal. For fans of Pelican this is a must buy. 4 stars is well deserved.

The music is very melodic and even though it has all the trademarks of the post rock/ metal genre like repetitive slow building riffs, sporadic vocals and dynamics that shifts between crushingly monumental metal riffing and quit acoustic parts it´s not trivial and it never gets generic. This is music that provokes images in your mind. I find it very beautiful. The singing isn´t the most dominant feature on the album, but when it does appear it gives just the right lift to the songs. The vocals range from emo rock like vocals to hardcore grunts. The music is mostly instrumental though. The mood is a bit lighter than much post rock/ metal I have encountered before. It´s not happy though, but lets just say it´s a dark tunnel with a light in the end.

The musicians are very tight and Sea of the Dying Dhow oozes of class and good atmosphere among the musicians.

The production is one of the best I have heard in this kind of style and I can only praise the responsible producer for making this possible.

For fans of the genre this is a must, even though bands like Isis and Pelican have already covered most of the territory visited here. Shels have their own approach though and it´s a very enjoyable one. I´ll rate Sea of the Dying Dhow 4 stars and it comes highly recommended from me.

Can you imagine an album in which you can literally swim in its music? For me, this is such an album.

The interplay of electro-acoustic guitars with the devastating heavy riffs of the electric guitars is a great ear-catcher. Done very well and makes for a great listening experience. This band puts emphasize on emotion, melody and power in their music. Crushing upon you with their heaviness is not the only thing they know how to do; they also deliver smoother and softer facets, creating beautiful soundscapes of marvelous power and beauty.

The music can come tumbling upon you like a ton of bricks (The White Umbrella Part 2). The riffs are just like I love them; crunchy, heavy, raw and wide. But here is also the good thing about these guys; there's no dominance of the heavy upon the subtle. On the contrary, where softness is needed, it is given its place; in the aforementioned song, the light and delightful part follows the heavy one and they co-exist together so well. The switch is natural, flowing easily from one to the other. The vocals are mostly on the clear and malleable side, fitting very well with the two opposing facets of the music, those being the soft where they enhance it and the harsher where they contrast it. When they are on the more ferocious side, they are very well done, fit the music perfectly and add to the rawness of the sound and to the volume of the music. Another good thing here is that it is not a shiny and clean production; rather it is crispy, hard edged and somewhat raw, whether in the overall sound or specifically in the guitar riffs.

I find that I make the most of listening to this album during night time; there is fantastic soundscape weaving here and a great interplay of mellow and harsh. It is an album that is pretty accessible but that needs several listens to appreciate its beauty and intricacies, mainly due to its length. There is a very good balance between the scenic musical soundscapes and the more song-oriented songs which makes for a well equilibrated album and a varied sounding album.

This album has all the right elements, and all act synergistically to create what is an exceptional listening experience. This is not a simply metal release; it is an exercise in texture making, in layering, and in building tension through contrast while actually reaching harmony. Powerful is a word that is used often, but in this case, the word does not only describe the metal elements, but also the emotions the music elicits. Last but not least, the art of composing an appealing tune is applied here throughout the album; melody is oozing from each moment of each track. It is compelling and haunting music; such that stays with me after the album is done and which makes me want to come back and listen to it again.

What you should do: Get this album, dim the lights, put this cd in your player, sit down, close your eyes and be carried away by and with the music.

More than 4 stars...

The album starts with the full version of Water, a borderline pop song, but this time with an acoustic twist at the end, then the next half of the album follows in the footsteps of Sea of Dying Dhow, with lots as mesmerizing atmospheres and soundscapes. But in the second half of City of the Swan, we're given a small taste of heaviness that wasn't in the original album. So after the new version of the white umbrella part two, comes one of the most phenomenal post meta songs of all time, Fireflystarrs. At first it starts a little off the grind from the normal atmospheric acoustic, but begins with an eerie electric guitar riff, and after a small build up, hell brakes lose. Palm muted guitars with a hardcore esque vocal performance immediately takes you off your feet, and from then on the song demands your full attention as it switches from soft to loud withing the blink of an eye. Not only does this song introduce the sheer brutality of the group, but it's followed by the song wingfortheirsmiles, which pretty much the last song on a major scale.

I feel bad for giving this band two five star reviews, for their only collections of music, but I got to hand it to them, they are by far the most exciting band in the field of the ever expanding post metal genre. And I believe they will come out with yet another astonishing album, this group is not to be overlooked.

4 stars

I stumbled across this album mainly by accident, as it was recommended to me by a friend, and I thought I'd give it a go, and boy, am I glad I did. *shels is a band that may seem like it comes all too often, but in reality comes far too little in this music scene, or Post Metal scene.

Sea of the Dying Dhow is an album that is aimed at conjuring emotions, imagery and egnimatic sound scapes. The mystery of GY!BE is there, but the incredibly heavy metal side is also evident. Accoustic guitars play a very prominent role in the band, which adds the needed variety to keep the band aloof from it's traditional counterparts. It may be your traditional start soft; get loud Post Rock/Metal band stylings, but they really don't just mold in all that well. The atmosphere in this album is killer, but it doesn't just reside within the GY!BE eningmatic-forboding and dreary atmosphere. It has upbeat, almost happy sounding sections, angry, or even brutal sections, that accentuate the juxtaposition of the atmospheres (Yes, I know that statement is a jargon filled mouth full) incredibly well. *shels loves to stagger the lines transition, changing from dreamy accoustic wonder, to angry, relentless metal guitar riffing, and then back to delicate accoustics before you have time to acclimate yourself, leaving yourself wondering what exactly happened, and (in my case) loving it.

I won't (as I usually don't) go into individual track reviews, but I must say, if you listen to just one track, listen to The Conference of the Birds. This song is the single song that sold me on the band, and is, in my opinion one of the best songs in the Post Metal genre, from any band. Ever. Yes, it's that good.

5 Stars.

The album starts with the typical trippy lead line that defines post metal, but with a smooth drum beat and acoustic guitar to destroy any illusion of heaviness. After a couple of lines of overdubbed singing, everything drops out except the lead, and acoustic guitar... then hell erupts with the ever so powerful post metal riffing. I know, so far I sound like I'm describing just any post metal song, but there is an atmosphere that swallows the the entire albums music, no sludgyness, and squeaky clean recording is what, I think, gives *shels it's atmospherical edge. Anyways, the mood drops down to acoustics again, but there is a feeling of something coming in the song. A trumpet is introduced, giving a more Mexican/Spanish kind of feel, then the second eruption of the song, with ever climbing power chords, and the trumpet just wailing (usually I'm not a horn fan, this is an exception). After this slightly more colossal climax the song quickly gives way to the ending. The music does more than just give a atmospheric feel. Even without lyrics, the sounds actually creates landscapes, or soundscapes if you will, directing the music to an even higher affinity. Most of the tracks are around four minutes long, some just ambient atmospherical, some the climactic progpower song, and there is even a popish song, which also sounds great. Every song is well structured, well balanced, and well placed throughout the album.

It's actually, very hard to sum up this album, it flies from spectrum to spectrum, whether it be acoustic, or super heavy riffing, everything about the songs are almost perfect. I'd have to say, the first (the conference of the birds) and last (in the dead palm fields) songs are the best, but really it does not matter none of the songs are below average. After each listen you feel you heard something you've missed, and want to hear it over and over. I proudly award this album 5 stars.