1. Black Storm (Theme)
2. Let’s Fight
3. Rebel Night
4. SpitFire
5. 罪惡城
6. Enter Sandman (cover)
The Underground took a few months break from Heavy nights, but that didn’t mean that anything was held back upon its return. Shadow Black proved the ideal band to open Heavy 17 – or any metal show, for that matter – will a carefully-crafted set that rocked ridiculously hard. On opener Let’s Fight, fuzzy riffs took off into the air like an angry swarm of hornets. A few cymbal crashes made way for guitar reminiscent of Muse on Ashamed alongside doomish, Metallica-tinged bass. The riff was actually the same as Shotgun Politics’ 852, one local music-savvy punter noted. Lead singer Alvis had a Bruce Dickinson shrillness to his voice, which sounded somewhere between growling and singing. Champion’s bass was way too loud, but this was quickly rectified by the sound guy after the first song.
The band went back to basics for Let’s Fight, a meat-headed mosher of a song with a simple, Megadeth riff and shouty vocals. For Spitfire, Alvis’s guitar closely channelled Master of Puppets, while lead guitarist Kurt played a high blues solo, which gave the piece a more driving classic rock sound. Having crept back up again, the bass was so loud that it reverberated in the ribcage – though it was probably something to do with the set-up of Champion’s instrument, rather than the amps. The track closed with a classic, ballsy Muse breakdown riff.
Though each song was strong and well-rehearsed, nothing stood out as much as 罪惡城. With a riff straight out of the Metallica handbook, the song experimented with tempo and making both guitars sound as beefy as possible. Champion and Alvis barked lyrics in sync theatrically, but drummer Paco stood out with his shifting rhythms. The extended track took on a doom-laden Sabbath vibe during a seamless segway into a thrash interlude. Alvis shredded feverishly while his bandmates continued to hit heavy with bass-laden ’80s-style metal.
Shadow Black’s music had recalled Metallica so many times during the set, that it was only right that they signed off with an ode to the US rockers. Their rendition of Enter Sandman was a neat, note perfect cover, delivered with just the right amount of taut guitar, smashing drums and vocal snarl. The song is covered so often that it can be hard to pull off with conviction, but Shadow Black mastered it in a solid and technically brilliant performance.
– El Jay
不同嘅樂隊對「重型」音樂一詞會有不同嘅演譯。Heavy 17，一個禮拜四晚上，齊集蘭桂坊Orange Peel嘅觀眾見證咗四場截然不同嘅表演。
首隊演出嘅Shadow Black出場時，四名成員身穿整齊嘅黑色制服，氣氛壯重。佢地係一隊典型嘅重金屬thrash metal組合，從可以聽得出，佢地風格特別受到Iron Maiden、Metallica等八十年代樂隊影響。雖然主音Alvis聲線可能唔及前輩沙啞，但係夠彪悍，表演時亦一樣熱血、投入。
Shadow Black編得最成熟嘅一首歌，無疑係變幻多端嘅「罪惡城」。呢首歌聽落係由十幾廿個重金屬結他riff拼出黎嘅經典樂曲，單單前奏一段就彈咗差唔多兩分鐘，然後係源源不絕嘅音諧、速度變化，一段glam metal、一段thrash、再配高音嘅結他solo。雖然呢隊組合四首嘅原創歌曲喺風格上變化唔大，但係單單一首「罪惡城」，已經令聽眾印象深刻。
– Elson Tong
