Shiftlight
Conflict

Swedish band Shiftlight is back with their second album, they call it conflict that follows Distance. Clever to use a one-word title to the albums, I like that. The cover art is of the same stylistic tone as the debut album, and it has nine tracks that I have spent several hours getting to know in order to review this album. The last time out I said they promised a lot with the debut but didn’t quite keep what they promised when the end result what to me summarised. This time three years has passed but the album gives me the exact same feeling as the first one, there were good intentions on the debut but none of them really materialised for this album.

Sludge is one way to describe this kind of music, powerful slow metal with raspingly slow vocals that are downmixed in the overall soundscape. I think the vocals are too monotone and they influence the overall sensation of the album variation, the nine tracks don’t really feel that varied if I am honest. The album is not that melodic and yet it is quite melodic. The production is fairly typical of the genre, I think a more dynamic sound would be beneficial and to me it would be more exciting that way.

Good album but as it previous one I think that it is a bit on the cautious side, they could have dared a lot more than they do here. I also think that they could do without the vocals, I would believe that the music would work a lot better without the vocals or with different vocals and I still think that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Then again, I might not understand the genre but one thing I do know is that it is not a good album for driving, it feels really boring when I listen to it in the car. I believe it is an album that needs closer attention as the variation and strength of it is in the details rather than in the grand scheme of things.

The best track is the opening one that might have a slightly misleading title, as it isn’t breaking any new ground. It is an album that I believe will be liked by fans of the genre but not one that I think will make them interesting to a wider audience. I think the conflict is a mellow one but that the album is worth looking a bit closer at if you enjoy the similar bands.

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