Review Summary: Distortion certified fresh.
Shapeshifter is an instrumental metalcore/djent EP comprised of three songs. Quantity is clearly lacking, yet quality and passion for the project is evident. Impressively, this is a one man band and it’s impossible to tell. The album is produced well, and the drums sound better than a lot of high profile releases. The highlight of the album is the excessively distorted guitar tone. The style of music is awfully similar to the metalcore bands Brand of Sacrifice and Bermuda, so you can expect crushing metal tracks.
There’s enough instrumental metal in the world that new music in the genre can seem redundant. You can find infinitely, procedurally generated djent on YouTube for God’s sake. Still, Shapeshifter manages to please. Riffs pummel and suffocate amongst ridiculously catchy hooks. Too often I’ve found instrumental metal bands that sound like absolute garbage, without ears for melodies. Songs are carefully laid out here, with sections for potentially sung choruses. I was reminded of Volumes in the way that Shapeshifter is consistently heavy, with a melodic wall of sound. Rather than sounding generic and weak, the well written songs give meaning to the otherwise done-before style riffs. Another bonus is that the last track is nearly eight minutes long, but not boring.
Shapeshifter is a great EP. The riffs are consistently good, sound good, and that’s really the name of the game. It’s the type of EP that almost makes you forget this genre has been done to death. Inspiration is clearly shown here, creating a fun time with blistering, catchy riffs that got stuck in my head rather quickly. I enjoyed this EP a lot more than I expected to, and I believe others will be surprised at its quality too. Check The Distortion crosses off all the boxes for this type of music.
