SHADES OF GREY – Freedom / Incarceration LP

All beginnings are difficult. As well as mine with Shades Of Grey. Some years ago I saw them once in Weimar, I think it was their tour with Cave Canem, and after listening to their demo and seeing them live I was very disappointed this evening. That was nothing to write home about and I forgot the quartet from Stockholm. A little later they played in Flensburg and it knocked me off my feet. Was this really the same band I saw before? Wow. This gig was fantastic and I had to buy their split release with their friends Massmörd. Now they finally released their first longplayer and nearly every song is as brilliant as I kept it in my mind. These songs will touch your soul, let you sink in a dark and drastic atmosphere and hold so much intensity. No music to wash your dishes besides, you need some time to dive into their dark world but then you will enjoy it. You wanna know what kind of music I am talking about? Nothing special, it's just dark neo-crust, a style of music so many bands play since Tragedy appeared. Yeah, neocrust is hip and I really like it. Shades Of Grey do a great job and they are much more than a cheap copycat. One of Sweden finest! 9 songs, LP including thick booklet with lyrics and linernots... oh I have to give you a quote: „Teaching should not be compared to filling a bottle with water but rather to helping a flower to grow in its own way.“ by Noam Chomsky. It's about the first song called Indoctrination. A record with heart and intellect, emotion and cruelity. All thumbs up!

9/10 points Bäppi

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