ILLNATH 's "4 Shades of Me" is blackened Thrash Metal and before I go any further I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not the biggest fan of Black Metal. In fact it would probably be my least favorite genre of Metal. The vocals, production quality, and satanic lyrics never really clicked with me. I am aware that not all Black Metal has satanic lyrics; IMMORTAL, BURZUM, IMMORTAL SOULS, HORDE, and many others have nothing to do with Satan. Although these bands aren't satanic I can only stomach very little of these groups primarily because of their vocal style and production sound. Even though I have a strong distain for this genre every once in a while curiosity beckons me to give this genre another chance. I keep thinking to myself, "Maybe I'll like it this time." With that in mind I set out to review this record with an open mind hoping maybe I'll finally get why so many Metalheads adore this genre.

Upon hearing the open guitar riff and drum pattern of "Blood Warrior" I knew this album wasn't your average Black Metal. The sound of this album actually has a low bottom end unlike the "true" Black Metal that attempts to make your ears bleed with their lack of bass. The production overall on this album is very saturated and not harsh and airy like that of DARKTHRONE or MAYHEM. I think if you were to let a 'true" Black Metal fan listen to "4 Shades of Me" he or she would probably be disgusted with it for not having that harsh sound black metal is known for. While it may not have that rough sound it does have the raspy vocals that go right along with anything labeled "Black Metal". This is Black Metal with Thrash integrated into it so it has a few riffs that are quite catchy. The tremolo picking that makes up a majority of this genre is best exhibited on "Shade of Me". The track opens up with that nasty sounding, blinding fast, picking pattern used so much in this genre. The drumming on this record is on par but nothing really to noteworthy, although his foot work is entertaining to listen to. The only time I could make out the bass was on the closing track, "Angelic Voices Calling", when the rest of the music halted to let the bass do a mini solo which was mediocre.

Overall I actually kind of enjoyed this record and that's coming from a person who doesn't really like black metal! However, if you are a fan of the black metal genre this may not be for you. This is not your true Norwegian Black Metal; instead I'd consider it a new wave of Black Metal. The production is better and the musical aspect is more sophisticated and technical. For these reasons alone this might be the perfect entry level album for someone who is curious about this genre. The only weak spot on this album for me would be the title, "4 Shades of Me". I read that at first and thought this was going to be some crapcore album. They could have made it a little bit more Metallized and manly in my opinion.