One more album by my beloved Finnish label Dynamic Arts Records. I owe many things to the specific label since it is the one that released the incredible three albums by the Finnish madmen DEATHCHAIN. Is SHADE EMPIRE a similar occasion? I hope so since I have some time to listen to a more than just decent aggressive Thrash/Death Metal band.

SHADE EMPIRE hail from the ice cold Finland and were formed in 1999. After three demos they signed with the Italian label Avantgarde Music and released their debut album Synthetic Dream. Immediately after that, the Finnish Dynamic Arts inked a deal with them and there they released their sophomore effort Intoxicate O.S. and their brand new album Zero Nexus.

Even though I expected to listen to a Thrash/Death Metal band with only slight touches of melody, I came across an act that tried to mix DIMMU BORGIR's Black Metal (I am talking about the band's last albums), ILLNATH's melodic/symphonic approach and some melodic Death Metal elements. What is the result of such an attempt?

An uninspired album full of common compositions that use synths and choirs in order to sound 'different' and 'unique'. One more thing that makes this album really boring is the singer's voice (Harju is DEATHCHAIN's bassist), who seems to not have the skills to sing for a band. His Black Metal vocals need a lot of work, his brutal ones have nothing amazing and his clean vocals... Well, he is not such a good singer in my opinion. What about the production? Well, the album could definitely have a heavier and more polished sound. When you try to play this kind of music you need a stunning production, something that these guys didn't manage to have.

All in all Zero Nexus is an album that I suggest only to fans that think DIMMU BORGIR is 'true' Black Metal and to people that still haven't been tired of listening to bands that copy and paste ideas from the well known acts of the genre.