Stygian Shore

Stygian Shore

From time to time , I really enjoy to play the Metal archeologist...I have a […]
By YngwieViking
March 23, 2015
Stygian Shore - Stygian Shore album cover

From time to time , I really enjoy to play the Metal archeologist...I have a pretty good memory and I'm old enough or blessed to be able to witness the golden age of Heavy Metal, and the whole headbanging movement popularized by the legions of Earthdogs, Hell Rats and Rivetheads everywhere around the globe...

This band was formed in Wichita, Kansas USA in 1982 by three high school friends... The N.W.O.B.H.M. disease was in pandemic proportions and contaminated the American shores... It was in another geological era.

By 1984, STYGIAN SHORE attracted the interest of local favorites MANILLA ROAD, leading to their debut vinyl EP, simply entitled "Stygian Shore" released on that band's very own Roadster Records, under the production of MANILLA ROAD's guitarist Mark Shelton.

STYGIAN SHORE was very well received on the metal scene in the early 80's rapidly rising to the top of the underground circuit with their sound and their energetic stage show. The "Stygian Shore"EP was released in the spring of 1984 and received rave reviews from all the contemporaries at the time including Hit Parader magazine where they were cited as being the next big thing... An American mini tour was even scheduled to promote the release .

STYGIAN SHORE's guys continued to play live shows for several years afterward, but never got past the local scene and recorded the following in 1989 "The Shore Will Arise'', again carefully produced by Shelton, this album remains unreleased until in 2007 when a new label Shadow Kingdom Records will has released it properly.

As a sign, the first album ever released by Shadow Kingdom Records was "The Shore Will Arise" and now the 100th catalog release is STYGIAN SHORE again... Going back to full circle.

Here is a short analysis for "Stygian Shore", the first EP that put them on the map, which showed promise to this young band at the time.

This is a quite difficult album to review, as I think the environment and the context are more important than the music itself... Despite their mythological moniker, STYGIAN SHORE was less Doomy or Epic than MANILLA ROAD, much more Melodic.

If "The Shore Will Arise" is indeed firmly entrenched in the underground 80's scheme, the comparisons with MANILLA ROAD aren't really valid, as this band is a bit more traditional/upbeat, yet still Heavy Metal at its core, but with also some mainstream 70's Hard Rock influences ("Luv ta Rock Ya").

Finally, this album contains what could be named like the prefaces of the second wave of Underground Metal...Not a single classic track or a genuine invention in sight but the seed of a future groundbreaking sound... As the prophetic song "Tidal Wave" is the perfect summary of the whole.

This dusty EP has never been re-released until now, but maybe without the tragedy of life, and the dark wings of destiny they could have reach a cult status as many of their pars.

STYGIAN SHORE also got back together back in 2010, and they wrote another unreleased album...Those songs appears here as bonus tracks and by having this release and "The Shore Will Arise", you'll have the complete STYGIAN SHORE collection.

Funnily enough, the 2010's material still sound quite raw & vintage as much as the original stuff... So don't expect high-tech sonic design or Modernist tendencies, it's just fossilized proto American Heavy Metal influenced by the intensively contagious wave of the European scene.

It was way before Digital recordings/Pro-Tools and the exchanging files method, it was way before the auto-tune frenzy and the awful sampling mania...Just Blood, sweat and beers!

Recommended for every paleontologist Head-bangers!

7 / 10

Good

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"Stygian Shore" Track-listing:

1. Stygian Metal
2. Luv ta Rock Ya
3. Tidal Wave
4. Don't Look Now
5. Hatred's Reality
6. Fist of Steel
7. Black Day
8. The Messenger
9. Free Man
10. Sam the Man
11. On My Way
12. Holy Son

Stygian Shore Lineup:

Greg Marshall - Bass / Vocals / Keyboards
Mike Palmer - Guitars / Vocals
Pete Dawson - Drums / Vocals

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