Son Of Shinobi – The Silent Fury

A last minute mad dash to the Son Of Shinobi album launch for The Silent Fury chose to be a very wise decision as they turned a packed out White Horse pub in Nantwich into a sauna whilst hammering it out. It was that good I just had to review the album and £5 was very well spent on it as I’ve hardly stopped playing it since the gig.

Better still is that the Crewe based band have captured that intensity in the studio with producer/engineer Glyn Sutton bringing out the best in them. Musically, no genres are sacred as they throw anything into the melting pot with lead vocals provided by Paul Senior coming across as Eddie Vedder if he had lost his Strepsils. Opening track ‘Raise The Day’ eases the album in with some uplifting breezy Cure like guitar chords from Ol Hughes and Rick Mason with twin lead breaks bringing to mind the chiming style of early Big Country, topped off by a gritty but melodic lead vocal.

The languid heavy blues vibe dominates following track ‘Release’, backed by an emotionally heavy croon. The deceivingly jarring melodic chords in ‘Theories’ give way to bludgeoning choruses and the bar is raised even higher with the melodic Helmet like attack that runs through ‘Gone Is Gone’ with the instantly memorable chorus of “Gone is gone but never forgotten”. Thick bass guitar lines from Rudi Heinemann and deft guitar chords build into a heavier bass presence in the chorus with a venomous barked vocal in ‘Attack’. The heavy chug of  ‘Static Hum’ is offset by the upbeat choruses, especially on the vocals.

The Foo Fighters with balls adrenaline rush of ‘Lucky No.7’ and a guitar workout midway with some heavy duty drumming from Steve Hadzik provide the perfect foil for a showstopping lead vocal. Three tracks to go and just as you think the album could not get any better, this trio of songs leave you breathless. The demolition ball riffs of ‘Mi Corazon’ make this a contender for the heaviest track and Paul hits a mighty bellow to keep up with them. The outro is even heavier with some lung busting vocals. The pace is brought down by the noodling guitar lines and sparse drum patterns coarsing through ‘Breaking Waves’ that features another lead vocal tour de force.

Album closer and personal highlight is the epic ‘No Heroes’. Remember the film Independence Day? That scene when the White House is blown up and the fireball hits the streets of Washington? Listen to this song through headphones and this is pretty damn close to it! The main riff can level anything that gets in the way, backed by a compelling lead vocal. A curveball is thrown with a spoken word delivery on a loudhailer as the band crash in with the main riff to finish.

Album track listing :-

Raise The Day.

Release.

Theories.

Gone Is Gone.

Attack.

Static Hum.

Lucky No.7.

Mi Corazon.

Breaking Waves.

No Heroes.

Son Of Shinobi band line up :-

Paul Senior – Lead vocals.

Steven Hadzik – Drums.

Rudi Heinemann – Bass guitar.

Ol Hughes – Guitar.

Rick Mason – Guitar.