EP Review: A Will to Kill

Gripping guitar solos fuel my head as SHARD'S debut EP comes to life. It's impossible not to bang your head along to these tunes that reek of fury, passion and vengeance. The production on this EP brilliantly defines all instruments clearer than when I have seen SHARD live. This makes it easier to hear every bit of instrumentation blended together.

Their sound likens to Metallica and Slayer, with the heavy guitar and alt-rock style drum chops that frequent into double-time on tracks like 'American Dictator' and 'The Guilty Part pt. 1.'
'A Will to Kill', the EP name and my favourite track, opens with a sweet and meticulously crafted guitar instrumental before building into an exciting blend of vocal screeches and heavy drums. This is also done on 'Watch the World Burn', which has a strong vocal melody mimicked by the bass and guitar and also uses a 7/4 time signature; prevalent in progressive metal.

Lyrically, these tracks are brimming with rallies against injustice, government corruption and religious fundamentalism. 'A Will to Kill' opens with the lines 'Hatred towards the secular realm/Wanting to start a war/Bringing pain and ignorance/Cause it's what God asked for!' American Dictator humorously and potently mocks President Trump with the lines 'Fall into line, ye denizens! Fall into line, ye citizens!'  'The Guilty Part pt. 1', 'The Fascist Law' and 'Watch the World Burn' comment more on the atrocities caused by war and destruction among humanity, which is a common theme within the rebellious world of metal and progressive rock.

Overall, this is a powerful and exciting body of work that fully realises SHARD's musical prowess in the metal scene.

EP available here: https://shardofficialthrashuk.bandcamp.com/releases

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SHARDThrashBandUK/

Other post on SHARD: https://www.zaridoesmusic.co.uk/2017/11/live-review-shard.html