Old-school hard rock became a conscious choice by 2009: you don't play it unless you have a lifetime devotion to the style. So, it's no surprise that Shakra's seventh studio effort is strictly a niche product, offering nothing to sway the opinion of those who didn't like this sound before. Those who appreciate it are in for a treat, though: Everest is a tough, mean, and lean effort with powerful riffage and a delightfully grim, angry attitude that may be an even better selling point than the licks themselves, and those are top-notch. Classic metal has branched out to produce a million excesses -- the over-the-top sleaze of glam, the goofy sci-fi/fantasy imagery of power metal, the self-glorifying odes to heavy music, and the juvenile take on world problems by guys wearing bullet belts and leather (think Accept) -- but Shakra somehow manage to skirt all of those. The band definitely isn't here to pick up partying girls with macho posturing. Shakra uses melodic, catchy, larger-than-life riffs, but employs them to create a seriously ticked-off vibe that hair metal was never able to pull off (though not for the lack of trying). This mature approach brings them close to bands of the next metal generation such as Nevermore but, unlike those bands, Shakra don't need to borrow from cold cyberthrash or overblown prog rock to get the point across, proving that hard rock's ascetic bag of tricks is not as limited as lesser bands make it seem to be. Between the Primal Fear-like guitar tone, the "Speed King" rhythms, gang choruses, and lyrical cliches ("Ashes to ashes, dust to dust"), Everest still sounds like a blast from yesteryear, but at least it comes across as the next evolutionary step for teenage power metal fans who have outgrown songs about enchanted forests and metal brotherhoods.
© Alexey Eremenko /TiVo