Shatterpoint is a Canadian metalband formed in september 2001, and they where formerly known as Catharsis. Apparantly they have already shared the stage with such bands as Behemoth and Amon Amarth: not really the least of bands!! And in my opinion, they are worthy of that.
Shatterpoint creates a mixture of thrashmetal, heavy metal, and a touch of death metal, the last influence mainly due to the (very good!!) grunts that sometimes appear. Their songs combine intelligent riffs, a good technique, a lot of long solo’s and varied vocals. I get the feeling those vocals are a bonus since they are not extremely prevailing, but especially the deep grunts add a nice flavor to the whole. Shatterpoint is not your everyday metalband anyway, therefore they are too obstinate. I can hear these guys love their own riffs and music! Though they are not unique, they are a lot more original then all those slayer coverbands that plague our world.
This CD has 6 relatively long (around 5 minutes) tracks on it, and not a single one of them is a weak song. ‚Pleasure the Pain‘ is the opener that sets the high standard for the rest of the CD, with energic riffs, that instinctively make me want to bang my head. Somewhere at the end of this songs is a really awesome solo!!! This song reminds me of Death Angel mostly. The second song is called ‚Chrashing Down‘, and again has a long (and a little bit weaker) solo in it, as well as referring to Death Angel again. This song also introduces singer Shane „Mustaine“ Drake’s grunting. I don’t like the third song ‚Ended by Silence‘ as much as the first two songs, since it has a bit of a ’nu-metal‘ sound in the chorus (don’t hit me, please!! :-p) though the way the grunts are used saves this song. The titelsong then, is a bit slower, with a lot of solo’s. Odd enough for a titlesong, but I think this is the weakest song on this CD. To be followed up by my favourite!! The fifth song ‚When I Die‘ starts with dreary, melanchonic tones combined with half-spoken vox that I like very much. The song builds to a more ‚regular‘ Shatterpoint song towards the end, with vocals that remind me of the underrated Scarve. Finally, ‚No man’s land‘ begins a bit death metallesk but ends much like the first couple of songs: great riffs and razor sharp solo’s.
In the end I can say that this band did a great job, even though not all the songs are equally appealing to me. That is a rare thing anyway so I can only say ‚well done‘. I hope to hear more from these guys (preferably with a bigger amount of deathgrunts) in the future, they’re really talented and deserve a wide audience. If you have the chance, check ‚em out!!! Even if you’re not a big thrash metal fan (like me) you’ll probably like them…
8/10 Points – reviewed by Bloodreaver