The band Shadowlord is not a stranger in the regions around Novio Magus, better known as Nijmegen. Because of that, their debut MCD Shadowlord Empire was known to me. This album was never one of my favourites but when I first listened to Scourge Of Heaven it struck me that this album sounded a lot better. The songs are more varied and better balanced. Cor, their vocalist, also does a much better job. It all just sounds a lot better than Shadowlord Empire.

Scourge Of Heaven also has many calmer moments, in contrast with the furious parts that are present on this album. Not only during these calmer moments the keyboards are too dominant, but almost all the time they are too much in the front. It is not surprising that the music is keyboard oriented since Dave, their keyboard player, has written most of the music.

But I don’t like it when keyboards are in the front all the time. In my opinion the guitars must be the dominant feature. The guitars on Scourge Of Heaven are relatively simplistic and uniform. Also the exceptional guitar solo is not of high enough quality. But in the melodic black metal there are a lot of bands that are keyboard oriented, so I think there are a lot of people who will like this album.

I wonder how the future will look for Shadowlord, because they have gone through a lot of changes these last few months. Dave, for example, left Shadowlord and he wrote most of the music so I’ll be in awe if they will solve his departure. The future will tell how this band from Novio Magus will spread its evil seed. Will they save humanity from the scourge of heaven?