Year: 2024
Total Time: 46.17
Label: WormHoleDeath
Many times in our lives music has a therapeutic character. It causes emotions to surface, to be expressed and eventually redemption comes. This is not always its nature but when an artist decides to move in this direction they take on a difficult task lyrically and musically. FADING ECHO from Volos dive straight into deep waters with their first full length album “Shadow Of Another” and having as a basis the five stages of grief of psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler Ross they attempt to build a coherent story where every listener who has experienced a difficult situation can become the protagonist.
The first five songs of the album capture the five stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. A difficult journey for those who experience it but also for the band’s main composer, Dimitris Stratikis, who has to evoke the appropriate emotions and create the right atmosphere within the few minutes that each song lasts. And he succeeds that almost 100%. Denial (“The Stages Of Grief, Pt.1 – Denial”) is an instrumental song with ups and downs and with the piano in leading role. At the beginning of a tragedy the pain can be silent and gradually escalate until we realize what has happened. When this finally happens, the stage of anger follows (“The Stages Of Grief, Pt.2 – Anger”). Naturally, we’re talking about perhaps the heaviest track of the album that starts off strong with Stratikis’ vocals and speedy drumming giving the necessary intensity. Highlight of the song is an amazing guitar solo.
At this point there is no turning back
My whole world turned to million pieces
We’re helpless pawns playing Your games
The hero watches his world falling apart and turns against even God himself, whoever God may be for each of us. But the anger doesn’t last long. The tension de-escalates and the hero enters into a negotiation (“The Stages Of Grief, Pt.3 – Bargaining”) with himself, trying to rationally work through the catastrophy that has befallen him and make a fresh start.
And in this darkest hour
I’m looking for the light
To feel some kind of hope again
The full realization of the situation is followed by the fourth stage of depression (“The Stages Of Grief, Pt.4 – Depression”). The main characteristic of the song is the bluesy guitars and the despair that is reflected in the lyrics.
Tonight, it’s coming to an end
The world as we used to know it
The sun won’t feel so warm no more
Where to go at the end of the road
After beating depression, acceptance of the situation finally comes (“The Stages Of Grief, Pt.5 – Acceptance”) and the hero’s decision is to put an end to the emotional downward spiral.
At the end lies a new day for me
Brought to my knees
But still, I have a beating heart
This is the point that FADING ECHOES chose to emphasize by moving forward with a very important collaboration with Zak Stevens (SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) whose voice blended superbly. In fact, as Stratikis had mentioned in our conversation a few months ago (read here!), Stevens immediately accepted with enthusiasm proving how much he believed in the whole project.
The remaining 3 songs are there to complete the story until the final redemption of the hero. We have the first step of his new life, “The First Step Forward” which marks a new chapter.
Don’t look back
It doesn’t matter anymore
Our voice has been silenced
In the last two songs, FADING ECHOES enriches their sound even more with the use of instruments that are not common in metal. In “Rumination”, Yannis Gkavardinas joins the band with his santur while in “The Final Act” we have one of the best musical parts of the album, the cello intro by Vassilis Lemonias and the keyboard solo by Andrew Complainer. In a way, the hero initially reflects and does his self-criticism…
It wasn’t my mind
Ignoring tears on my reflection
Truths unspoken lurking
…in order to reach the final act, the full redemption with every piece coming together.
The pieces came together
And what seemed lost forever
Now we hold
We are dealing with a trully diverse album with a very coherent theme. The structure of most of the songs does not follow the classical standards and this gives a strange yet interesting feeling to the listener. FADING ECHOES set the standards high with their first album and this makes me wonder what we should expect from them for the future. “Shadow Of Another” seems to be a very personal album for Dimitris Stratikis (bass and vocals) mainly but also for the rest of the band members (Vassilis Sarou on keyboards and Petros Printezis on guitars as permanent members and Dimitris Politis on guitars as a guest, and Nikos Velentzas on drums) and it remains to be seen if the course of FADING ECHOES will remain on these melancholic and dark paths or will turn in other directions. For now, let’s enjoy one of the albums of the year in its genre.
Rating: 8/10
Editor: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Link: FADING ECHOES – Linktree Page
