Shores of Leine

Shores of Leine - Myth - Album Review
Release date: 5/11/2018

Back in early April when I interviewed In Rapture, I simultaneously interviewed another favorite band of mine... Billings based metal powerhouse, Shores of Leine. That day, they gifted me their brand new, unreleased debut album "Myth" and asked for my thoughts on the record. Not only was that an honor and privelege in its own right, but I was also absolutely honored to open the liner and find my name amongst a few other good friends in the thank-you notes. That was a first for me, thank you so much for that, guys! I stated in the In Rapture review that I had listened to their album over 15 times... "Myth", however might as well have been an IV in my arm. It's part of me now.

First off, these guys are without doubt a metal band. Although, if you aren't into metal, I assure you that they will still astound you. How? The musicianship in this band is absolutely stellar. Zechariah "Big Mac" Peabody is an absolute monster behind the mic, captivating crowds with a wide vocal range, great lyric writing capabilities and his overall loveable demeanor. Don't let the voice fool you.. the guy is going to hug you. Tanner Smith is a guitarist that may very well be one of the most skilled in the state, and he is in great company sharing the main lines with another standout player, Evan Knutson. Johnny Widdicombe keeps the lows tight on the bass, complimenting the machine-like playing of drummer Aaron French, who somehow manages to be a backbone to some very meticulous riffs. Nikolas Huff adds another element to the band, rounding out their full sound with his unique twist on keyboard and sample duties.

I imagine you want to hear about the album now, right? It includes something that I love, an almost lost art - a lyric booklet. So, pop in the album, pop a top, sit back and follow along.

The CD opens up with the title track "Myth", preparing your ears with some ambience mixed with what honestly sounds like souls crying out from the pits of hell - followed by an instrumental segment that our first taste of the seriously kick ass guitar tones achieved on this record.

Followed up by "Oceanic", a song that begins with a melodic opening on guitar reminiscent of an underwater world like its namesake. This comes accompanied by the first dose of Zech Peabody behind the mic.. a peaceful, clean vocal escalation into the absolute onslaught he brings on the record. I love the ride this one takes us on - we get a little bit of everything, including a soaring melodic trip through the latter half.

"Make Us Whole" starts out with a guttural a cappela segment followed by pure chaos in a fighter jet mayday style crashing of guitars. I admire the way this track starts off so heavy, but then eventually soars into some astounding solo work along with some more melodic metalcore-esque grooves, and a section perfectly fit for crowd involvement.

"Necromorphosis", a song in which the band release a video for a year ago.. find it on YouTube. The song hits hard in the rhythm section with some fast footwork and blast beats from Aaron French, who executes his playing on the album with surgical precision.

In the early stages, "Oil and Hyde" REALLY showcases this bands heavy influence from The Black Dahlia Murder. The grooves, the theatric vocal flow from witchy highs to deep lows, the solos, everything. Being quite honest, if you're a fan of TBDM, you're going to have this album on repeat anyways. Hopefully we will get to see Shores open up for Black Dahlia at their upcoming Billings show. I can't think more fitting local support, and their whole fanbase will be there anyways.

"Unearthly Hollow" is yet another multi-faceted track, stacked high with the insane guitar work we've come to expect by the 6th track on the CD. If you're a fan of some fancy fretwork, you're going to need help getting your jaw off the floor.

"Hanover Station" treats us with a beautiful jazzy break during the midway point, that.. you guessed it, launched straight back into destruction. If you're front and center at a Shores show, I'd take advantage of those more mellow breaks to drink your beer before it goes airborne.

"The Creature That Feeds" is a track I've grown close to, finding myself belting out the catchy cleans at the top of my lungs while going down the road. I enjoy the tornado siren they dropped in the middle of this song.. I feel like its a calling card for metalheads to start moving some bodies. The second half of this song is what really gets me, though. I find it absolutely beautiful and well rounded... walking that fine line of heavy and something that relaxes you while sending a chill down your spine.

In closing, this is an absolutely phenomenal first effort. They also recorded this album on their own, and it came out sounding absolutely flawless as if it came out of a major studio. Shores of Leine having a major future in the industry is not an "if", its a "when". With some more exposure via some solid touring runs, the right eyes are going to catch this band. So I will ask you, please come to this release show on Friday, May 11th. These guys worked incredibly hard on this, and they're rightfully proud of their accomplishment. This show will be an experience you won't soon forget, I promise you that.

-Brendan Dekievit, Montana Music Media

Dual album release show with Shores of Leine, In Rapture and Deathwish:
Friday, May 11th at The Pub Station in Billings
$5 per ticket - Doors at 7pm show at 8pm - All ages welcome

Shores of Leine is:
Zechariah "Big Mac" Peabody - Vocals
Tanner Smith - Guitar
Evan Knutson - Guitar
Aaron French - Percussion
Johnny Widdicombe - Bass
Nikolas Huff - Keys/DJ/Backing Vocals

Shores of Leine uses:
Novation, Ableton, PreSonus Audio Electronics, Shure, Galaxy Wireless, Tama Drums, Meinl Cymbals, Vic Firth, Evans Drums Heads, Roland, Axis Percussion, Kiesel Guitars Carvin Guitars, Ibanez Guitars, Line 6, Fryette Amplification, Mesa Boogie, Bogner Amplification, Jim Dunlop Guitar Products, MXR, D'Addario and Co., Tech 21, Yamaha Music USA, Electro-Voice, ESP Guitars - Montana Music Media

Make Us Whole: best deathcore song ever made? If not, it's certainly right up there with Nocturnal Bloodlust's Genesis or Malice Against. At this point, me making that comparison is a cliche, but in this case I really can't think of any other bands to compare Shores of Leine to. The two bands are playing with very similar ingredients - virtuosic lead guitar, given to dramatic emotional outbursts; atmospheric synth bridges and keyboard lines that play a much more subtle role in the music than Ovid's Withering or Born of Osiris or... all the other shitty deathcore bands that don't know how to tastefully use keyboards; and breakdowns that don't strip the music of all its momentum. - RNG