Nine Shrines consists of Andrew Baylis and Evan McKeever on guitar, Andrew Wetzel on drums, Chris Parketny on vocals, and Devon Voisine on bass. This is the debut EP release by the Ohio band that can probably be described as alternative/metal.
Bend has a drive to it. The instruments and vocals are nicely blended in, as are the guitar riffs. King Of Mercy is a grunge/metal type of song, complete with sped up playing and the requisite screaming. Parasite slows it down a bit, then gets serious as a relationship song typically does. Lost is a dark ballad that builds throughout the song. Misery turns out to be a head-banger complete with the down and dirty riffs and distortion vocals. A lot of the lyrics deal with the problems of making it in the recording world.
NS fits the genre mold. These guys are determined to carry the heavy metal torch down that very long road of it’s predecessors. It’s a long path, but these veterans of various other bands are driven to make it in spite of the industry shortfalls. Now they are opening for a lot of the bigger name groups, and driven to become the headliners.
By R.M. Engelman
