This is the second album from Russian groove metal band Shokran.
Shokran play modern groove metal with a hearty djent influence, as well as having neo-classical, progressive, technical and Egyptian-themed aspects to their sound. They have a lot going on across these 35 minutes, and it’s all wrapped up in a sterling state-of-the-art production that sees everything they do ringing clear and strong across the soundwaves.
The songs are brief and to the point, but not without their ostentation or glamour. The band go about their business with the practised ease of professionals, knowing exactly what they want to do and achieving it in a clipped, efficient manner.
The vocals consist of cleans, growls and screams, all performed well and mixed together in a glorious tapestry. There’s much variety, with everything from deep death metal growls to more-standard metalcore shouts to some quite spellbinding cleans that bring to mind a more heavy/power metal delivery in some respects.
Combined with the ambitious music, it’s a wonderful package of modern metal with an Egyptian theme, which means inclusion of appropriate-sounding melodies alongside the complex guitars and riff-work.
If Orphaned Land had more modern technical metal and djent influences they might produce something akin to this. Which is high-praise, of course, and should hopefully demonstrate just how worthy Shokran are of attention, as Exodus is an impressive and enjoyable release.
Wonderbox Metal 