Artist: Bridgeshadows
Title: Pray For Rain
Website: www.myspace.com/bridge_shadows
Style: Gothic/ Dark Rock/ Industrial/ Classic Metal
Label: YoungSide Records
Rating: 7.9 out of 10
By C.W. Ross
The main person behind the band Bridgeshadows is former Wedding Party keyboardist KL (guitar, keyboards, programming). First forming in 1999 the band has released a limited CD-R EP for the Cornerstone Festival in 2002, along with an independent self-titled release in 2004.
The band was signed to PsychoAcoustiX Records in 2005, but plans for their first label release feel through when the owner of PsychoAcoustiX Records, Carl Crandell, passed away and the label folded.
In late 2007, kL got together with Jonathan Stamets (guitar, programming, drums, vocals), the front man of Coriolis, and in January 2008 they added vocalist, Bethany Jones to the band’s lineup. Although don’t get to use to her vocals because according to the band’s MySpace page in a posting by kL it states that, “Bethany will no longer be involved in the band due to time constraints and also due to my desire to take things in a different direction musically.”
It’s too bad because I thought that the use of her soft vocals set against the more haunting dark vocals from Jonathan Stamets worked well together.
Bridgeshadows’ latest release, Pray for Rain, was released at the 2008 Cornerstone Festival, where the band performed. Musically their style is a mixture of Gothic, industrial, metal, and a haunting dark rock sound.
Pray For Rain opens strong with the keyboard filled up-tempo song, “Feedback,” featuring lead vocals by Bethany Jones. For the next several tracks the release goes more into a melodic, dark, Gothic sound.
Track-6, “Pray For Rain,” is one of the more rocking tracks with its big metal guitar riffs, and pounding drum parts. The song also offers up some very passionate vocals.
The last several tracks are where this release really kicked it into high gear for me. I really enjoyed the way it mixed metal guitar and drum parts along with a beat-heavy techno keyboard sound. The result is fresh, original sounding music that will get your heart pumping as your reach over to crank up the volume control on your stereo.
Also don’t be too quick on the off button when track-11 seems to finish at the 5-minute mark because if you’re willing to wait through approximately 30 seconds of silence you’ll be treat to some more music that run the total time for the track up to just under 10 minutes. I love these little hidden type bonus moments.
In closing, It’s to bad that Pray For Rain will be, both the first and last release, from the band with this lineup because their combined styles worked for me.
