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Shakra: Fall
Shakra - Fall - [AFM Records]

2006-01-29

Make no mistake, this in not pop singer Shakira but a hard rock group who come all the way from Switzeland.
Packed with such thick sounding guitar riffs and bass lines and a somewhat simplistic drumwork- these guys stick the good old basics.

"Fall" is actually their 5th album, and so far the most produced- probably aimed to finally give them a breakthrough.
The most apparent problem with Shakra is that they are out of date- not that I have anything against hard rock and early heavy metal, but there's a reason why it's called early.

The highlight of this album is "Chains of temptation", with its electro-produced intro and those "fat" guitars by both Thomas Muster and Oli Lindner.
A good demonstration of both lyrical content and Mark Fox's vocals is "Take me now", reminding me of the feel you get when listening to Guns 'n roses' "Paradise city".
"How it feels" is an improvement in the shape of a ballad, like the great ones of late 80's and early 90's- along with a moving solo of course.
As far as other potential hits, I recon that "She's my ecstasy" and "Make it alright" (which is another mid-tempo ballad) could catch some attention.

In my opinion Shakra suffers from another obvious problem- the thick sound is so suffocating; vintage is nice, but only if it's actually old or is a good replica of the old… that refers to Mark's voice as well, reminding me most of a television character I remember from my earlier years.

The album is cute (has some neat tunes), and would have spent more time in my stereo if only it was heavier, with a different vocalist and had a more "open" sound.


Ofer Vayner



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