FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
If you consider Opus Eponymous to be a pop album, you probably think Yes and Genesis are pop bands, too. Erm, wait a minnit. Well, I can’t say I see Ghost going down that route, anyways. After all, it won’t be the 80’s for another 69 years…
After reissuing their debut album Black Night, Shadow Kingdom now brings us a new pressing of The Passage, the stellar sophomore album from Maryland doomsters Iron Man. Album number two was a huge step forward for the trad doom outfit, as it saw the welcoming of new singer Dan Michalak into the fold, along with future Spirit Caravan/Pentagram drummer Gary Isom.
Prior to Nevermore, Warrel Dane cut his chops in Sanctuary. But prior to Sanctuary? Well, there was this band called Serpent’s Knight, of which remarkably little is known…until now. Shadow Kingdom, in conjunction with guitarist Brad Poland, released all of Serpent’s Knight’s material in remastered form. Accompanying the release are liner notes which seek to set the record straight on what actually went down with this, Dane’s formative band.
Album review by Tate Bengston
Taking the name of his label from the first of writer Robert E. Howard’s fantastical Kull story series, it’ll probably come as no surprise that Shadow Kingdom Records’ and Distro deals extensively in material where swords, shields, impossibly tall marble castles and scenic green hills are stained claret-red with the remnants of some mythical battle feature prominently on album covers. But a random sampling of both the titles Shadow Kingdom owner Tim McGrogan distributes and the bands with which he works illustrates that he’s not as dogmatically dedicated to epic/traditional metal as you might expect.