SHADOWDANCE - "OF LOST LOVE AND GAINED SORROW" (INDEPENDENT DEMO CD)
Shadowdance, a Belgian band, have been around for little over a year now. They have recorded their first demo CD, "Of Lost Love and Gained Sorrow", earlier this year.
A comparison that pops up almost straight away is one with Gandylion, with the notable exception that Shadowdance have less of a Dutch accent. Somehow, and I am pretty sure this is my shortcoming, I do not get off on hearing English sung with any sort of accent. Anyway, nothing to complain about Shadowdance here. Musically everything is spot on, especially the drumming.
Singer Dorien Heyligen takes care of the vocal duties. When you're fronting a technically accomplished band you need to have an unwavering, powerful voice like Anneke "The Gathering" van Giersbergen or Sharon "Within Temptation" den Adel. Dorien, unfortunately, has neither. Her voice is not particularly powerful nor is it pure. She even sings off key sometimes. Female singing should make shivers of suppressed excitement run up and down your spine, not make you cringe.
Alas.
RK
Written November 2000