Having released two very good old school thrash metal records lately with his band My Regime, Spice returns to our well-known heavy rock paths with his band Band of Spice and the album “Shadows Remain”. What firstly raises interest is the album cover, since it doesn’ t resemble previous artworks with the band on the cover, but is a dark and ominous scene (hence the title of the album), which predisposes us to what follows. Spice is an artist who, through his artistic work, expresses his never-ending concern for every sort of thing, the struggle with his own “demons” who have always been chasing him, and while he troubles his listener in some way, at the same time he amuses him, in his own unique way. The album is very diverse, thus unfolding the different musical influences of its creator. Once again, Spice is faithful to his inspirations and his own typical way of interpreting the songs. His own typical way of playing the guitar. His own typical way of electrifying us with his voice or making us think more of some things with his enigmatic and personal lyrics. He is an honest artist towards his own self and is not afraid to look at him in the mirror, to make his choices and to have at his side the musicians, who have been for decades with him – people who believe in him, who have been there for him (musically and not) all the years of his artistic career. Speaking of influences and inspirations, the disc has quite different characteristics: it is mainly heavy rock, it starts with a song where there is only Spice’s voice and an acoustic guitar, it has bossanova and funk elements, but also moments, where the guitar is speeding up and Spice performs wild riffs, as if he is in other times, reminding us old good Spice (“The Saviour and the Clown”). We miss these moments from the past when we think of Spice, we miss them a lot, but either way, we can not do more than enjoy the music of his different bands. The bearded man from Småland of South Sweden has changed quite a bit over the years, but on the other hand, he is the same Kryddan, who we all love to hear. Even when he’s going through difficult times, he’s there, giving us nice records, entertaining us and having a way to keep his own fan base. “Shadows Remain” is not a record that will be loved by everyone, it will spur sales, or it will make the breakthrough that an artist or record label may be envisioning. But it is still a deposit of soul, experiences and reflections of a true artist through difficult, inaccessible paths. Set yourself free in the world of Spice and enjoy a beautiful album.
♦ 8/10
Antonis Mantzavinos
