I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of this genre of music. I’ve said this many, many times and yet people still insist on sending metal-tinged records in for review. Then ultimately complain about why we’re reviewing them. Ho-hum. Anyway, Welsh hardcore lads Shaped By Fate are an intriguing bunch. Intriguing because each song starts and ends in interesting fashion, but seems to go through a run-of-the-mill minute or two in the middle; all predictable breakdowns, grunts and growls. When the band shred at the beginning, or suddenly go off on one in an outro, they sound pretty damn good. But ultimately there’s only a limited amount of time you can listen to the same old riffs and breakdowns before you become a little uninspired. And at 52-minutes this is a beast of a record. Still, when tracks like ‘Deeper The Knife Slides’ are so powerful and intense, Shaped By Fate will always be a band to keep an eye – and an ear – on.
