Offering fans of heavy music an amalgamation of diverse metal genres and subgenres, this very interesting project hailing from Greece is ready to rumble with their brand new full-length album.

Here’s a very interesting project hailing from the always prolific city of Alexandroúpoli, the capital of the Evros regional unit in East Macedonia and Thrace, in Greece, offering fans of heavy music a unique amalgamation of diverse metal genres and subgenres to the point each one of their songs sound very distinct when compared to their other creations. I’m talking about Symphonic/Power Metal act Behind the Shadows, who started as Mind Mirror in the year of 1997, but who since 2008 has been blasting metal music under their new name for admirers of both heavier sounds and more melodic lines, as you’ll be able to see in their brand new album, titled Demons.

Comprised of Gian, the band’s mastermind who takes care of guitars and bass, and Pasxalis Nikiphoridis on vocals and on lead and rhythm guitars, Behind the Shadows had some fantastic support from several musicians from the Greek scene to bring Demons into being. For instance, the album features guest vocalists Zion (Crossover, Hocus) and Christos Kaliatsas, and guest guitarists Dimitris Haidemenos (Lost in Neverland), Stratos Vrachiolias (Defision), Sotiris Pavlidis (Bacchanalia) and Kyriakos Mpouloumpasis, all providing their personal share of electricity and feeling to the music found in the album. As aforementioned, the final result in Demons is really good, with the music being cohesive, diverse and, above all, as metal as it can be.

And their heavy and epic symphony begins in full force in the opening track, the excellent Become The Apocalypse, where the dynamic duo Gian and Pasxalis do a great job with their potent vocals and riffs, specially during the song’s catchy chorus, not to mention the series of kick-ass solos by guest guitarists Dimitris, Stratos and Kyriakos. Coma To Hell, also featuring Kyriakos on lead guitar, presents a darker and more lancinating vibe, sounding like the early days of Metallica and Megadeth with a Death Metal twist, with the band relying on the song’s brutal drumming as their heavy artillery, therefore enhancing the impact of this hellish creation considerably; while in the vicious Power Metal hymn Piece Of Shadows, Gian and Pasxalis keep blasting pure metal from their guitars, with the harsh growls bringing more obscurity to the overall result. Moreover, pay good attention to the traditional Heavy Metal guitar duo the likes of Iron Maiden during the whole song as the icing on the cake. And featuring guest musician Zion on vocals adding an extra touch of “thrashiness” to the music with his hardcore attitude, The Beast Rises From The East brings to the listener a vibrant and heavy-as-hell sonority, with both Gian and Pasxalis delivering slashing riffs and bass lines nonstop.

Zombie Flesh Eaters, featuring Christos on vocals, is another kick-ass hybrid of Power Metal and more extreme forms of music such as Death Metal, sounding visceral from start to finish with some electrifying guitar lines by Gian and Pasxalis, keeping the momentum going for the title-track Demons, where cavernous growls bring ferocity to the music while the guitars bring melody and balance to the final result, feeling quite epic at times, not to mention the awesome contribution by Stratos and Sotiris on lead guitar. Then elements from Thrash Metal and Hardcore can be seen in the fast-paced tune Necrophilia, a devastating tune perfect for their live performances with a frantic flow, followed by Holy Lie, perhaps the song with the highest amount of extreme elements from Death and Black Metal, in special it’s demonic drumming and deep growling. Furthermore, their work on guitars is simply superb in this dark and melodic chant.

Crucified For The Innocences keeps the album’s quality at a good level through its flammable riffs, hellish growls and piercing rhythm, with once again the guitar solos stealing the spotlight so thrilling they sound. Moreover, there’s not even a single second of peace during the whole song, which is always a good thing in metal. Sweet Darkness, the second to last track in Demons, definitely lives up to its name, with its eerie intro morphing into a tempest of heaviness and aggressiveness led by its gruesome growls, culminating in an amazing Extreme Metal extravaganza; and lastly, Nightmare is as vile and demonic as its predecessors albeit not as creative, falling flat after a while but nothing that could truly harm the overall quality of the album.

In summary, it doesn’t really matter if you’re a fan of traditional Heavy Metal, dark and piercing Black Metal, modern Death Metal or Symphonic Metal, as Behind the Shadows will always have good music to offer you from their metallic arsenal. You can take a very detailed listen at their music at their BandCamp page, where by the way you can purchase Demons, as well as on ReverbNation, and continue to support bands like Behind the Shadows to keep underground Greek metal (and of course metal in general) alive and on fire.

Best moments of the album: Become The Apocalypse, Piece Of Shadows, Demons and Sweet Darkness.

Worst moments of the album: Nightmare.

Released in 2017 Independent

Track listing
1. Become The Apocalypse 5:18
2. Coma To Hell 4:34
3. Piece Of Shadows 4:51
4. The Beast Rises From The East 6:51
5. Zombie Flesh Eaters 4:13
6. Demons 4:54
7. Necrophilia 4:09
8. Holy Lie 4:29
9. Crucified For The Innocences 5:22
10. Sweet Darkness 3:48
11. Nightmare 4:04

Band members
Gian – rhythm guitars, bass
Pasxalis Nikiphoridis – lead & rhythm guitars, vocals

Guest musicians
Dimitris Haidemenos – lead guitar on “Become The Apocalypse”
Christos Kaliatsas – vocals on “Zombie Flesh Eaters”
Stratos Vrachiolias – lead guitar on “Become The Apocalypse” and “Demons”
Sotiris Pavlidis – lead guitar on “Zombie Flesh Eaters”
Kyriakos Mpouloumpasis – lead guitar on “Become The Apocalypse” and “Coma To Hell”
Zion – vocals on “The Beast Rises From The East”