Nathan “Drake” Hunt on vocals,
lead guitarist Ryan Tomlinson, Josh
Hamler on rhythm guitar and bassist Matt
Fisher are Shaman’s Harvest.
'Smokin' Hearts & Broken Guns' is
their fifth studio album and this is a
brand new acquaintance to me. The band
hails from Jefferson City in Missouri.
Classic hard rock with exciting
ingredient from modern rock and spiced
with some US southern, heavy rock. Their
sound is stunning and sounds quite
different from other hard rock bands
I've heard in this genre. They have the
guts to mix up the classic hard rock
with fat, muddy country music
influences.
The talented singer Nathan Hunt is a
solid vocal powerhouse and this delicate
album really shock my foundations.
Shaman's Harvest blends the up-tempo
songs with several slower power tunes
like: 'Hero', 'Blood in the Water',
'The End of Me', 'In the End' and the
magnificent track 'Silent Voice'. The
opening track is a monster song.
'Dangerous' is the given hit on the
album with massive and heavy guitars and
tremendous vocal performance. In 'Here
It Comes' it swings and shakes in many
different directions. Phenomenal vocals
from Nathan make the skin knobby and
their Midwestern rock n roll grabs my
old spine in a hard grip. 'Ten Million
Voices' is a mature rock song with
profound lyrics and dazzling guitars. In
the epic and heavy 'Blood in the Water'
is the tempo slow and this dusty,
boot-stomping Midwest rock song is a
piece of pure American art.
The acoustic ballad 'The End of
Me' is a sweet candy bar, but the sugar
free track track 'Country As Fuck' is
the opposite. Full throttle tempo and
big bucket of stiff classic rock n roll
is screaming out of my speakers.
Shaman's Harvest blends the different
paces and in 'Hero' they return to their
serious side with a down tempo. I was
quite surprised when the tones of 'Dirty
Diana' started. Yes, it's a cover of
Michael Jackson's monster hit. And they do
this one really well actually, most
credit goes to Nathan's ultra strong
vocals. Another fine track is the
sentimental song 'In the End', but the
next track is a killer ballad. 'In
Chains' is one of the strongest songs on
the entire disc. I have to raise the
volume every time I play this track and
that usually mean; a top score.
The quality level is sky high in
the three closing songs and 'Silent
Voice' is a heart crusher ballad. They
close the album with an extended,
acoustic version of their song
'Dragonfly'. My overall impression of
'Smokin' Hearts & Broken Guns': A
classy, adult, emotional hard rock
album. Recommended if you like strong
vocals, splendid guitar work, produced
in an classy style with classy American
rock n roll spices.
Not a masterpiece, but a very,
very nice album...
Line up:
Nathan Hunt
Josh Hamler
Matt Fisher
Ryan Tomlinson
