Artist description TRUE METAL.

Music Style Metal/neo-classical metal/prog metal/shred

Musical Influences Dream Theater, Metallica, Megadeth, Symphony X, Rhapsody, In Flames, Pantera, Liuqid Tension Exparament, Children of Bodom

Similar Artists Dream Theater. old school Metallica. Yngwie ???

Artist History Formed by Joel Wanasek and Lewie Snyder in November of 2000. Bassist Bret Dumstrey joined in March of 2001. Drummer Tommy Gunner joined in June of 2001. The debut CD, "The Assault" was released June 6th, 2003. Dark Shift will be doing a headlining tour in South America in Janurary '04. www.darkshift.com for more info!

Group Members Lewie Snyder - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar. Joel Wanasek - Lead Guitar. Brett Dumstrey - Bass Guitar. Tommy Gunner - Drums

Albums The Assault (2003)

Press Reviews Darkshift is an awesome new heavy thrash/speed metal outfit from the USA. Remember their name, because they are sure to thrash, shred and double-kick their way to underground metal stardom. Be sure to check out their debut album (and aptly titled) “The Assault” which is reviewed here. You can find "The Assault" at their website, www.darkshift.com. By the Waters This song starts with a cool rhythmic lead guitar riff, which is soon joined by the extremely heavy and distorted rhythm guitar. The rhythm guitar is awesomely heavy, intricate, fast and unpredictable, in short, it is thrash rhythm guitar at it’s best. Tommy “The gunner” Lodwick adds interesting drum fills and adds even more heaviness to the equation with his double bass drum playing. Add in Brett Dumstrey’s bass playing and you have one heavy, intricate, tight knit rhythm section. Lewie Snyder’s vocals fit perfectly into the mix. They are deep and gruff while still being, intelligible and melodic. Joel’s lead guitar playing completes the Darkshift package. His soloing in this song is mostly melodic and integrated into the song but there is a great energizing shred solo in it too. Besides being a great song, By the Waters also features the infamous “psycho riff” which makes a couple of appearances, and finally ends the song with Tommy going crazy on the bass drums over it. Keeper This song is the closest Darkshift comes to Power Metal. The intro riff is full on Power/thrash metal with some more killer drumming, (lots of double bass drumming!), and just plain awesome guitar riffs. Joel starts out his solo with some killer shredding but ends it with some soulful harmonies. I really like the vocals on this song too, I realize that lots of people will think Lewie’s voice is too gruff or deep with not enough range, but I find it really fit’s Darkshift’s sound well. And, like I said, the lyrics and the melody come through Beyond the Dark This song just rocks! Rather than being another full on speed metal attack, this is a medium-fast tempo rocker which starts out with a riff that gives it a Metallica (Black album Era) vibe, but it soon gets heavier which gives it a slight Megadeth vibe. There are some great solos in this song, ranging from shred to bluesy, with some tempo changes as well. The Last Door This song starts with some cool acoustic arpegiated chords and some emotional vocals from Lewie, which are not even gruff until the song soon kicks in, in true power-ballad fashion. There are some really soulful solos in this song as well. Fit of Rage As the name of the song implies, here is another bruiser of a thrash song! There are quite a few tempo changes though, which allows for some slow soulful soloing (mixed with shredding of course!). Besides opening with the ultimate head-banging riff, this song also has a really angry chorus, which you can’t help but sing (yell) along with. I can’t forget Joel’s supper-fast energizing shred solos either! I can’t help but think to my self “this guy has style” every time I here one of his solos. Forever Night(partI) This is a three-part concept song about vampires) This song starts out with a cool polyphonic classical guitar part, which could almost be a song in itself. It then kicks into full gear with fairly heavy and medium-paced verses with an unbeatable thrash chorus. It slows down for some emotional solo work over an acoustic rhythm and a poetic spoken-word part by a female (on vampires, very cool). It then cuts to some heavy riffing, and freaky sounding soloing. The vocals are really great throughout the song are really dark sometimes and really catchy at others. Forever Night(partII) Ok, I’m not going to go through this entire section, all I am going to tell is that it is instrumental, and that everything about it just kills! (No pun intended). The guitar solos range from intensely energizing shred to soulful harmonies, and the riffs range from full of rage to tension building, and the drumming is always perfect. Forever Night(partIII) This part starts with more classical guitar work, which is really emotional and interesting in my opinion. If possible this part of “Forever Night” gets even darker then the previous parts. It is full of rage, sorrow and a feeling of helplessness. It ends the way it started with some beautiful acoustic work. Forever Night Summary My initial reaction to this song was pure awe; it really has a dark, epic feel to it. I have not felt this much emotion, rage and sorrow, from a metal song before. Darkshift really succeeds in conjuring up all sorts of dark images, the tone and parts of each instrument all work contribute to it, including the vocals. The last time a metal song affected me this much was Megadeth’s “Holy Wars-Punishment Due” and I like this song way more than "Holy Wars". Nevermore Another head banger! When do these guys rest? Seriously! Every single song on this album stands out in it’s own way so far and this song is no exception. The rhythm is classic metal/thrash, with lots of gallops thrown in. And I can’t get over the shred solos, he should have to have a license to play that fast! Lost Forever “The Assault” ends with a bang! Lost forever starts with a power-metal melodic riff. But soon cuts into some heavier riffs. The chorus is really catchy, with some good backup vocals too. As per usual expect an insane, brilliant guitar solo, and unbeatable drumming. The tempo changes a couple times too. THE JIST Darkshift is an awesome force of heavy thrash/speed metal. They combine elements of thrash, power metal, and progressive metal together. The rhythm guitar playing is mostly fast, intricate, and heavy. Lewie’s vocals are really low and gruff but you can hear most of the lyrics and all of the melody (especially if you listen to metal a lot). The lead guitar playing ranges from all out INSANE shredding to smooth melodies and sorrowful harmonized runs. The drumming is some of the best I have heard, with lots of double bass drumming and fills. The guitar tones are really great as well, they have the heaviest rhythm guitar tone I have ever heard, and a real smooth lead guitar tone that I just love. Possible influences include; Metallica (Ride the Lightning through And Justice for All), Testament, Megadeth, Dream Theater (John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy), Iced Earth, Iron Maiden, and maybe Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads Era) - http://www.guitarrock.ca/

Additional Info http://www.darkshift.com - OFFICIAL SITE!

Location Milwaukee, WI - USA

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