A Melbourne based three piece compared to the likes of AC DC, The Baby Animals and Queens Of The Stone Age, Shadowqueen are a powerful antipodean proposition.
The new single, their first since their loud and proud debut album in 2012, picks up where its predecessor left off – pounding rock with a strong female vocal and melodic bass lines laid under chorded guitar riffs. Blessed with a huge chorus that emerges from an energetic verse, this is the work of a band who are assured in their own sound.
You can hear the track here:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyMgIjxofzo&w=750&h=422]
Recorded and Produced by award winner Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Shihad, Sky Harbor) at Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne Vic, the track was then sent to the US to be mastered by Grammy Award winner Tom Coyne (Muse, Adele, Pink) at Sterling Sound, New York, NY, USA. The result is a superbly produced rock track which marks the next release and the next step forward in a very promising progression for Shadowqueen.
They are a band who already have a large following and are used to the spotlight having played at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, been nominated for a video award at the Music Oz Awards 2012 and received airplay on Oz national radio Triple M. That success came as a result of a debut album that was given 5 stars in the review from Classic Rock UK Magazine
That album, also mastered at Sterling Sound (this time by Ted Jensen – Paramore, Iron Maiden), set the template for what we are continuing to hear from Shadowqueen in their new single. ‘Burning’ is something of a treatise on depression, continuing the band’s pattern of producing songs about relatable issues: ‘one night stands mixed with a drug obsession’, ‘karma’, ‘friends lying to each other’, ‘the worlds natural disasters’, ‘having a bad day’, ‘a virtual life, no need to leave your home with all this technology nowadays’, and so much more.
Formed initially by main lyricist/singer/bass player Robbi Zana and guitarist/backing vocalist Si Hopman, the band truly came together with the addition of drummer Alex Deegan. A session drummer who had shared the stage with some of the world’s best including Steve Smith (Journey), Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Star’s band), he has worked as a studio musician recording music for Australian Idol winners including a number 1 single and top 10 charting albums. His experience included a gig at the Australian MTV Awards backing Teddy Geiger (USA) to a stadium of 60,000 which was also televised globally.
As soon as he met Robbi and Si in 2009, there was something about their chemistry that simply ‘clicked’. They are a band with a good personality blend and no ego, even surviving after a ten year relationship/four year marriage between Si and Robbi ended in divorce. But such is their chemistry together when writing and performing that the pair are able to continue working well to create the sound that is fast becoming a trademark of Shadowqueen.
Soundcloud link:
Website
