Described as dark, heavy and intense, Shift blends the old with the new, and takes it progressively on a different journey entirely. At times as heavy as bands like Strapping Young Lad, Death, and Nevermore, yet fused with the tranquillity and melody of acts like Alice In Chains and Katatonia, Shift push the boundaries of what it means to be ‘heavy’.
The bands’ debut set ‘Faceless’ marks the first in what will eventually be four sets of six songs each, to be released over the coming 18 months and distributed predominantly online. Modelled on the ‘Pay What You Want’ approach, pioneered by the likes of Radiohead and N.I.N, ‘Faceless’ offers potential fans the choice of two different packages depending on how much they want to pay, with high quality audio files, bonus artwork and songs available for those who want to dig a bit deeper.
Perhaps unusually, the band has yet to play a live show, and in fact have never even rehearsed, Lambert choosing instead to enlist long-time friend and former band-mate Kori Barnett into the studio as a session player to lay down drums, as well as asking several different bass players to tackle various songs. Live shows are only a matter of time, but whilst they will be infrequent, they promise to be a show to remember.
Shift’s influences can clearly be heard within the bands music. The impact of heavy bands such as Tool, Opeth, Isis and the Deftones alongside further afield artists such as Tricky, Nick Cave and Jeff Buckley culminate in an unconventional writing style that blends massive guitar riffs with seductive synths, guttural growls with delicate and intimate vocal styles and leads Shift to explore dynamics, mood and atmosphere in their music, as opposed to relying on hooks to capture attention
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