Review by Julio on November 18, 2021.

One of those albums that is much better than it has any right to be.

Seriously, I mean it. How is this album that good? How? It is driving me insane. It is 2021, a power metal album with this sort of proposition should laughably bad, corny, and embarrassment to the makers and to genre itself. But somehow it isn’t any of those things. It is good, plain and simple, very good even. I am beyond words.

Tobias Sammet is much interested these days in his Avantasia, relegating Edguy to the side project position, making the other members trying to find something meaningful to do. Jens Ludwig surely managed to do that. He, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Mirkko DeMaio and the always phenomenal Nando Fernandes teamed up and put together this album which drinks heavily from the well of melodic metal from the 90’s and early 00’s, thematically, structurally, lyrically, even visually. One could already understand that to this scribe, hinted in the opening paragraph, all those things are huge red flags and deal breakers. That incarnation of the genre is dead and gone, let it rest in peace, try to do something newer and fresher! But then BOOM it is very good, with a ton of personality and a miraculous reinvention of the old threadbare elements of the genre. Got me completely off guard.

Immediately it got me thinking about Cain’s Offering (Timo Kotipelto and Jani Liimatainen), another example of a project deeply rooted in the old school melodic metal that manages to be offer (ha!) something fresh and interesting out of the stale water of the aforementioned well. The two albums they released are arguably better than most of recent albums from the original bands – Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica – and just as well got me shocked.

Gotta be something about piercing out the best bits from each member and their usual works in other bands. Something more honest, something more natural, uninhibited, with no pressure, just for fun and alchemically balanced amount of nostalgia. Jens brings in the German precision and diligence, Alessandro and Mirkko the Italian hit and passion and energy, while Nando has charisma and personality by the buckets as well as the Brazilian swing and easiness. A perfect combination, a match made in heaven, an alignment of planets and stars, call it what you want, but the thing is: it works. And works better than anybody could have expected.

But the real star here is Nando. He is a hell of a vocalist, and one super underrated in the Brazilian scene, with such a unique voice, a voice which he explores to the utmost best on Skywards. Many Brazilians vocalists on this side of metal spectrum tried very hard to sound like the late and unforgettable Andre Matos, but not Nando, who for many years now built a name for himself being nothing less that one of a kind. Mad respect for that.

I expected just yet another cash grabber shallow project to entice middle aged guys who don’t want to accept they are old, but what I met blew me away in the most positive sense imaginable. I can only hope that they will eventually round the gang up together again and try another shot.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 12, 2018.

On Shadow Syndicate, Skinned plays a form of brutal death metal fused with slam vocals, black metal vocals, and melodic death metal that are all used very sparingly. Speaking of black metal vocals; it also sounds like Heljarmadr of Grá is featured on the opening track “Wings of Virulence”, either that or someone in Skinned is a really awesome vocalist or vocalist/guitarist. On Shadow Syndicate they frequently jump from melodic to less groovy instrumentation with fast tremolo picking, pinch harmonics and buzzing guitars (see "Led to the Trains). One thing is definite whilst listening to the album is that Skinned seems to love using gravity blasts especially on the track “We Are the End”. They way in which Skinned structure’s the music on Shadow Syndicate is not technical; however, you can’t really predict what the next section will be when it comes to the drumming and guitars. A perfect example of this can be heard on the track “Mental Deconstruction” throughout it's 3:10 timespan. The technique is slightly familiar to that of Origin, though Origin is a very technical band, one can hear segments of Origin’s style of musical composition tiptoe into the notes. 

“Black Rain” is a moderately slow groovy instrumental track; I think Skinned implemented this to give the headbanger a period of rest before the relentless display continued to damage all that stepped in its way. And in some ways, the band did this to add diversity and a deeper layer in the tone of the album. The second half of the album showed a calm approach in comparison to 1st half of Shadow Syndicate. The blasts beats are still present along with the riffing but they feel more relaxed and at times restrained in contrast to the opening moments of the album. There is also a less melodic sound to the music and more of a mid-paced and mid-tempo breakdown (not in a deathcore way). “Angel’s Haarp” embodies what the second half of Shadow Syndicate represents. It possesses tiny fragments of blast beat drumming, toned down riffing, longer segments of breakdowns and compact melodic segments. 

From what I can understand lyrically, the concepts appear to examine mankind’s psyche’s many flaws/inadequacies as a result of not applying thought before his/her actions and how it ties into mental enslavement leading to an apocalyptic event soon to come. Yet another band can identify that there is truly something wrong with human beings, in my opinion not by design but by an inclination to decadence. Overall the album is definitely a team effort; at no point in time did I get the feeling of a half-assed undertaking by Skinned. The album materializes as a very good well-timed and controlled artistic crafting. The clear production helps the music to shine in certain segments that give identity its appropriate track. Shadow Syndicate is an enjoyable album from beginning to end, I’ve already had at least 3 listens since acquiring it and I've never once felt negatively overwhelmed or exhausted.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10