Shake Chain – Snake Chain

Screaming samples and a unique, gibbering vocalist do little to propel Shake Chain's simple melodies into the sonic depths they were hoping for

Album Review by Ellie Robertson | 15 Nov 2022
  • Shake Chain – Snake Chain
Album title: Snake Chain
Artist: Shake Chain
Label: Upset the Rhythm
Release date: 18 Nov

In their virgin venture, Shake Chain bleed every song until it's dry. The London foursome find nothing groundbreaking in a sloppy mixture of hard and fast, showing off the same riffs you'd expect from any other post-punk thrashers. But they do achieve thrust, and find new space to push each track into, which is impressive structuring when every song starts as heavy as those across Snake Chain.

In opener Stace, sound clips of sobbing, screaming and swearing echo up from a pit, a pit carved out with wispy percussion and occasional guitar notes. The garish samples do little to mask the middle-of-the-road ability of the group's instrumentalists. Kate Mahony joins the fun from RU onwards, bringing unique vocal improvisations which oscillate between the guttural growls familiar to metal fans and the high-pitched whine of pop punk, landing in a novel practise of lyrics being wailed or gibbered. The style helps Mahony get messy with the album's theme of despair, and though it might get under listeners' skin, it will definitely stick in their memory. Vocal highlights aside, the band's simplistic metal techniques fail to materialise the "Catholic sex dungeon" vibes Mahony hoped to summon.

Listen to: RU, Cavalry

http://linktr.ee/shakechain