Shadowman - Art of Prophecy

​Shadowman

Art of Prophecy
self-released; 2016

3.6 out of 5

By Jamie Funk
​

Alice Copper, Marilyn Manson, Kiss. All of these performers are theatrical and they bring more than just music to the table. Even though these artists bring a tinge of darkness it always felt like fun to me. Shadowman consisting of Frank Raducz Jr (vocals/guitar), Zach Kanner (bass) and Dan Ogrodnik (drums) is of a similar strain. 

I was reading about the band and came across the line “It is like a mixture of Tom Waits meeting Marilyn Manson.” That line more or less paints  an accurate picture of their music on their four-song EP Art of Prophecy. The EP opens with “Crossroad Deal.” It has a beat that sounds like it came from the group Sleigh Bells mixed with repeated gospel sounding vocals. Once the lead vocals come in you can’t ignore them. Raducz sounds like a comic book villain. His vocals are extremely hyperbolic and whimsical at the same time. 

His vocals change a little bit on “Goddess” where he sounds like a cartoonishly evil Tom Waits. The music is more subdued and has a lot less intensity than the opener. There is a rickety, rustic backwoods Mississippi Delta Blues vibe to the music. Up next is “Little Devil” that has more of an arena Kid Rock southern feel. The next song “Spanish Gold”  is another deviation that sounds so  different compared to the other style of music. His vocals are a lot more straightforward and the music sounds much more like a live indie band than anything else on the album. 

From these four songs I think a little bit of direction might be needed going forward. I left the EP feeling slightly confused about their sound and what they were trying to accomplish. There are some similar themes going on but some of the songs felt pretty far apart.

​Overall, I like the ideas and I think the execution could use a bit of tweaking. I hope to hear more soon and I am looking forward to how this pans out on their album.