Selfmadegod Records presents Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment, the debut album from new Polish metal collective, Shadohm.
Renowned Polish multi-talented metal musician Paweł "Pavulon" Jaroszewicz (Vader, Decapitated, Hate, Antigama, Obscure Sphinx), joined by several experienced musicians on the Polish metal scene (Adrian Meissner, Rafał Tarlachan, Błażej Kasprzak, and Jakub Śliwowski) have initiated their newest project, Shadohm. Prepare yourselves for the latest offering of pure, unadulterated darkness of black metal, energy of groove metal, climate and heavy melodies of doom metal and absurdly low-tuned notes.
Shadohm’s Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment is a modern combination of styles, citing acts like Architects, Lorna Shore, Meshuggah, Gojira, and Katatonia, shocking to the listener from start to finish with five tracks of melodic trance with amazing vocals that will take you to another dimension of modern metal, created by a conglomerate of experienced professionals.
To create Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment, the drums were recorded at Santa Studio (Behemoth, Obscure Sphinx) by Mikołaj Kiciak, Filip Hałucha, and Sebastian Has, the guitars and bass were recorded at Heinrich House Studio by Filip Hałucha, the vocals were recorded at Santa Studio by Sebastian Has, and the tracks were mixed and mastered by Has at Santa Studio. The cover art was created by vocalist Adrian Meissner and Michal “Xaay” Loranc (God Dethroned, Kamelot, Nile), and the photography was handled by Aleksandra "Kosa" Majak.
Jaroszewicz comments: "Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment is a commentary on how I perceive the surrounding reality and is inspired by everything that I encountered throughout the years. It is a form of releasing the pressure and frustration growing within for many years, a form of catharsis, a sort of therapy – coming to terms with my demons and finding the strength to pursue my goals against all odds."
Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment will be released on CD and all digital platforms through Selfmadegod Records on March 8. Watch for pre-orders to post alongside an official video and more over the weeks ahead.
Tracklisting:
"Through Darkness"
"Blurred"
"Fair Weather Friend"
"Ripped Apart"
"Towards Enlightenment"
The release of Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment will take place in direct conjunction with the launch of Shadohm’s first live venture, a tour across their native Poland supporting Batushka, with additional support from Baalzagoth on select dates. See the confirmed routing below.
“One of the distinguishing features of Shadohm is undeniably our custom guitars, built to order by our friend Kriz Ramirez from Mexico, at his company - K. Ramirez Guitars,” reveals Paweł Jaroszewicz. “Due to our preference for tuning low (even very low), we knew that Kriz would be the right person to make them, considering his years of experience as a luthier and as a musician."
He continues, “We opted for a shape that is a variation of the Iceman model produced by Ibanez. All three guitars are 9-string Spitfire models, equipped with custom-made Fishman Fluence pickups. The bridge was built from scratch specifically for us by Kriz's team based on the Hipshot bridge because they don't manufacture bridges for nine-string multiscale guitars as a standard. The scale is 30” for the lowest string and 28” for the highest, making them an ideal combination for comfort (it makes catching various peculiar chords a bit easier) and also allowing all tones, even the lowest ones, to resonate without detuning. We chose this setup because we tune down to F# on the thickest string (an octave lower than the classical F# on an eight-string guitar), and the conventional solutions available on the market were insufficient.
“As for the wood selection, following Kriz's advice, we settled on flamed maple, while the fretboard itself is made of exotic Granadillo wood, which performs excellently in low tunings. We aimed for an original look. All three guitars are in a beige shade, we swapped the classic potentiometers for knobs, and the logo on the 12th fret and the lumin laye shimmer in blue under UV light - associations with Dune are entirely accurate. You can see the details in the photos, and already in March, during the upcoming Black Pasha tour, you will be able to hear and see live how these instruments present themselves in all their splendor.”
Shadohm:
Adrian "Klama" Meissner – vocals
Paweł "Pavulon" Jaroszewicz – drums
Rafał "Tarlachan" Łyszczarz – guitars, vocals
Błażej Kasprzak – bass
Jakub "Szatan" Śliwowski – guitars
(Photo - Aleksandra Majak)
