Shaft of Steel - Steel Heartbeat

[Stefan]

Release date Feb 21 through AOR Heaven.

 

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1. Touching You Every Day
2. I’ve Never Been Alone (With a Girl Like You Before)
3. All Because of You
4. Together as One Tonight
5. Vulnerable Man
6. Falling Through the Flames
7. Body and Mind
8. Lucky Girl
9. You See Smoke When I See Fire
11. Every Time I Look at You

[Geoff]

I thought it might be a Steel Panther rip off or something. Anyway, off song titles alone it could be cool, but really, nothing to go off here yet.

[Captain Howdy]

Dreadful band name, and really does not fit with their musical style.

 

[Geoff]

Interesting tune. I think there's a decent tune in it, but it seems a bit disjointed to me. Very proggy. Was it just me or did the chorus last about 2mins?

But yeah, I agree, it's a bit of a daft band name unless you're doing something like a Steel Panther or the like. 

[Invisible_man]

4 hours ago, Geoff said:

But yeah, I agree, it's a bit of a daft band name unless you're doing something like a Steel Panther or the like. 

lol, does the "shaft" of steel worry you 

the song is ok, kind of average

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Invisible_man

[AlphaMale]

Average stuff.

[Stefan]

First song 'Touching You Every Day'.

Good song.

 

 

[Captain Howdy]

meh. does nothing for me

[AlphaMale]

23 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

meh. does nothing for me

ditto

[Geoff]

I don't mind it, but it's the definition of a song that gets heard, forgotten and lost in the mix almost immediately.

[Stefan]

New song 'Together As One Tonight'.

SHAFT OF STEEL IS:
Robert Fenning - Lead Vocals; Alex Markham – Guitars; Adam Carruthers – Guitars; Dominic Swords – Bass; Chris Smurthwaite – Keyboards; Michael Levy – Drums

SHAFT OF STEEL are a melodic hard rock band based in London, UK and centered around the songwriting partnership of Alex Markham (guitar) and Robert Fenning (vocals). The group’s line-up is completed by Adam Carruthers (guitar), Dominic Swords (bass), Chris Smurthwaite (keyboards) and Michael Levy (drums).

Formed in 2004 at Hull University, SHAFT OF STEEL began life as a power metal band influenced by acts such as Iron Maiden, Dream Theater and Blind Guardian. Guitarist Alex Markham and vocalist Robert Fenning soon discovered that they had a shared love of 80s rock and pop music, in particular Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and Journey, and quickly sought to combine these sounds with their metal influences. After three years as a popular and much-loved local act on the Scarborough music scene, the band went their separate ways after graduating.

In 2011, after establishing themselves in other careers, the band felt it was finally right to regroup and record an EP. Bassist Andy Cooper and drummer Garth Vickers from the earlier incarnation of SHAFT OF STEEL re-joined, along with Markham’s school friends, guitarist Adam Carruthers and keyboard player Chris Smurthwaite.

During their hiatus, the members of SHAFT OF STEEL learned of the thriving AOR scene in mainland Europe and were determined to introduce more melodic influences into their music upon reforming. The band’s self-titled debut EP was released independently in 2014 and picked up plaudits in the music press all around the globe, appearing in Classic Rock AOR, Powerplay and Fireworks magazines and a host of online publications.

SHAFT OF STEEL subsequently made their first live appearance with their new line-up, supporting UK melodic rock heavyweights VEGA at The Garage in London in 2014. Since then, they’ve appeared at the prestigious HRH AOR Festival in North Wales and The Underworld, Camden, where they delivered a storming hour-long set, filled with new material.

Bassist Andy Cooper and drummer Garth Vickers departed the line-up in 2017 and were replaced respectively by Dominic Swords and Michael Levy, both of whom had already played in earlier incarnations of the band. A full-length album remained an ongoing project in the years following the EP release and it was finally completed in late 2019. 
SHAFT OF STEEL have signed to AOR Heaven for the release of the new album, entitled ‘Steel Heartbeat’. They have made major stylistic leaps on this record, taking influence from a range of melodic hard rock and AOR acts, including Work of Art, FM, Harem Scarem, Strangeways and Shy, while being careful not to abandon their metal roots.
‘Steel Heartbeat’ features backing vocals on all tracks from respected American producer and musician Dennis Ward. Famous for being the bass player in legendary German hard rockers Pink Cream 69 (and, more recently, the vocalist for Firewind main man Gus G’s solo material), Ward appeared on the band’s debut EP and has also mastered the record. The album was produced and mixed by guitarist Alex Markham, who took up the same roles on the debut EP. 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by Stefan

[Stefan]

New video for 'I’ve Never Been Alone (With a Girl Like You Before)'.

 

 

 

[Geoff]

If they compressed all these songs down to about 3min each, beefed up the production and just sounded tighter as a band there's potential here in terms of hooks and melodies. But as it is, production is weak, band don't sound like a unit and the songs are way too long.