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I was not fond of the last Front Beast release I reviewed (2013's Demon Ways of Sorcery), not because I can't appreciate raw black metal but because of the monotonous vocals. Well, among the myriad releases from this German band I now find myself in possession of their 2019 EP, Shadows. From the start, this is better if only because the vocals are more varied, consisting of a deep rasp that at least inflects a little bit along with the melody of each song. Musically, we're talking riffs over tremolo picking and drums that aren't played at light speed constantly, wrapped up in a muddy, lo-fi production. This means the songs on Shadows are in the Hellhammer/early Celtic Frost mold with maybe some early Mayhem here and there. Overall, it is not a particularly memorable effort but if you wanted something black and evil to brighten your day, this might do the trick.