Nowadays, when the progressive descriptor is added to melodic death metal, this means that the songs are longer without any good reason. You would be hard pressed to find a modern melodic death metal band that is creative or that looks outside its own box. Second Shooter are a band that look back instead. They sound like a version of Angela Gossow-era Arch Enemy that leans less on the Swedish folk influences of bands like In Flames and At the Gates, instead edging more towards groove metal. The chunky sound of the 90’s Gothenburg scene is still there in their debut album Fury Made Flesh, but the impression it leaves is different. A lot of the songs here rely on said grooves to slowly build up tension before going for some big payoffs. This works well in songs like “Palm Reader”, where the band mix some thrashy At the Gates guitar leads with the rocking groove, and less in other songs where they have a hard time sustaining the build over four minutes. There are some solos that add color to the otherwise subdued sound palette, and odd one-off ideas like the grindcore length “Gold Plated Pervert” breathe life into the album. Melanie Johnson‘s growls are impressive and add a harsher edge to the material that fits in with the rest of the band, however the occasional clean vocal line falls short of the expectations set by her growls.
There are some interesting details and quality riffs on Fury Made Flesh, but I often come away from it not remembering what I’ve heard. Despite the groove metal influence, the space for this kind of music is very crowded, and a lot of effort has to be put into standing out. I am not fully convinced that Second Shooter are there yet. As a thesis, Fury Made Flesh is a solid first outing, but there is a sense that the ideas are not coming together in a way that is compelling yet. The band is competent, for sure. They have a decently chunky sound that can swerve at the drop of a dime and a vocalist that suits them well. But something is missing. I think the best thing the band can do going forward is sit down, focus on songwriting, and explore how they can hone their strengths. There are a ton of bands that play this kind of metal, yet only a handful that reach for those timeless ideas acts like Unto Others look for. The general sound is already there for Second Shooter, now practice and look for that lightning in the bottle.
