SHAKRA – Snakes & Ladders [Limited Digipak] (2017)

Swiss hard rockers SHAKRA – one of the most consistent European acts in the genre since the late ’90s – will release their new studio album “Snakes & Ladders” on November 10th via AFM Records.

Having a new Shakra album to listen to is always a moment of appreciation. In one or another way the Swiss hard rock outfit never really disappointed me with one of their albums.
Sure, they stay true to the classic hard rock recipe without taking any risk… but who cares? From some bands you want what they do best, and this is the case these guys.
Classic hard rock is Shakra’s ADN.

Additionally, the band avoid the genre’s cliches and add enough riff power to their tunes with the raspy vocals of Mark Fox being the icing on the cake. Some songs almost sound like them being the mean little brother of Gotthard.

Opener ‘Cassandras Curse’ perfectly sets the frame for the album. Shakra unveils all their firepower which is also strongly present in ‘Friday Night’. The latter is the first tune that brought Pretty Maids to my mind while listening to it. It‘s especially the chorus that shows some parallels and it‘s not the only song with such an inspiration.

As with most Shakra albums, this new one comes with a positive vibe, feel-good spirit, but we find a welcomed darker track in ‘Fire in My Veins’ to balance the record.
But in the end, it‘s the swinging, melodic tracks that are dominant on “Snakes & Ladders”.

Shakra stays true to their classic hard rock sound & style on “Snakes & Ladders”, and these are good news because this is what we expect from them. This is their album number 11 so they must be doing something right.
This is strong, clean, crisp hard rock in the vein of Gotthard, The Poodles, the lighter side of Pretty Maids, where every number that found its way on the tracklist has enough of an entertainment factor to give listeners and fans of the genre a really good time.
Easily Recommended

01 – Cassandra’s Curse
02 – Friday Nightmare
03 – Snakes & Ladders
04 – Something You Don’t Understand
05 – The Seeds
06 – Rollin’
07 – Medicine Man
08 – I Will Rise Again
09 – Open Water
10 – The Race of My Life
11 – Fire in My Veins
12 – The End of Days

Mark Fox – Vocals
Thom Blunier – Lead Guitar
Thomas Muster – Rhythm Guitar
Dominik Pfister – Bass
Roger Tanner (ex- Evidence One) – Drums

PRE ORDER:
www.amazon.de/Snakes-Ladders-Lim-Digipak-Shakra/dp/B075SVWHHN/
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