Still riding the wave of NWOBHM melancholy, the eighties were better, books on the era are great reads and how come I did not get into them at the time?!? I discovered this CD only through the book Suzie Smiled .. the NWOBHM by John Tucker. Thanks to the internet a clip was quickly found and an order made just as fast hereafter. What do we get here is a band that in more than one review is called Prog/NWOBHM and I can fully agree to this definition.
Rush is mentioned most as reference and then we are talking very early Rush here.Not the only comparison is the fact that Shiva are a trio as well. Together with the somewhat rawer edge of the NWOBHM this band got a niche that either fitted the seventies or the nineties when progmetal became big. In the NWOBHM high they might have been just a bit too far left to enjoy the fashion. While saying that this album to me shows an interesting mix of sounding oldfashioned in one sense (or true if you are German) while still very relevant at the same time. Listen to the songs Shiva, How Can I? or En Cachent, Angel of Mons they are catchy and more elaborated than many bands of the time.
Shiva are no longer together, but maybe a German festival can get them to play again one day. This CD definitely got me in the mood to explore more classic releases. With average current aardschok showing little must have albums, history is a perfect way to discover new music. Prog/NWOBHM seems to be the first place to explore, good band and probably also due to budget limits 30 years ago, completely unknown to me until recently. If only their career would have continued, they might have reached Progpower Headliner status, but if is only if.
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