Alternative metal band Shadow Smile formed to offer a voice for the voiceless with music that carries a message and meaning to provoke independent thinking. The Sheffield quartet has crafted an engaging sound that fuses catchy choruses with powerful metal instrumentals, which they describe as “thoughtful, aggressive and anthemic.”
The quartet of Connor McGovern (vocals), Adam Smith (guitar), Ethan Goebel-Todd (bass) and Joe Fletcher (drums) had all been members of other bands in the Sheffield scene before forming in 2019. And as Connor tells us: “We ended up together out of a common passion for making music with one foot firmly in metal’s past and the other pushing the boundaries of what we think metal should be in the 21st century.
“The Shadow Smile sound is a combination of hard-hitting modern metal with the soaring vocals and intense guitar solos of classic rock and the catchiest choruses we can come up with.”
We spoke to the band around the release of their latest single Dearly Departed, which opens with a light synth sound that gives way to a lively intro. It drops into an engaging opening verse that develops into a big singalong chorus. A second chorus gives way to a delicious guitar solo then a really cool section of strings and guitars build to a powerful conclusion.
On the track, Connor told us: “The reception has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve had people get tattoos of the band logo and people emailing and DMing us to tell us how it has resonated with them. It really feels like it is taking us a step higher in the music food chain and a step closer to our fans at the same time. For those who haven’t listened, it’s a softer song as metal goes but still has powerful riffs and a ripping guitar solo!” Check it out in the lyric video here:
That follows a series of singles over the last few years, which began with debut track Digital God. It opens up with a lively riff that feeds into engaging opening vocals then repeats of “bow to the digital god” feed into a catchy chorus. Check it out in the video here:
While tracks like a personal favourite Marionette offer a glimpse into the heavier side of Shadow Smile. It starts out with a lively low-tuned riff before vicious vocals take over. That feeds into a big catchy chorus “Do I have your attention now? I need to make you understand somehow, Exorcise your rights, And speak as freely as you may, I don’t believe a goddamn word you say”, which has a slight undertone of Adema (if anyone remembers them?). Check it out in the video below:
The Shadow Smile sound takes inspiration from a wide range of genres, with core rock and metal influences including Avenged Sevenfold, Ghost, Bring Me the Horizon and While She Sleeps.
And on what inspires them to write music, Connor tells us: “There are a multitude of subjects which we’ve drawn inspiration from. Something political may inspire one song whereas a movie or book inspires another. Our main aim is to be entertaining and not preachy. So any message has to be wrapped up in metaphor and theatricality.”
There’s plenty more to come from Shadow Smile as the band is busy in the studio recording their debut full-length album, which has been completely crowdfunded and will take until April to complete. And you can see the band live tonight at Corporation in Sheffield from 7pm alongside L1nkn P4rk (a cover band, obviously!) and at the same venue on 2 December.
And Connor adds: “We really appreciate every listen, every piece of coverage and every new fan that we get. Making music is our passion and, if it resonates, that’s all we can hope for.”
You can follow Shadow Smile on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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