Introducing: A Shadow Within

Denver band A Shadow Within seek to meet, investigate and embrace the “collective shadow sides” that they’ve been told to repress and ignore. The result sees the band take full control of their darker selves in a diverse metalcore sound they describe as “cathartic, energetic and powerful.”

From their very beginning at the start of 2023, A Shadow Within set out to release a new single every first Friday of every month. And so far, they’ve delivered on that, which means there’s lots of new music to dig into.

Our latest tastes of that are Monster and How Long, which were released in July and August respectively. Most recently is How Long, which starts out with a light synth sound that continues into a laid-back opening verse and a melodic, engaging chorus. A light guitar sound kicks in, before it explodes into crushing guitars and vicious screamed vocals, which sets up a big final blast of the chorus.

That followed on from the superb Monster, which begins with a chunky stabbing guitar riff, lively drums and a distant synth. It drops into clean vocals in a mellow but slightly sinister opening verse, which feed into a beautiful chorus led by the catchy vocals “If I’m a villain you’re a monster, If I’m the hater then you’re the greed, I’d make a killing if I wanted, But I have what I need” before big screams of “If I’m a villain you’re a monster.” A second chorus ends with crushing low-tuned guitars supporting vicious screamed vocals, which drops into the whispers of “You’re a good guy that does bad things, You’re a bad guy that does good things” before final smashes of the chorus.

On the tracks,  vocalist David Bowick told us: “The reception for both songs has been amazing! What’s great is that they’re so different from each other. Monster is a gritty, rusty old carousel ride and How Long is a softer, more ‘Alternative Metal’ track until the brutal breakdown that is. Sleep Token was definitely an influence on How Long, giving us the freedom to explore some of the softer sides of the genre. The music video for How Long has pushed us over 10k subscribers on YouTube, which is a really exciting milestone!” Check out How Long in the video here:

This idea of offering something different certainly applies across A Shadow Within’s growing arsenal of music. As David says: “What’s cool about ASW is that I don’t think you could quite put us in a box. Each track will give you something a little different. We’ll always experiment, try new things, and let our hearts lead the art wherever that takes us.”

That’s portrayed by the edgy Again & Again, the far darker Torn, which goes from a powerful verse of stabbing guitars and intense vocals into a surprisingly catchy chorus, the intense metalcore feel of Quicksand and debut single Can You Hear Me Now, the more melodic Better Days, and the dramatic Pass The Champagne, which you can check out in the video below:

A Shadow Within draw influence from a long list of bands that includes We Came As Romans, Kingdom of Giants, Spiritbox, Sleep Token, Bleed From Within, NOVELISTS and Memphis May Fire.

And on what inspires them to write music, David explains: “Like from the name itself, generally speaking, the themes are about exploring and embracing our shadows. It probably will shift as we grow and expand.”

A Shadow Within are still on track to release a new single every first Friday through 2023, so we’re half expecting a ninth single to drop tomorrow. But stay tuned for more from this exciting new band. And, as David puts it: “Whatever you’re into, come explore your darker sides with us. It’s in there, let it out and scream with us.”

You can follow A Shadow Within on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.