Dominating the scenery maybe by the biggest rocks in Europe, but sleepy Switzerland remains a Rock netherworld. The Germans have The Scorpions and Rammstein, the Italians have Lacuna Coil but like the French the Swiss just don’t get it. What is the biggest Metal outfit ever to emerge from Switzerland? None other than everyone’s favourite second rate AC/DC clones Krokus, a band named after that awe-inspiring piece of man-eating totally Heavy Metal flora, the crocus!* Switzerland is a twee tourist haven, a pleasant hideaway for winter sports enthusiasts, bankers, Third World dictators and other totally un-Metal bores. The soundscape is dominated by cabaret, Swiss Euro-pop and lame German synth-noise. Less promising ground for a Metal band can scarcely be conceived this side of Botswana.
Somehow making some Les-Claypool like progress on the seas of Swiss cheese we have Shakra, a local 5-piece who specialise in 1980s-style Rock albeit with a beefed-up studio sound. Shakra have been diligently ploughing an identical furrow for over a decade and bloody-mindedly stuck King Canute-like to their desperately unfashionable sound throughout the Nu-Metal tyranny of the late 1990s and early to mid- 2000s.
Luckily for Shakra sticking to their guns finally seems to be paying off. Popular they may always have been in German clubs where the 1980s never died, but Shakra have at last received recognition in their homeland. They have enjoyed support slots with the mightiest of the mighty, Iron Maiden and Gun n’Roses - but only in Switzerland. Elsewhere they have toured with the likes of Hammerfall and Stratovarius. In charming Swiss fashion, these local superstars have been liberally showered with bizarre attempts to cash in on their burgeoning local fame. Shakra have their own brand of skis for example and a peculiar deal to promote Iveco vans. Despite all this they are taken seriously enough in Heidi-land to have been signed by Sony, although again only in Switzerland.
So what exactly is getting all those Swiss ski-boots tapping? Well ‘Everest’, the band’s ninth studio album, is a very fine record – as long you like exactly this kind of thing. Opener ‘Ashes To Ashes’ comes on good and strong with a thin-sounding Queensryche-trademark guitar riff, before heading off into a well-executed sing-along chorus. The rest of the album continues in a similar vein. ‘Right Between The Eyes’ has a Metal swagger reminiscent of Sebastian Bach-era Skid Row in their prime. ‘Dirty Money’ is pure Bon Jovi. It isn’t all derivative though. ‘Let Me Lie My Life To You’ could just about be Him, and on ‘The Journey’ guitarist Thom Blunier has a go at being Zakk Wylde, replete with regulation guitar squeals.
Vocalist Mark Fox’s vocals are perfect for the task in hand, having that all important L.A-style rasp and being curiously reminiscent of – gasp – Jon Bon Jovi. Sounding like Jon Bon Jovi would have been desperately lacking in credibility in say, 2007, but feels a bit daring and highly entertaining in 2009. Fox is also helped by some slick song-writing. Shakra have toured with the likes of Great White and Uriah Heep and evidently paid attention. Every song on ‘Everest’ features a fiendishly catchy-if-a-bit-like-20-other-of-my-favourite-songs-type chorus. Hardened po-faced Nu-Metallers will try to maintain a resolute sneer throughout this album, but still be forced to get the auto-punishment grater out after accidentally humming along. There is even a typical 1980s album-style ghastly ballad at the end, but doesn’t Alice Cooper himself tell us that you should always put something on there for the ladies?
This isn’t exactly challenging stuff, and sometimes, as on ‘Anybody Out There’ you might wonder if they are covering something, so similar is their sound to the Rock mastodons of the 1980s. The band’s habit of replacing ex-members with 21 year olds is also a double-edged sword. Mark Fox and Dominic Pfister on bass have evident heart-throb potential. Shakra’s leather jacketed look also suggests their management are keeping an eye on what Him are up to. Unfortunately the downside is that poor old Thomas Muster the rhythm guitarist has ‘weather-beaten founder member’ written all over him.
Nevertheless, in ‘Everest’ Shakra have a fine record which should translate well to those elusive audiences outside of Switzerland. The increasing interest in the New Wave of Trad Metal might also finally allow them to reap the rewards of their voluntary but ever so long sojourn in the Metal wilderness. Good luck to them quite frankly.
http://www.shakra.ch
http://www.myspace.com/shakrarock
