Lindsey Stirling’s new album “Shatter Me” does just as it says. It’s packed full of heavy, face melting bass drops and Lindsey’s soaring violin, of course, shattering all expectations being the follow up to her first album. The record kicks off with the heavy foot stomping “Beyond The Veil” and dissolves into the dreamy intro of “Mirror Haus.” But it doesn’t stay like that for long as it shifts into upbeat attention-grabbing, fist pumping chorus sections. Up next with “V-Pop,” the song grabs you and makes you feel as if you already know it, and have known it well for a while. The gritty bass and arpeggios crescendo to a fortepiano feeling. The dynamics on this record are as dynamic as it gets, in studio, without drastic volume changes.
“Shatter Me” is the title track of the album with guest vocals from the fantastic Lzzy Hale of the hard rock band Halestorm. I was mind blown when I found out Lzzy Hale sang on a Lindsey Stirling song. Stirling reaches out to all kinds of artists and genres and that’s really a plus for all different kinds of fans from all types of music genres. I admire that! It’s musical diffusion! “Heist” sounds like a fast paced getaway as the track title indicates.
“Roundtable Rival” is a strong song in the mix. It has head bobbing sassy guitar riffs and stands out with brutal confidence with a sort of heavy rock/country/metal explosion. Later in the album, there is another guest vocalist, Dia Frampton, who sings on the track “We Are Giants.” The award for the swaggiest song would have to go to “Swag.” The award for the best EBM (electronic body music) violin album of the year goes to “Shatter Me” by Lindsey Stirling.
