Forbidden Seed – ‘In Shadows Deep – Shadow Of The Crow Part II’
Power Metal
Steel Gallery Records
Released – December 12th 2025
Studio Band:
Constantin Maris – Vocals/Guitar/Bass
Stefanos Zafeiropoulos – Guitar/Vocals
K.C – Drums
George Tsioutsias – Keyboards
Guests
Kosta Vetro – Guitar solo Track 12
Dimitris Goutziamanis – Guitar solo Track 13
Tracklist:
Intro (Murder Of Crows)
Remedial Sinner
Back From The Brink
Till Morning Comes
From Above
Other Side Of The Blade
Trivial
Rooftops
Alone In The Rain/Ghost Beneath The Remains
Pain
Ghost Shadow Redeemer
I Don’t Want It Anymore
30 Hours Of Pain
Beyond This Night
Outro (Forever)
Forbidden Seed are another new name to me. Hailing from Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia they comprise the vocal and guitar talents of both Constantin Maris and Stefanos Zafeiropoulos. They are ably abetted by George Tsioutsias on keyboards, drummer K.C plus some guests here and there. Maris also bangs the bass too.
Having never heard these guys before I wasn’t sure what to expect. The intro piqued my interest immediately. Loads of synth strings under a dark piano line and some chanting before some crunchy guitars and a tribal beat led us to the epic opener of ‘Remedial Sinner’. Plenty happens before the gentle vocals come in then they’re away on a power metal gem with some stunning guitar work. They ease back on the chorus before revving up on the verses. ‘Back From The Brink’ has a slow and moody start with some beautiful voices before some more crunchy riffage and multiple voices. ‘Till Morning Comes’ brings some real power on a punchy riff then things get faster on ‘From Above’ and the vocals become a bit gruff. ‘Other Side Of The Blade’ stomps along and has some superb twin guitar lines before it opens up on another muscular rocker. Sinister piano and a throbbing bass open the menacing ‘Trivial’. It’s a slow gradual build and becomes epic with two voices and some more exquisite guitar lines. ‘Rooftops’ is a two-minute instrumental interlude which strangely leads to another two-minute instrumental ‘Alone In The Rain’ before ‘Ghost Beneath The Remains’ returns to the sinister and darker vibe then ‘Pain’ starts with a melancholic guitar and doomy passages before it explodes on a battery of double kick and a grinding riff before ‘Ghost Shadow Redeemer’ ups the pace and gets the head nodding. The power comes back on ‘I Don’t Want It Anymore’ where the vocals are now proper gruff and masculine and they continue on the thrashing ’30 Hours Of Pain’ then it’s almost ballad time with ‘Beyond This Night’ which is dark and mournful. Things end with a ninety second interlude ‘Forever’.
This really is something else and if it had been sent to me earlier it would have been at the top of my records of the year. Simply stunning – everything! The guitar work is world class, the vocals as well plus the production and the songwriting are awesome. My only criticism would be to get rid of the interludes but as a whole this is excellent.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 10/10
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