_{“Chasing Shadows” is the third full length studio album from Black Tide; a band based in Miami which has been around for more than ten years and has toured with some of the biggest names in rock music. The album was released on 16th October through Pavement Entertainment; with promotion in the UK being handled by our friends at Stampede Press. I have to admit that I didn’t know that much about Black Tide and “Chasing Shadows” proved to be a pleasant surprise as I was expecting to hear something different. The labels “thrash metal” and “hardcore” that had been applied to the band led me to expect something that might be a little too heavy for my usual tastes; but the band has clearly moved away from the sound of their early albums.}

_{The move in musical style seemed to start with the EP “Just Another Drug” in 2012; which a review described as “hard rock sound with a mix of some metalcore”. To be honest I’ve never got my head around the different genre labels and frontman Gabriel Garcia’s comment “I’d just say we’re a rock band” suggests that he doesn’t care much for labelling either.}

_{Black Tide’s first album “Light From Above” was released in 2008 when Garcia was only 15. The band have been part of the Ozzfest and Uproar Festival tours, supported Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine on tour, opened for Iron Maiden in Florida, performed at the Sonisphere Festival etc.}

_{There have been quite a few line-up changes over the years with only Garcia (lead vocals and bass) remaining from those that founded the band. Austin Diaz is the guitarist and Cody Paige plays drums.}

_{I played the track “Angel in the Dark” on the Friday NI Rocks Show recently. Other stand-out tracks from the 11 on the album would be “Predator”, “Burn”, “Sex Is Angry”, “Heaven” and “Promised Land”.}

_{Check out https://www.facebook.com/blacktide for more info.}

_{A video has been released for “Angel in the Dark”.}

_{“NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are merely those that I would buy myself and which you’ll be hearing played on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

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