NEWS: The Shape speak of “Cities of Ghosts”!

The date on the tombstone for the fifth studio album from Connecticut-based Alternative Metal act The Shape reads 29th November after the release of the fourth single from it this past weekend. “In The Age of Doom and Fear” is the rather apt title they’ve chosen for the record with “Cities of Ghosts” the latest pulled kicking and screaming from it…

Bio: “Formed in 2006 by multi-instrumentalists Brian Almeida and Christopher Carlino, The Shape has been a steady and popular live force in the Connecticut, New England, and East Coast music scenes; having toured & played over 600+ shows, recorded 6 albums and an EP in the band’s 15-year existence.

Blending their mutual love of horror, human psychology, and philosophy with their passion for a wide variety of metal and dark rock influences, The Shape brings a unique and ever-evolving take on heavy music. Fusing thrash, melodic, death, and extreme metal with gritty hard rock, punk, gothic and atmospheric splashes, the band weaves a pastiche of unique authenticity to their sound; bucking repetition with each release.

Their debut album, “The Last Great Awakening” in 2009, garnered a small but faithful underground fanbase and critical goodwill with its combination of spacey stoner metal and alternative sounds.

Sophomore follow-up, “The Impurity (…Of Gods, Monsters, Heroes, and Villains)” took them into unchartered waters, blending technical melodic death metal with a deep emphasis on progressive elements. Despite the less commercial prospects of “The Impurity”, the band relentlessly hit the road in support; playing over 300 shows between 2009 – 2013.

2014’s “Masque of the Red Death” saw a major boost in popularity for The Shape, earning several independent awards for Metal and Rock Album of the Year in New England and “Hardest Working Band in CT”. Released on Halloween night 2014 as direct support to The Misfits and Jasta, “Masque” became the band’s staple record, with the band selling over 5,000 physical copies independently, launched by the single and video for “Burn Before Reading”.

The Shape’s breakthrough came with 2017’s effort, “The World Away”, landing at #1 on the Billboard Northeast album charts, #24 on the Hard Rock album chart, and #192 on the Billboard 200. Supported by steady radio play and tours, the album spawned the charting mainstream rock singles “The World Away” and “Where The Sun Sleeps”, as well as heavy rotation in metal and college radio for fellow singles “The Devil In Your Eyes” and “Decimation”.

2020 was a tumultuous year for all, with the band taking a live performance hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, and after a brief time period away from the band, Chris Carlino returned, creating two brand new efforts to be released in 2021 and 2022 respectively, that showcase the heaviest, darkest sides of The Shape’s sound and message, and also their most pensive and versatile. With “The Age of Doom and Fear”, the band needed to look no further than the real-life terrors of the world of 2020 and the beyond.

“The Age of Doom and Fear” is an emphatic musical analysis and statement of life as it is currently and the paths of horror and hope that may follow our choices. The Shape looks forward to mesmerizing live audiences again in 2021 with a brand new selection of sound and vision”