Up next, I thought I’d take a look at Shadows Fall. They were apart of that whole New Wave of American Metal movement along with Chimaira, Lamb of God, and God Forbid to name a few. So let’s take a look………
Somber Eyes to the Sky- so did you know that Shadows Fall had another singer before Brian Fair. That singer was Phil Labonte who would become the vocalist for All That Remains. This is also one of two albums to feature David Germaine on drums. Now as far as the album itself goes, it’s really nothing special. I mean to me it sounds like generic death metal and really isn’t anything special. Yes there are some good moments but as a whole this one is just ok. I mean definitely check it out if not for the fact that it’s a different album. Listening to this reminds me of my friends band and the guitar player was probably influenced a lot by these guys. I don’t know that’s just me. I give it 5/10
Standouts: Pure, To Ashes, Fleshold
Of One Blood- so as we all know, this is the first album to feature new vocalist Brian Fair and honestly, this album kind of picks up where the last one left off only this one is so much better. On this one, Brian Fair uses more of that death metal growl that was present on the last album but also uses clean vocals. The rest of the band seem more focused too. I give this one 8/10
Standouts: Crushing Belial, Montauk, Of One Blood
Art of Balance- so for this one, they’ve pretty much ditched the death metal sound and now have a melodic death metal and thrash metal sound. This is also the first album to feature Jason Bittner on drums. The songs in here are more focused and you can really hear them start to develop their sound and while there are a good amount of harsh vocals, there is also a good amount of clean vocals as well and it all works really well. Not to mention, the solos are more intricate and the drumming tighter. Overall, a fantastic follow up and I give it 10/10
Standouts: Destroyer of Senses, Thoughts Without Words, Stepping Outside The Circle
The War Within- ok so I must say that the opening track has some of the best guitar work ever. It’s not wonder this song was hard to beat on Guitar Hero. Anyway, as far as the album goes, you can definitely tell that the band has found their groove. Now for me personally this is the album that really got me into Shadows Fall. I remember I couldn’t stop listening to this album. Now this is not a perfect album but it’s a damn good one at that. There is also a compilation album from the recording sessions called Fallout From The War which is actually pretty good. I give it 10/10
Standouts: The Power of I and I, Eternity is Within, What Drives the Weak, In Effigy (fro the Fallout From The War album)
Threads of Life- I’ve noticed that on this album, Brian does use a lot more clean vocals that he has on past albums. Now while I personally don’t mind the clean vocals, I actually prefer the harsher vocals mixed in with the clean vocals. Musically, the band is awesome. I mean guitarists Matt Bachand and Jon Donais make an awesome guitar team and on this album, they play off each other very well. Overall, this album is pretty good, it’s just not my favorite. I give it 6/10
Standouts: Failure of the Devout, Venomous, Forevermore
Retribution- Personally, I feel like this one is a continuation of Threads. This is the one that has that cover of Bark at the Moon. If you haven’t heard it then YouTube that right now. Not only is it a great cover, but the video for it is awesome as well. I think I remember seeing them play this live at Mayhem Festival one year. They also cover the song Critical Mass by Nuclear Assault which is also pretty good. As far as the rest of the album is concerned, it’s just ok. I mean there are some moments but as a whole it’s just average. I give this one 5/10
Standouts: War, King of Nothing, My Demise
Fire From The Sky- I must say that I didn’t really listen to this record that much when it first came out. I actually didn’t really know about it until after they broke up. Listening to it now, I think it’s a little better than the last album. I mean there is a pretty good mix of harsh and clean vocals and the band as usual is on point. This is another one of those albums where there are some pretty good songs but at the same time there is also a decent amount of filler. Do I think it’s better than their last album? Yes I do. Overall, it’s a pretty good record especially for their final release. I give it 7/10
Standouts: Lost Within, Save Your Soul, Divide and Conquer
This one was fun to go back and re listen to. Do I think there is a possibility of this band getting back and touring again? At this point probably not. I mean Jason Bittner is in Overkill, and Jon Donais is in Anthrax so unless they leave those bands, then it’s probably not going to happen. Anyway, I was always told that they don’t really put on a good live show but every time I’ve seen them they’ve been great. Album wise, they’ve had a couple hits and a couple misses.
Album Rankings:
- Art of Balance
- The War Within
- Of One Blood
- Threads of Life
- Fire From The Sky
- Somber Eyes To The Sky
- Retribution
Sinister Reviews 