Search - Shadows Fall :: War Within

THE MUST HAVE ALBUM FROM SHADOWS FALL

I. Davila | Denver | 02/21/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shadows Fall is a New England Metalcore band that has been around from the inception of the genre, and found some initial success, due to the great hardcore breakdowns and ultra clean vocal choruses off the art of balance, and Of One Blood, but didn't really find themselves until the War. This album is pure twentyfirst century metal. Since then, they have continued on as a purely metal act, yet haven't been able to recapture the success. A pity, since local rivals Killswitch, and ATR have achieved mainstream hard rock radio airtime, and Shadows Fall just remain an almost successful metal band. At least they are successful enough to work on their music full time, unlike most modern metal acts, who work day jobs, and struggle to eat, despite the fact they have record deals.





The album starts out brutally with the light that blinds, and Shadows Fall becomes a modern thrash band, possibly the true heir to Pantera, with heavy riffs, monster screams, and a groove metal spirit. I always thought Pantera was the heir to Metallica, and with this album released the year of Dimebag's death, could Shadows Fall be the heir to Pantera? I say maybe.





Enlightened by the Cold and Inspiration on Demand continue the pure metal pounding, just pummeling the listener into submission. I love the melodic yet thrashy guitar leads, hooks, and grooves, and that is probably my favorite thing about Shadows Fall. Yet Brian Fair's improved vocal performance also helps this album deliver the goods, as he blends his clean, and harsh vocals in a less contrasting form, and uses a raspy metal singing voice as well to glue the different styles together. I never liked the drastic vocal changes of the good guy bad guy metalcore bands, I just like metal, and the vocals have to flow. And they definately flow here.





Eternity Within is also a powerful song, and possibly my favorite on the album. While their newer albums are a continuation of the awsome melodic thrash metalcore they refined on this album, they are not quite as good, so this is the must have album from Shadows Fall, whether you are a fan of New England Metalcore, or just a fan of thrash, or strait up metal."