I'm always open to experiencing what's "new" and every so often, I test the waters of some of the more extreme forms of metal just to see if there's something that I might like (although I have yet to catch on to anything in the black metal genre!!). I'm a fan of the classic 80's thrash metal and it's great to see some of the "newer" bands like Shadows Fall incorporating these sorts of classic metal styles into their sound. Combining old-school metal styles but with a definite modern metal approach, the very "muscular" and aggressive sound fuelled by the twin guitar attack of Matt Bachand and Jon Donais gives fans who long for a return to the days of stellar guitar playing and very technical soloing just about everything they could possibly want in a top metal act. With their releases, Of One Blood and The Art Of Balance, Shadows Fall quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the underground U.S. metal scene. The Art Of Balance went on to sell 100,000 copies in the U.S. alone becoming the first band on the Century Media label to do so. In 2004, the band's third album The War Within debuted at #20 on the Billboard Top 200 and went on to sell well over 250,000 copies. The year 2005 was a great year for these guys highlighted by a spot on the main stage for Ozzfest and even a Grammy nomination for their performance on the track What Drives The Weak. After returning from the Ozzfest tour, they went right back into the studio to crank out Fallout From The War, a collection of songs that were left over from the sessions for The War Within as well as re-recording a couple of Japanese bonus tracks and a few cover tunes for good measure. This album, a "contractual obligation" album as it is their last for Century Media, is surprisingly good for and album that really contains left over tracks and apparent b-side material.

With long-time friend/producer Zeuss at the helm once again, Shadows Fall cranks out their brand of technical thrash metal that has all the hallmarks of modern U.S. metal with it's pummelling drumming styles and the harsh yet melodic vocal "screams" of Brian Fair. The aggression in the vocals and the riffs often cross over into hardcore territory yet they infuse some melodic sense to the vocal styles and the frequent use of guitar harmony thirds pay homage to metal giants like Iron Maiden and Slayer. The opening track In Effigy is a prime example of the Shadows Fall "philosophy". With monster riffs, aggressive vocals, solid lead guitar work and flurries of double bass drumming, it's no wonder that these guys are considered to be at the top of their genre. Haunting Me Endlessly features some Slayer-like riffing and speed especially with the harmony thirds and is a perfect blend of hardcore and thrash metal. The intensity and aggression really never lets up and is pretty relentless in its ferocity throughout this entire collection. Carpel Tunnel finally sees a mixing of tempos yet the aggression still prevails. The extended instrumental opening as well as the aggressive riffing style really reminds me of classic Iced Earth (pre Something Wicked This Way Comes). Three cover tunes are included with this package with December (a cover by Only Living Witness) sounding more like Nevermore with it's heaviness and melancholic/dreamy vocal style. Leeway's Mark Of The Squealer gets the full Shadows Fall treatment as well with it's Megadeth Wake Up Dead style riffs and tempo. A real surprise comes in the form of an absolute killer version of Teasin', Pleasin' by 80's hair/glam metal act Dangerous Toys. They absolutely nail this one with the help of original Dangerous Toys vocalist Jason McMaster and although remain true to the original, they have a little fun with their arrangement.

Lots of bands may have a similar sound to Shadows Fall but their strengths in musicianship, song writing and an absolutely killer sound distance them from the rest. Known for their blend of killer heaviness and aggression, it's their sense of melody that takes some of the harsh edge off just enough to allow those who may not normally like this sort of extreme metal (like me!!) a brief window to check into what this band's all about. It's easy to write them off as one of "those U.S. metal bands" but with the high level of talent especially with the guitarists, they really have something to offer and would be a great introduction for those who are relatively inexperienced at more extreme forms of metal. For most bands, an album like Fallout From The War would be a "for fans only" substandard album considering it consists of unreleased songs and b-sides but it's obvious that with Shadows Fall, even their b-sides or left over tracks are still "A" grade material and makes for an excellent album. Fallout From The War is a great way to keep the fans chomping at the bit while they begin working on all new material for their first release on a major label.