#Paul Romanko

[confessionsofanangrymetalhead]

Welcome Home, Boys! Shadows Fall - "In the Grey"

Twelve years, twelve long years. That’s how long it’s been since Shadows Fall, one of the most important Heavy Metal bands to come out of the late 90’s-mid 2000’s New Wave of American Heavy Metal released the last album, Fire from the Sky before ultimately going on an indefinite hiatus three years later. In the years that followed, drummer Jason Bittner had gone on to play for Flotsam and Jetsam…

[metalsongoftheday]

Wednesday, June 30: Shadows Fall, “Nothing Remains”

Fire from the Sky was supposed to be the record where Shadows Fall righted the ship and got back on track: back on a proper label (Razor & Tie, which had successfully elevated All That Remains to greater commercial heights than anyone expected) and working with Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz as a producer, their seventh album found them poised to reestablish themselves as major players on the metal scene. Instead, the record turned out to be their last gasp, as its middling sales and the group’s inability to land a major tour resulted in the Shads going on indefinite hiatus about 2 years later.  It was unfortunate, because even though “Nothing Remains” was true to the formula almost to a fault, that formula mostly worked, and the track was heavy and catchy in equal measure, and Brian Fair’s vocals had evolved in pleasing ways.  By this point the band was so fully locked into each other that Jason Bittner’s relentless drumming fused perfectly with Matt Bachand’s and Jonathan Donais’ twin riffing, while Dutkiewicz’s smooth production gave the track a seamless feel that reflected the band’s maturity as writers and performers.  This wasn’t Shadows Fall at their very best, but “Nothing Remains” was a worthy and winning headbanger that should’ve put them back on close to equal footing with Killswitch and other former New Wave of US Heavy Metal colleagues.

[and-the-distance]

Paul Romanko - Shadows Fall 

[confessionsofanangrymetalhead]

I knew I needed to go to this as soon as I heard that Shadows Fall, who had regrouped in 2021 after an indefinite hiatus that lasted seven years and saw drummer Jason Bittner join Flotsam and Jetsam and eventually Overkill, and lead guitar GOD Jonathan Donais join Anthrax, intended on performing their 2004 CLASSIC, The War Within in its entirety. That was fucking huge news! But for those of you who might be clueless, let’s discuss why! The Importance of The War Within The War Within, the band’s fourth album and third with vocalist Brian Fair, is the most important album in the band’s entire catalog. It was released on the heels of their previous album, 2002’s The Art of Balance, which went on to sell over 100,000 copies in a time when album sales were steadily declining. You bet your ass I was one of those 100,000 people who actually bought the fucking record! I even saw Shadows Fall live for the first time a year later during an Ozzfest off-date. Having come from the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene that was largely based in the Northeast and spawned bands such as Aftershock and Overcast – those two bands being the roots of Shadows Fall and especially Killswitch Engage – alongside All That Remains (Phil Labonte was actually the vocalist on Shadows Fall’s 1997 debut, Somber Eyes to The Sky), God Forbid (more on that band later!), Mastodon and Lamb of God, the sound was largely a mix of Hardcore breakdowns and Metallic intensity. Unfortunately, this became Metalcore. But Shadows Fall were different. Via Brain Fair’s roots in Overcast, especially after he joined Shadows Fall for their second album, 2000’s Of One Blood, the hardcore influence could be heard. But thanks to those riffs that scream Iron Maiden AND Morbid Angel, along with Jon Donais’ Randy Rhoads meets Zakk Wylde lead guitar style, they were far more Metal than Hardcore. By the time The War Within was released, the press at large had been calling them the next Metallica for two years, thanks to The Art of Balance. With TWW, the guitars were even stronger than on the last album, the drums were harder hitting, the production was clearer, and the song writing was even stronger. The album had debuted at #28 on the Billboard charts. I was a first day buyer, taking to bus to Sam Goody right after I finished with class for the day. It’d earned them sales of almost 400,000 copies – a FIRST for Century Media Records! – their first main stage slot on the next year’s Ozzfest (the last time I saw them live), and eventually, a major label deal with Atlantic Records. I still remember driving from Staten Island to Starland Ballroom to see Mastodon in May of 2005. I was on Rt 9, driving over the water, WSOU (more on them momentarily) on the radio, when the DJ announced that The War Within had sold 200,000 copies. The was incredible to hear; it meant a lot to the fans, I’m sure, and it meant a lot to the underground Metal scene, especially with Lamb of God releasing their major label debut nine months prior, and Mastodon very close to signing their own major label deal. The Show The show, I’m pretty sure was organized by WSOU, the top college station in terms of playing underground Heavy Metal for DECADES. My first exposure to WSOU in the early months of 1997 happened by mistake. I was looking for another station when I came across this one station that happened to be blasting Death Metal, the likes of which my 7th grade, dumbass self had never heard before and I’d assumed that this had to be the station. It wasn’t, but I clearly still listened up until they were forced to change their format right at the beginning of 2002. They eventually were able to revert back to their prior format; but they had to fight hard to make it happen. It’s been my first show at Starland since I saw Zakk Sabbath in 2017. And before that, the last time I’d been there was most likely the 2008 Summer Slaughter tour, with such a shitty lineup that I totally forgot that it was the last time I saw The Black Dahlia Murder! But I spent a good thre...

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, December 24: Shadows Fall, “Carpal Tunnel”

Musically, “Carpal Tunnel” was of a piece with both The War Within and the Fallout from the War adjunct compilation from whence it came.  Lyrically, because the song was written and recorded in 2006, it bemoaned internet commenters (this was shortly before trolling was fully recognized as a thing- those damn kids and their computers).  Despite the dated and surprisingly hacky words (Brian Fair was so much more thoughtful barely one album earlier), the tune found Shadows Fall in their prime sweet spot, with Zeuss’ maturing production capturing the band at their most locked-in.  Jason Bittner maintained his semi-progressive flair while thundering forward, while Matthew Bachand and Jonathan “Jonny Rock and Roll” Donais were a formidable and surprisingly underrated guitar tag team.  And despite the clunkiness of his lyrics, Fair’s roar was still potent and personable; “Carpal Tunnel” worked as a fun headbanger and didn’t cause any immediate cause for concern about Shadows Fall’s long-term prospects.  As it turned out, this would be the group’s last stand as a leader in the New Wave of U.S. Heavy Metal movement, which soon coalesced around Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God and more or less left everyone else- including Shadows Fall, unfortunately- behind.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, June 19: Shadows Fall, “Act of Contrition”

“Act of Contrition” bridged the metalcore aggression of The Art of Balance with the more refined writing and approach shown throughout the rest of The War Within: the song was cut from the same cloth as the former’s ���Idle Hands” and “The Idiot Box”, but also reflected Shadows Fall’s growth as well as Zeuss’ increased production acumen.  It wasn’t really any different from what came before: Brian Fair roared esoteric lyrics over the crunch of Matt Bachand’s and Jonathan Donais’ riffing, while Jason Bittner drummed like a metalcore Neil Peart.  But “Act of Contrition” was more elegantly structured and didn’t have the haphazard feel that occasionally made The Art of Balance and Of One Blood feel a bit amateurish.  As a result, this showed what Shadows Fall was like at their most focused, and demonstrated why The War Within was ultimately their definitive statement.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, December 6: Shadows Fall, “Lost Within”

Where did it all go wrong for Shadows Fall?  While Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage continued to build momentum and became major international acts, the Shads just fell by the wayside, and while one could point to the commercial underperformance of Threads of Life, which was undoubtedly exacerbated by it being released on a major label, the record was really not that bad (it was certainly eons better than Killswitch’s second self-titled record).  If anything, it seemed like their consistency ultimately worked against them- none of their records were bad at all, but there also weren’t many signs of evolution or growth as time went on.  Maybe that was why Fire from the Sky, good as it was, felt a bit indistinguishable from the rest of the catalogue, and why even though “Lost Within” was energetic, well-written and performed with conviction, it didn’t feel like an essential statement.  It wasn’t that Shadows Fall were rote, because this was still as strong as anything else out there, but we had heard this from them before.  Again, this was a great band that deserved better, and “Lost Within” was a very good track on a very good record.  Maybe the Shads just ran out of things to say.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, June 14: Shadows Fall, “Final Call”

Shadows Fall never recovered from Threads of Life’s commercial underperformance.  The band graduated from Century Media to Atlantic in hopes of expanding their audience and ascending to the upper tier of metal acts, and to that end, the album was meticulously produced by Nick Raskulinecz and given to songs that were clear in their construction (the staggeringly cheap album art was another matter- none of their indie records looked so bushleague).  As a result, “Final Call” sounded focused, purposeful and direct with Matt Bachand’s clean backing vocals mixed higher than before to accentuate the accessibility of the material.  And the song felt natural to Shadows Fall, sounding like a logical continuation of The War Within.  But something was missing, namely the hunger and inspiration that made the Shads among the most likable of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal groups during the early 2000s.  Many blamed Raskulinecz, but his recording (with longtime collaborator Zeuss on hand for mixing) was exactly what it needed to be; the problem was with the writing, which began to feel a bit rote. And ultimately, this was what doomed Threads of Life: the sense that Shadows Fall didn’t really have much room to grow.  Still, “Final Call” was a worthy track with strong riffing and soloing from Jonathan Donais, passionate vocals from Brian Fair, and a customarily masterful percussive performance by Jason Bittner.  If only the guys were capable of a little more.

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, June 10: Shadows Fall, “Eternity is Within”

The War Within wasn’t a great leap forward along the lines of The Art of Balance, but it ultimately presented Shadows Fall at their most actualized.  The band’s fourth record refined the band’s sound and furthered the compositional and performance advances delivered on its predecessor, and was a culmination of sorts (alongside Killswitch Engage’s The End of Heartache and Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake) for the New Wave of US Heavy Metal movement.  And although Shadows Fall recorded better songs both before and after, “Eternity is Within” was arguably a truer distillation of the group’s approach and overall ethos.  There were the metalcore touchstones in Matt Bachand and Jonathan Donais’ riffing as well as in Brian Fair’s roar, the melodic vocals in the chorus, and Fair’s esoteric and vaguely Rastafarian lyrics- in other words, everything Shadows Fall was known for.  The song wasn’t as immediate as “The Power of I and I” or “Thoughts without Words”, but it was suitably heavy and dynamic, and Jason Bittner’s drumming was unique among fellow NWOAHM acts for fusing Dave Lombardo with Neil Peart.  Shadows Fall didn’t have the emotional heft of Killswitch Engage, nor the technicality and sheer aggression of Lamb of God, but they had a bit of everything, and their melding of all of those qualities made them one of the leading lights of metal for a time.

[metalsongoftheday]

Friday, December 8: Shadows Fall, “A Fire in Babylon”

The Art of Balance was a breakthrough for both Shadows Fall and Century Media, both of whom found themselves perched to take full advantage of metal’s creative and commercial resurgence in the early 2000s.  But the band’s third album also epitomized the strange state of flux both the band and label were in at the time: Shadows Fall had announced themselves as worthy upstarts with Of One Blood, while Century Media had built up years of goodwill through its commitment to the underground and nurturing bands like Iced Earth, Nevermore and The Gathering, but all were still financially strapped and not entirely sophisticated on an operational level.  All of this meant that The Art of Balance, though exhibiting significant creative growth, was still a bit bush-league, especially in its production values.  As such, “A Fire in Babylon” would’ve absolutely destroyed had it been saved for The War Within (when both the Shads and Zeuss fully came into their own), but here it was a promising epic that just slightly missed the mark.  Brian Fair’s lyrics were esoteric and insightful, but he didn’t fully understand how to arrange his vocals and harness the power of his roar, instead coming off as somewhat aimless in the verses.  Meanwhile, Matt Bachand and Jonathan Donais delivered Megadeth-worthy aggression with their riffing and solos, but Zeuss could only do so much with the pennies Century Media budgeted for the recording. Nonetheless, “A Fire in Babylon” captured Shadows Fall’s potential in full blossom, showing a band ready to step up and take their place alongside Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God as leaders in the New Wave of US Heavy Metal, while also showcasing their more dynamic and ambitious side.  And indeed, one album later they would bring these qualities to full fruition and briefly reign supreme in their scene.