Shadows Fall
Biography
Although their music sometimes bears strong similarities to the technical, progressive brand of death metal centered around Gothenburg, Sweden, and epitomized by bands like In Flames, Shadows Fall actually hails from Massachusetts. Guitarists Jonathan Donais and Matthew Bachand formed the band in 1996, and by the summer of the following year the lineup had solidified with vocalist Phil Lebonte, bassist Paul Romanko, and drummer David Germain. Building their songs around the stop-start tempo and riff changes pioneered by bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Iron Maiden, the band toured New England and eventually snagged opening slots for acts like Fear Factory and Cannibal Corpse. Toward the end of 1997, they recorded a self-financed, self-released album titled Somber Eyes to the Sky, which eventually charted in CMJ's Loud Rock Top Ten and was picked up for overseas distribution. In 1998, Shadows Fall replaced Lebonte with former Overcast vocalist Brian Fair, a more versatile singer capable of handling melody as well as pure aggression. After further touring, the band scored a deal with Century Media in 1999; their first widely distributed domestic album, Of One Blood, was issued in early 2000.
Selected Discography
Retribution
2009
Threads Of Life
2007
Fallout From The War
2006
The War Within
2004
The Art Of Balance
2002
Of One Blood
2000
Redemption
Can u even really consider Godsmack metal? Really? Idk id call it like modern rock in roll or something gay like that. You cant put a gay band into a good genre like metal its just not right. As for u willow u can go f**k yourself all of ur stupid Godsmack comments are annoying if u want to listion to "true metal" first take the dick out of your a** and look up Meshuggah or The Faceless or even some Decapitated for f**k sake
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They're okay. Sucks that they cover up the bassist, though, so I can't listen to them.
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I remember in my first few tentative steps into the pool of bad a** metal, i used to think that these guys rocked the s**t, but now that I know better, these guys are less awesome now. I mean they are good, just not as face melting as Immortal or Mayhem.
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GGGGGGGGGGGG G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S M M M M M M M M M A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K ! ! ! ! ! ! TRUE METAL!!!!!!! ! !
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Free speech is one thing, being a douche bag is a whole nother story Wonka. Oh goodness, look at me, I can troll too. Get a life, and Godsmack Sucks Donkey nuts!
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Love this band. Listened to their newest single and didn't think it was too impressive. Hope the new album turns out better than what the single is foreshadowin g . Willow=gay :)
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@ Widget Willow
hip hop and Brittney spears ------that way-----> Leave metal alone to people who enjoy it. |
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Let me say that I'd like to see them get out of their comfort zone a little. They have no doubt created a sound for themselves, and they can defintely hold their own. And what they do they do well, but there are plenty of bands out there that could easily smoke these dudes as far as technicality , and diversity goes.....I ain't sayin' they suck, they could just do more than "jog". To each his own I guess. But thanks for your civilized reply, and for not telling me to go f**k a goat or something.
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what do you mean hate to see a good technical band jog in place? Have you even heard there music bro? Shadows Fall set the bar pretty dam high in the meatl scene i haven't heard any other band that even came close to them. But everyone is entitled to there own opinion i guess
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I think for the talents these guys have, they are the most one dimentional band out ther right now......... all their structuring sounds the same, jason bittner's a helluva drummer but he ain't breaking any friggin' boundaries.. . .I hate to see a good technical band jog in place....... . . S l a y e r did it for years....hel l they still are!!!
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T
TR TRE TREAD TREADS TREADS O TREADS OF TREADS OF L TREADS OF LI TREADS OF LIF TREADS OF LIFE TREADS OF LIF TREADS OF LI TREADS OF L TREADS OF TREADS O TREADS TREAD TREA TRE TR T |
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Threads of Life is easily their weakest "A material" album I saw them live at Sounds of the Underground. . Amazing!! They are great live and the singers dreads are insane.
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Saw these guys with Otep and Lacuna Coil. The singers dreadlocks were so long, i thought he was gonna take off like a helicopter when he headbanged. He basically drenched the entire venue with the sweat from those things too.
I left as soon as Lacuna Coil got on though. Easily the weakest band there, and for some reason they were headlining. |
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Anyone else think that Threads of Life is just "bleh" in comparison to The War Within?
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People need to get over guitar hero, it's a waste of time, spend as much time on a real guitar as you do on guitar hero, you'll be Jimi Hendrix
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@ Andrew: I agree. Phil's normalized vocal's are much better in my opinion. Great band though.
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Bittner needs to leave these guys...he's too good for this band. Not to say they suck, but...someth i n g ' s just missing.
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This artist bio says Fair is a more versatile singer than Phil Labonte?!?!? ! I think not. Labonte is a much better singer in my opinion. He has more range and far better normalized vocals.
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With the exception of In Flames, I personally like American metal better than the Swedish or German metal bands. Shadows Fall is a great band.
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I'm usually not a big fan of larynx-eject i n g "screaming", but I make an exception for these guys. Fantastic fretwork and awesome... well pretty much everything. Even the vocalist plays a vital role in their characterist i c sound
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why do people use this site as a way to practice writing editorial reviews for albums in rolling stone? hahaha. so weird...coug h , cough...JVBA L .
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Shadows Fall is an anomaly; their high energy and technical talents create some of contemporary death metal's meatiest and best selling tracks. They're shown as a representati v e of the current metal scene, yet their American roots come out with thrash and the stereotypica l chop and slash of hardcore, showing that they're less metal and more a marketers dream come true. Ultimately, they side with most American metal bands with epic dreams of grandeur that fall against posing and testosterone .
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my ex had me listen to Shadows Fall and at first i really didnt care for them but now i listen to them everyday with all my other music. their bad a**
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Who gives a crap about the vocals. Johnny rips it up Also there live show is AWESOME!!!!
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I must agree with the Cookie Monster comment. (Although obviously, musical tastes are subjecive), I'm more partial to the screaming of bands like Shadows Fall (excluding the harsher growls on their first album). In metal, I like the integration of complex composition, technicality , experimental , and more melodic elements weaved into a song's structure. The "Cookie Monster" vocals, however, are much more interesting to me in more diverse bands like Opeth.
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I like the fact that Shadows Fall can rock hard without Cookie Monster vocals. Not that Cookie Monster is bad, but it gets boring after a while. It's great that Shadows Fall can actually do more than do the "OMNOMNOMNOM N O M - W e just wanna rip off the mighty Slayer as much as we can" vocals. Besides Cookie Monster vocals are not exclusively metal anymore. Shadows Fall is brave enough to experiment and impliment harmony int their sound.
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