Shadows Fall -- 'The Art of Balance' [classic review]

Shadows Fall
"The Art of Balance"
(Century Media Records)


"We wanted to create a full on thrash metal album, especially the way they had variety back then. You had like the three-minute basher to open the record, an eight-minute metal epic somewhere in the middle, and the total power thrash ballad somewhere along the line. We wanted to do that instead of just making nine songs that all sounded very similar. We just wanted to mix it up."

-- lead singer Brian Fair

The core of Shadows Falls sound comes from the tag-team of guitarists Jonathan Donais and Matthew Bachand. The duo trade licks and riffs, crafting amazing solos which the metal scene had really been lacking for a good part of the late '90s. This, coupled with the dual vocals from Fair (everything from growling wails to melodic singing) and the complex back beats is what pushes Shadows Fall to the front of the line.

The song structures are never boring: a combination of the technical mastery and shifting tempos keep listeners on their toes and only add to the overall metal-effect of the band's music. Much like Metallica's "And Justice For All" (only with audible bass), "The Art of Balance" is an epic of a metal release. Each track is turgid with solos, bridges, anthemic choruses and elaborate verses.

From the explosive ("Destroyer of Senses," "Idle Hands" and "Thoughts Without Words") to the epic ("Stepping Outside the Circle" and "Idiot Box") to the haunting and almost beautiful (the instrumentals "Casting Shade" and "Prelude to Disaster" and "Fire in Babylon"), never is a song predictable and every one is a headbanger. The band sounds like a throwback to mid '80s power metal, but with that European edge of technical mastery; not quite thrash, not quite melodic hardcore ... but definitely a classic.

Like I already said, Shadows Fall's follow-up "The War Within" almost felt like a retread of "The Art of Balance," not that that is a bad thing. And really, that's simply this writer being a little too harsh in order to justify a pick. If anything, "The War Within" is a glimpse of where Shadows Fall is headed. The album is edgier, heavier, but still undoubtedly Shadows Fall.

Fusing metal and melody, the band has crafted a sound instantly recognizable and hard to duplicate. Each element of the band's sound -- the hard-hitting drumming and bass work; the dueling guitarists; the two-sided vocals -- is a perfect piece to the puzzle that is glued together with inspiration (the 80s metal scene) and emulation (the European metal scene).

If ever there was an album to retread over and over again, "The Art of Balance" isn't a bad choice.