Fallout From the War

by

Shadows Fall

Edit

Two years ago, Shadows Fall broke-out of the metal underground with "The War Within", and by releasing "Fallout From The War", Shadows Fall are officially letting go of Century Media and moving on to greener pastures. Considering they want to transition to a major label as soon as possible, releasing an album which is a collection of b-sides, reworked older songs, and cover tunes isn't a very surprising move for the band to make. And nothing on "Fallout From The War" should really leave Shadows Fall fans in shock and awe, either. Just like the songs on "The War Within", these b-sides are full to the brim with bullying riffs, pounding drums, and frontman Brian Fair's wailing (occasionally singing) voice. But what is surprising is that these songs hold up as well as, maybe better than, anything on that 2004 album!

The first six tracks are "The War Within" outtakes. Opener "In Effigy" is fueled by a propulsive, metallic, chugging guitar lead and fast drum work (including a powerful double bass). "Will To Rebuild" continues in that same vein, with both guitarists playing blazing leads and fiery riffs as they seemingly compete against each other, and Jason Bittner lays down some swift, heavy drum patterns. "Haunting Me Endlessly" is another intense thrasher. Track five, "Carpal Tunnel", slows things down for a little while and features some nice, clean singing, but even this song has some more heavy riffs and a somewhat wild solo. The proceeding two songs, "Going, Going, Gone" and track seven, a re-recorded version of the decade old "Deadworld", both boast explosive, catchy, muscular rhythms and blistering guitars.

"This Is My Own" is this disc's only b-side from Shadows Fall's 2002 album, "The Art of Balance". This song is backed by catchy, strong, churning riffs, and an almost thunderous rhythm.

The three remaining songs are newly-recorded covers, and Shadows Fall picked some rather interesting artists (bands who have inspired them over the years) to pay homage to. "December", originally done by Old Living Witness, is highlighted by some good, very melodic singing. "Mark Of The Squealer" (a Leeway cover) is pretty heavy (it has buzzsaw riffing and a fairly long solo), but, when compared to the other songs on here, it's fairly mid-tempo and melodic. And, lastly, "Teasin' Pleasin'" is quite an odd way to close the album. This song, which was originally done by Dangerous Toys, is definitely the most interesting and memorable of the covers, because it's very weird and even funny.

"Fallout From The War" is not an essential purchase for those who are new to or are casual fans of Shadows Fall, and it definitely falls into the "contractual obligations" category. But, all in all, this is a great companion disc to "The War Within", a terrific inclusion in every Shadows Fall collection, and a great snack for fans to listen to until the band's major label debut hits shelves sometime next year.

Is it just me, or does every CD get some Amazon reviews with words like "Best yet!" or "Best since *name of some old classic of theirs*"

This is not Shadows Fall's best. Not by a long shot. In fact, it might be their worst if you treat it like a full length album.

Just because it's not really a full length album - it's more a collection of random pieces here and there. Not really B-sides, but more sort of "Oh, yeah, here's a little more." In Effigy and Going, Going, Gone are the gems here, but aside from that, this is all very disorganized.

Of course, The War Within was one of the best metal records in a while and that's the good news - with an album as good as that was, the left-overs and "Oh, yeah, what about this..." tracks are better than they'd be otherwise.

But cut the hype. 3 stars because I keep putting the CD in to hear "In Effigy" again.