SHADOWS FALL

'Shadows Fall' are a five-piece metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts.

Contents

History

Members

Current members

Former members

Discography

Studio and compilation albums

EPs and other releases

Singles

Videography

Related Bands

Trivia

External links

History

Shadows Fall was formed in 1996 by guitarists Jonathan Donais and Matt Bachand with the help of Adam Dutkiewicz. Jon wanted to start a new band after playing with the band Aftershock on their first demo, entitled ''To Ashes''. Vocalist Philip Labonte, bassist Paul Romanko, and drummer David Germain later joined the band to complete Shadows Fall's initial line-up. ''Somber Eyes to the Sky'', the band's debut album, was released in 1997 through Matt Bachand's recording label, Lifeless Records. Shadows Fall's debut record garnered the band considerable attention in the Massachusetts area and led to a record deal with Californian independent metal label, Century Media Records.
''Of One Blood'', the band's second album, was released in 2000. ''Of One Blood'' featured Brian Fair, formerly of Overcast, as a replacement for Phil Labonte. Labonte went on to be the frontman for the band All That Remains. Labonte's guttural Death Metal vocal style was replaced with Fair's range of screams and energetic growls, hardcore yelling, raspy and clean singing. "Revel in My Loss", "To Ashes", and "Fleshold" from ''Somber Eyes to the Sky'' were re-recorded for the new album. Shadows Fall embarked on a worldwide tour with a wide range of artists, including The Misfits, King Diamond, and In Flames.
The band's third album, ''The Art of Balance'', was released on September 17, 2002. It was inspired by a quest to find a perfect balance of melody and aggression. Jason Bittner buoyed the rhythm section as the band's new drummer. ''The Art of Balance'' was marked by a shift away from the melodic death metal style to a traditional thrash metal approach and a slight touch of metalcore. Bachand's clean vocals were used less frequently. Changes were apparent on the song "Stepping Outside the Circle" that had been previously released on the album ''Fear Will Drag You Down.'' ''The Art of Balance'' was re-recorded with a slower tempo, less crisp production, and with Fair's vocals replacing Bachand's voice in the chorus.
Shadows Fall was invited to play on Ozzfest tour in 2003. Shadows Fall was considered one of the best new bands on the tour and sold more albums on each stop than other bands that appeared on the side-stage. Several prestigious tours followed, including Japan's "Beast Fest" and MTV2's Headbanger's Ball tour with such bands as Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God. Shadows Fall released three music videos: "Thoughts Without Words", "Destoyer of Senses", and "The Idiot Box". Shadows Fall became the first band on Century Media to have album sales in excess of 100,000 copies. "The Idiot Box" (and later pressings of ''The Art of Balance'') also featured a cover of the Pink Floyd single "Welcome to the Machine".
''The War Within'', the band's fourth album, was released on September 21, 2004. Music videos for the tracks "The Power of I and I", "What Drives the Weak", "Inspiration on Demand" and "Enlightened By the Cold" accompanied the album's release. ''The War Within'' soon reached the number one position on the Billboard Independent Albums chart while reaching the number 20th position on the top 200. ''The War Within'' has sold approximately 300,000 copies in the United States.^{citation needed}
Shadows Fall was named by Alternative Press as a "Top Five Band in Metal Today". Revolver Magazine readers voted the band "Best New Talent." Shadows Fall received the "Golden God Award" for Best Underground Act at the Metal Hammer Awards. Guitar World Magazine ranked the band's two guitarists among the "Top 100 Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time" in the March 2004 issue. Both guitarists have written monthly columns featured in Guitar World Magazine. Drummer Jason Bittner was praised as the "#1 Up and Coming Drummer" in a 2004 reader's poll for Modern Drummer Magazine.
Shadows Fall released their first DVD, ''The Art of Touring'', in November of 2005. A live concert with backstage footage and six music videos are featured on the DVD. They released their final CD on the Century Media label, ''Fallout from the War'', on June 13, 2006. The album contains material that was never finished during the recording sessions from "The War Within" but also includes covers and re-recorded vintage material from the band. The album peaked at 83 on the Top 200 charts.
Shadows Fall released their next album, ''Threads of Life'', on April 3rd, 2007, which is the first release on the band's new North American label Atlantic Records. "Redemption", the first single from the CD was released on February 20, 2007 through Itunes and a video for the single has been released. The band recently signed a deal with Roadrunner Records for international distribution of the new record. The band cancelled remaining dates on a fall tour with Killswitch Engage and Bury Your Dead in late October to finish writing the new album. All That Remains filled in for the band in November and Hatebreed filled the tour slot in December. The band recently finished up touring alongside Stone Sour and former label mates, Lacuna Coil on the Jagermeister Tour which kicked off in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 23, 2007, and ended on May 4, 2007. They have been announced as support for the Black Crusade tour in the UK, which features Trivium and Machine Head.
Shadows Fall has recorded "Fury of the Storm" for WWE wrestler Rob Van Dam. "Fury of the Storm" was released on the WWE Wreckless Intent CD. Killswitch Engage also worked on the CD with WWE PPV Judgment Day 2006's theme, "This Fire Burns," which is now ECW Wrestler CM Punk's entrance song.
Their song "The Light that Blinds" appears as a bonus track in the video game ''Guitar Hero II''.
Their song "Burning the Lives" appears in the video game ''Burnout Dominator''.
Their song "Redemption" appears in the video game "Madden 08"
Shadows Fall has been known to incite old-fashioned circle pits at their concerts during the song "Stepping Outside the Circle" and "Thoughts Without Words".
Shadows Fall have recently been announced to play on The Black Crusade tour along with Machine Head, Trivium, Dragonforce and Arch Enemy. They will not be apart of the Australian tour, it will just be Machine Head, Trivium and Arch Enemy.

Members

Current members

★ Brian Fair – Vocals

★ Jonathan Donais – Lead Guitar, Vocals

★ Matt Bachand – Guitar, Vocals

★ Paul Romanko – Bass

★ Jason Bittner – Drums

Former members

★ Philip Labonte – Vocals

★ Damien Mcpherson – Vocals

★ David Germain – Drums

★ Derek Kerswill – Drums

★ Adam Dutkiewicz – Session Drums on bands first demo

Discography

Studio and compilation albums

'Date of Release'	'Title'	'Label'	'US Billboard Peak '	'First Week Sales'	'Total US Sales'
November 30, 1997	''Somber Eyes to the Sky''	Lifeless Records	-	-	-
April 4, 2000	''Of One Blood''	Century Media Records	-	-	-
September 17, 2002	''The Art of Balance''	Century Media Records	#17 (Heatseekers)	-	250,000+
September 21, 2004	''The War Within''	Century Media Records	#20	39,000	300,000+
June 13, 2006	''Fallout from the War''	Century Media Records	#83	13,000	50,000+
April 3, 2007	''Threads of Life''	Atlantic Records/Roadrunner Records	#46	24,000	70,000+

EPs and other releases

'Date of Release'	'Title'	'Label'	'Notes'
1997	''To Ashes EP''	Ellington Records	Debut two song EP
2001	''Deadworld EP''	Century Media Records	Five track EP. Only released in Japan
January 28, 2002	''Fear Will Drag You Down''	Century Media Records	Europe only release of ''Of One Blood'' and ''Deadworld EP''

Singles

Year	Song	U.S. Modern Rock	U.S. Mainstream Rock	Album
2002	"Destroyer of Senses"	-	-	''The Art of Balance''
	"Thoughts Without Words"	-	-
2003	"The Idiot Box"	-	-
2004	"The Power of I and I"	-	-	''The War Within''
2004	"The Light That Blinds"	-	-
2005	"What Drives the Weak"	-	38
	"Inspiration on Demand"	-	33
2005	"Enlightened By the Cold"	-	-
2006	"In Effigy"	-	-	''Fallout from the War''
2007	"Redemption"	-	37	''Threads of Life''
	"Another Hero Lost"	-	-

Videography

★ ''The Art of Touring'' (2005)

Related Bands

★ Overcast - Brian Fair's former band.

★ Aftershock - Jonathan Donais' former band.

★ All That Remains - started by Phil Labonte after leaving Shadows Fall.

★ Killswitch Engage

Trivia

★ On their album "Fallout From The War", Shadows Fall covered "Teasn', Pleasn'", a song by Dangerous Toys.

★ The song "Welcome to the Machine" on their album "The Art of Balance" is a cover of the same song by Pink Floyd.

★ Their song "The Light that Blinds" appears as a bonus track in the video game Guitar Hero 2.

External links

★ Official website

★ MySpace site

★ Recent Shadows Fall Live Photos

★ Interview with Paul Romanko

★ Interview with Brian Fair of Shadows Fall

★ Shadows Fall's Road To Redemption Flash Game

★ Shad Invaders Flash Games

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