|
|
|
|
Fallout from the War, meant to be a companion piece to Shadows Fall's last full-length, features 6 songs written during sessions for 'The War Within, 3 cover tunes, and a pair of older SF songs that were sufficiently reworked/re-recorded. "Deadworld" is an early SF song "dating back almost 10 years" according to Brian Fair himself, and "This Is My Own," a track from The Art of Balance sessions, now features "some new vocal harmonies and a few twists and turns." So is the fallout as good as the war itself? Probably. Something in the production on the 6 new songs is less clean and infinitely more Thrash sounding, particularly the bass guitar. All other components of the Shadows Fall sound are in good working order but the bass actually shines through this time around in an almost Bay Area Thrash way (think Cliff Burton or Jack Gibson). The reworked songs fit well with the other material presented and if one were unaware that they were old, one might not know. The almost explicit old school Thrash influence that creeps into "Deadworld" rules, to borrow the phrase overused by one Scott Ian Rosenfeld.
The cover songs "shine some light on bands that were huge influences on" the band "but never seemed to get the attention they deserved." Only Living Witness was a band local to the young Shad's while coming up in the scene and their song sounds less Metal and more Rock in nature. Fair's vocals sound heavily processed and don't work very well in terms of the band's signature sound. Leeway were a NYHC band of near legendary status and their song has more simplistic music when compared to Shadows Fall, but it works well as a cover. As to Dangerous Toys, well, their Sleaze Metal "influence" on Shadows Fall is thankfully hard to hear. The cover features original Dangerous Toys' vocalist Jason McMaster singing along with Fair. Must've been some drinking going on for that session. At least they had fun. This is the band's last release for Century Media as Shadows Fall has matriculated over to a major label, but check it out if you're already a fan of the band. Fallout from the War delivers the goods even if this whole affair smells a bit of "contractual obligation."
| Tracklist |
| 1. In Effigy |
| 2. Will To Rebuild |
| 3. Haunting Me Endlessly |
| 4. Seize The Calm |
| 5. Carpal Tunnel |
| 6. Going, Going, Gone |
| 7. Deadworld |
| 8. This Is My Own |
| 9. December (Only Living Witness cover) |
| 10. Mark Of The Squealer (Leeway cover) |
| 11. Teasn', Pleasn' (Dangerous Toys cover) |
: 41.06
| Buy other Shadows Fall albums |
