Shadows Fall Retribution Review: Returning To Form With A Vengeance!

Despite critical accolades, a large fanbase and a Grammy nomination to their name, Shadows Fall have long been the underdogs of the American scene. Back in 2002 there was a brief period where they were heralded as the saviours of old school heavy metal, but instead wound up playing second fiddle to the likes of Devildriver, Lamb of God and long-time friends Killswitch Engage.

With Retribution however, they might finally be able to crack that glass ceiling and emerge from their eternal support-act status. After the muted response to 2007's Threads Of Life, to hear the band rocking out with such unparalleled ferocity as they do on My Demise and A Public Execution is a dream come true. Being ejected from Roadrunner clearly left a mark with them but heck, if they're going to go down, they're going down fighting!

First single Still I RIse is a textbook run through of the Shadows Fall experience. Lead six stringer John Donais throttles his guitar to within an inch of its life, packing enough crunchy chords and electrifying solos into the four minute run time to fill an entire album. Over the top, vocalist Brian Fair lends his increasingly diverse voice to the barking verses and the instantly-memorable chorus, while Jason Bittner backs them up with a punishing blast on the drums.

It's an absolutely killer track and no mistake. Like the perfect distillation of aggression and melody, its like a closed fist in the face of all those who wrote them off. Ever wanted to hear the sound of a band machine gunning it's way out of the grave? Look no further.

The good news here is that by the close of the song, the album has barely started and there's even better to come. The aptly titled War is the heaviest track they've written since the Of One Blood album and sure to get the mosh pits whipped into a frenzy. King Of Nothing meanwhile is an epic slice of virtuoso guitar work, with a notable appearance from Lamb Of God mainman Randy Blythe. As great song follows great song though, it's hard to pick a highlight and the skip button doesn't even get a look in.

Capping it all off is Dead And Gone, a lengthy six and a half minutes of punishing breakdowns, even more furious fretwork and surprisingly uplifting lyrics. It's a triumphant end to a remarkable album that is bound to end up on a few end of year "best of" lists. This is ten tracks of confident, expertly crafted metal, miss it at your peril.

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Nov 2, 2009 8:50 AM

Guest :

Has everyone forgotten the outstanding Bob Marley remake on this album, "War"? This is possibly one the best of the album, and mayhap their entire discography. But I have a few discrepancies here. Shadows Fall seems determined to tread the path of "half killer, half filler." If you ask me, "My Demise" and "The Taste of Fear" are two songs that, by SF standards, are merely filler. The whole clean singing thing is fine when done sparingly, but Brian seems to have forgotten is that when we fell in love with his vocals, it was his trademark roar, not his singing. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm merely remarking that these songs lose their balls when almost every verse is sung. "War", "King of Nothing", "Embrace Annihilation" and "A Public Execution" are tracks that truly deserve your attention. And on the subject of "Threads", I think we all need to quit lying to ourselves and admit that in comparison to earlier albums, it can't lick their balls. There were some good songs, but nothing as good as "What Drives The Weak."