SHADOWS FALL — The Art of Balance (review)

SHADOWS FALL — The Art of Balance album cover Album · 2002 · Melodic Metalcore Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Kingcrimsonprog
The Art of Balance is perhaps the most popular choice for people’s favorite Shadows Fall album, their 2002 album was their first to make a dent in the Billboard 200 and the album containing `Thoughts Without Words,’ which was to be the band’s first music video.

The lead singer Brain Fair has a pretty impressive voice, equally talented in catchy melodic singing and aggressive shouting whether or not you are a fan of his singing voice there is a variety on offer with enough hardcore shouts, metal screams and death growls that you’ll find something suited to your tastes.

As always, the album boasts Excellent guitar work from Jonathan Donais and Matt Bachand who come up with some very interesting melodies and a lot of thrashy riffs that never seem to be too derivative but always manage to evoke the classic 1980s sound they are modeled after, very talented musicians indeed and that’s before taking into account their frequent vocal contributions. Chunky metalcore riffs meet will speedy thrash fretwork by way of shimmering acoustic passages at a moment’s notice, but it never sounds mismatched or like the band are trying to get too many disparate ideas into one song, all the material is so smooth and perfectly produced it takes a few listens to decode how complicated it really is. Therein lies the success of Shadows Fall; the music is intensely accessible and instantly listenable however there are many subtleties and nuances for you to hone in on with repeat listens, put simply the album is as complicated as you are willing to let it be.

Highlights include the very catchy `Destroyer of Senses,’ ‘ the impressive seven and a half minute `A Fire In Babylon,’ and the fast and aggressive `Stepping Outside the Circle,’ which not only note worthy for its fantastic musicianship, virtuosic soloing and standout vocal performance, but is indeed extra memorable for containing the lyric `Fear Will Drag You Down.’

Shadows Fall’s brand of Metalcore tinged Thrash Metal may not be to everyone’s tastes, but if you like this sort of music you will find Shadows fall to be very enjoyable and The Art of Balance is one of their finest releases.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Caedes Animarum Deathcore
INVISIBLE SPHERE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Empty Doom Metal
BONGRIPPER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Shadowflame Deathcore
BREATH OF SINDRAGOSA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Iniquitous Deathcore
SINISTER SECTOR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Untoward Perpetuity Deathcore
AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 2 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed