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Rating:
Killswitch Engage are the kings of metalcore, I have no doubt about that. Behind them there's another very good band, Shadows Fall (which no one else here has reviewed... shame on you!!!). After two practically unnoticed CDs, "The Art Of Balance" is released, and it finally achieves good success.
The music is metalcore, but there are various influences, especially thrash: besides rocking the world, Shadows Fall meticulously craft the more melodic tracks: listen to Thoughts Without Water. The most powerful song on the album is Stepping Outside The Circle, but Destroyer Of Senses is also highly “wrecking”.
Shadows Fall even played a Pink Floyd cover, Welcome To The Machine, making it more metallic, and it was really well done. The title-track is also very good.
I was particularly impressed by the skill of the band's singer, Brian Fair: from insane growls and screams, he switches effortlessly to a cleaner vocal tone. And then, damn, have you seen those dreads he has??? They reach down to the ground... The production is wonderful, making some nuances that the band still has less evident. Moreover, they are absolutely amazing live too (anyone who went to this year’s Flippaut will surely confirm).
I remain convinced that Killswitch Engage are the best in metalcore (and I believe that Brian Fair and company have been somewhat inspired by the makers of “Alive Or Just Breathing”, as well as by Atreyu), but surely Shadows Fall have nothing to envy from the English band, quite the opposite. A must-have album.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Idle Hands (03:35)
Just a word all it takes to set it off
Uncontrolled all restraint has been lost
Absorbing more than I can stand
Of these self defeating unreal demands
Giving into frustrations command
The devil makes good use with idle hands
Overwhelming desire to react
I am too far gone forever turning back
Looking for something to lash out at
Turning inward it is myself that I attack
The anger grows inside everyday
Unquechable I have become my own prey
From where has this rage been spawned?
Been building deep inside for far too long
Forgotten memories buried and hidden
creating my own emotional prison
Can it be that i have lost?
Control of my actions and my thoughts
02 Thoughts Without Words (04:32)
Having awareness but no true sense of self
You find yourself enslaved in chains of earthly wealth
The unending chatter that plagues the mind
Confusion will be all that you find
Chaos reigns in an untamed mind
Still question all i know advancing foward
This fallacy i have disowned
You must quench the yearning and false desire
Only balance will elevate you higher
You must train the body and the mind to serve
Envisioning thoughts without words
Chaos reigns in an untamed mind
Still question all i know advancing foward
This fallacy i have disowned
Encaged in a world that fear creates
You must release yourself and liberate
I am seeking the way...
03 Destroyer of Senses (02:55)
The sweet taste of self destruction
Waves of purity wash away the memories
I keep on falling off
I keep on falling off
The agents of change will dissolve
Into the fabric of our very existence
I keep on falling off of this straight
and narrow line
The calm embrace of a sedated mind
Giver of life
Destroyer of senses
I INVOKE!
The sweet taste of self destruction
Waves of purity wash away the memories
I keep on falling off of this straight
and narrow line
The calm embrace of a sedated mind
05 Stepping Outside the Circle (05:26)
Here i go again
A vicious Cycle without end
Seeking distance for security
A desperate act to remain free
A balance point cannot be found
This whole thing will come crashing down
Down! Down!
My fear will drag you down
Into this world that i create
Your love for me has sealed your fate
Down! Down!
My fear will drag you down
Can I trust in what i feel?
Praying that this time it's real
Feel the strain!
All this times been spent in vain MY SHAME!
open wounds that still remain DECAY!
As my faith is stripped away YOU'LL STRAY!
The final price i have to pay
Digger in deeper still
The hollowness I yearn to fill
The story always ends the same
The cycle soon begins again
Stepping outside the circle!
11 Welcome to the Machine (05:15)
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine
Where have you been?
It's alright we know where you've been
You've been in the pipeline, filling in time
Provided with toys and 'Scouting for Boys'
You brought a guitar to punish your ma
And you didn't like school
And you know you're nobody's fool
So welcome to the machine
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine
What did you dream?
It's alright we told you what to dream
You dreamed of a big star
He played a mean gituar
He always ate in the Steak Bar
He loved to drive in his Jaguar
So welcome to the Machine
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