Massachusetts' premier metal band, Shadows Fall, began in 1996 between guitarists Jonathan Donais and Matthew Bachand. The duo began writing material as a side project, but began to realize the potential and excitement of their songs, and thus b read more
Massachusetts' premier metal band, Shadows Fall, began in 1996 between guitarists Jonathan Donais and Matthew Bachand. The duo began writing material as a side project, but began to realize the potential and excitement of their songs, and thus became a full unit by recruiting bassist Paul Romanko, drummer David "the Knife" Germain, and vocalist Philip Labonte. Influenced heavily by European metal, the band combined melodic death metal with a bit of American metal and hardcore. Vocally, the band would use a dual/tri-vocal attack, with Labonte growling, and Bachand and Donais singing. Their sound began to garner praise among many in the New England area, and the band found themselves opening for notable metal acts such as Fear Factory, Cannibal Corpse, and Hatebreed. Shadows Fall would eventually release its self-financed, debut full-length, "Somber Eyes To The Sky," on Lifeless Records in late-1997. The album would show up for several weeks on CMJ's Loud Rock Top 10 Chart, while selling particularly well for an independent release in the U.S. and Europe. The band would crossover and appeal to hardcore and metal listeners alike, and participate in numerous festivals and tours. At this point, artistic differences would prompt frontman Labonte to leave the band, and form his own metal unit, All That Remains. Meanwhile, the demise of devilcore unit Overcast, provided Shadows Fall the opportunity to recruit vocalist Brian Fair into the fold, as the band highly praised Fair's growling and clean singing abilities. In 1999, Shadows Fall would sign with Century Media Records, and release the full-length, "Of One Blood," in 2000. The band has participated in numerous festivals (March Metal Meltdown, New England Hardcore and Metal Fest, Cleveland World Series of Metal) and toured with countless bands. In 2001, drummer Germain would step down from Shadows Fall. The band would release another full-length for Century Media entitled "The Art of Balance" in mid-2002. Fans of European influenced metal will definitely find Shadows Fall to their liking. read less
