Don't waste your money
A colleague of mine, whilst looking at the artwork of the new Shadows Fall album 'Fallout from the war,' said, "Who's done that cover? It looks like it's been thrown together in about ten minutes." I must admit that my colleague had a point, the artwork looks cheap and something that could've been knocked up on paint in less time than it takes to make a cup-o-soup. The 'thrown together' feel of the artwork isn't too far away from the feeling of the album as a whole. 'Fallout from the war' isn't the brand spanking new album from Shadows Fall, (Two years is obviously not long enough to write forty minutes of material) it's six cuts that failed to make it onto the 'The War Within' album, two re-recordings of older material and three covers.
I have a big problem with albums like this. First of all, songs that never made the grade for the album were obviously not good enough first time round so why release them now? Secondly, re-recording old tracks usually loses the character and charm of the original (although nice to listen to I don't' know many people who prefer Iron Maiden's 1988 version of prowler over the original). And thirdly, covers are fun if pretty pointless, unless you really make the song oddly appealing (listen to Xentrix's version of Ghostbusters). The 'Fallout from the war' comes two years after the last Shadows Fall album and it makes you wonder where the new album is, what have they been doing all this time? This kind of 'leftovers' album has presence if released a year after an album because the fans are usually hungry for more. A two-year gap runs the risk of failing to re-ignite the fire of a largely forgotten album. What the fans want is brand new music, not a Shadows Fall's time filling, keep the fans happy, back up record.
The album starts well enough, 'In Effigy' is a competent slab of thrash as to is 'Will to Rebuild.' But there is something lacking from the songs. The musicianship is exemplary and the solos of Jonathan Donais are at their vibrant best. Brian Fair's vocals are as brutal as ever, occasionally using his clean singing to good effect (although he could utilise this a little more). I think it just boils down to the fact that these songs just aren't as good as the tracks on their last album. Maybe it's embedded in the subconscious that these songs weren't good enough for the final cut of 'The war within.' There's certainly nothing really bad about them, just nothing 'anthemic,' nothing grandiose, they're just thrashy 'by the numbers' average cuts.
I must admit to being a Shadows Fall fan, and being negative about such a release is a little heartbreaking. Their 'Art of Balance' album is a true metal classic and a perfect representation of everything that was great about modern metal and metal-core. 'Fallout from the war,' for me personally, exemplifies what's poor about the music industry. It reeks of a cynical cash-in that takes the fans for granted. Although the first couple of tracks are fairly decent, the rest of it is a waste of time and money. Fans of the band might want to get this album just because the wait for new material is too long. But they may find that after a couple of listens they'll demote it too the position of 'dust holder' in their cd rack. Put simply, it's not as good as their main albums and not as consistent. (Their version of Dangerous Toys 'Teasin Pleasin' should be given a lethal injection before it harms anyone) There isn't even a multimedia section or coupling DVD with a documentary or live footage to make this album value for money.
Since I started writing this review I have since heard of a rumour that Shadows Fall have signed a new deal with Roadrunner, and 'Fallout from the War' is to be their last release through Century Media. If this rumour were true, (and please be aware this is only a rumour) then it would explain the shoddiness of this package. Perhaps it's an attempt to fulfil a contractual agreement before writing a new album for Roadrunner, who knows. But I think a live album would have been just the ticket rather than this disappointing release. Save your money, make a cup-o-soup, it's far more interesting.