Customer Reviews

Somber Eyes to the Sky

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay, I'll be honest, being from Massachusetts originally myself, seeing that Shadows Fall was from Springfield was the first thing that caught my attention. However, I picked up their sophomore album OF ONE BLOOD a year ago and was blown away. This, their 1997 debut, is a fantastic fusion of hardcore, thrash, and death metal, forming a super sort of progressive metal reminiscent of Slayer and early Metallica.

Enter the realm of Jonathan Donais and Matthew Bachand, best new guitar duo. They can do speed metal, make really heavy crunches (without following the trend of low-tuned guitars), and can play acoustic beautifully. Jonathan, the lead guitarist, is absolutely fantastic, creating great melodies and harmonies in the solos. And they can sing pretty well, too!

Philip Labonte, their original vocalist, does a good job with his throaty death metal growl, but he can sing pretty well also. It was shortly after this album that he got replaced with Brian Fair, who is somewhat better with his vocal range.

Holding up the rhythm section are Paul Romanko on bass (very good) and David Germain on drums (as any GOOD death metal/thrash drummer can do, he does far more than just endless double-bass drum kicks, which though fun, can be monotonous--he gives just the right amounts at just the right times).

Standout songs on this album include "Nurture", "Revel in My Loss", and "Lead Me Home", the latter being a beautiful semi-acoustic instrumental ballad with tranquil synthesized sounds of nature at the intro and outro. "Eternal" and "Lifeless" are also terrific.

A bit more raw than their later efforts, and with a just-not-quite-as-good vocalist, this album is still nonetheless a terrific debut from a great, original Massachusetts metal band. And best of all, I'll be seeing them at Ozzfest this summer!

Originally released in 1998, this Shadows Fall CD features original lead singer Phil Labonte, who is now with a great death metal band called All That Remains. Although some of these songs were re-recorded for the latest release "Of One Blood", this is still a great CD to pick up, particularly if you prefer death metal vocals. Although Shadows Fall is not considered to be a death metal band (especially now), Labonte brought that element to the band in a very positive way. Although I personally prefer "Of One Blood", "Somber Eyes to the Sky" is great and well deserving of 5 stars! Shadows Fall fans really should pick up both of these CD's. Also, be sure to check out All That Remains, you'll be glad you did!

Shadows Fall debuted with this album, a slice of aggressive, although diverse metalcore. Boston, MA has emerged as a sort of capital for metalcore bands in recent years, and this band played a significant part in the burgeoning scene. With that aside, I feel that Somber Eyes To The Sky stands as the band's greatest musical statement, despite an apparent number of flaws.
Due to lousy production, the songs suffer during the transitions from acoustic breaks to pummeling riff assaults, much like in the second track "Pure". I noticed that the drummer falls behind during more of the technically demanding parts, but on a debut album this can be overlooked. The layered vocals and graceful guitar harmonies deserve praise, and the band never steps into self-indulgent territories. Although the second half of the album isn't as strong as the first, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys hardcore, metalcore, or "Gothenburg" tinged metal.

This album is excellent, but did take a little getting used to because of the sketchy production and its grind/death style. I'm a little more into grindcore now than i was back then, (Between the Buried and Me's new album "Colors" is phenomenal)so I would appreciate this more now.
Reviewers definitley have been right on about the production but they were on a little indie label in 97' and still working in malls so its understandable. Regardless, the musicianship shines thru as some of the best work they've ever done.
Something better about Shadows Fall back then was their singer, Phil Labonte of All That Remains. He is a MUCH better singer than Brian Fair, Fair couldn't hold a candle to Phil. And All That Remains is a much better band in my opinion, if you like the vocals on this, you'll definitley dig All That Remains' albums "This Darkened Heart" and "Fall of Ideals", both are amazing in different ways. The instrumental on This Darkened Heart called "Regret Not" has to be one of the best metal instrumentals I've ever heard. Peace, I'm out.

If your a fan of All That Remains, you MUST own this cd. Not that it sounds like ATR, but hearing Phil at such a young age is priceless. As for a Shadows Fall fan, its still good. Being mixed by Adam D. of Killswitch, the mix on this album is somewhat...'mushy' oddly enough. Then again, this was recorded in '97, so some leeway should be given. Evidence of death vocals is prominent on this album, for fans of "The Weak Willed" and "Six" by ATR, so the vocals should tickled your fancy. The first 5 tracks are the best on the disc, and show a wide range of musical talent and range. Overall, this record should be picked up. It holds up for fans of both bands alike.

This was a shot in the dark for me. I was looking for some fast, new, death metal to cure my teen angst and musical need, and I listened to a sample of one of the tracks. I heard fast guitar and double bass and that was it for me (I didn't care about singers back then) I got it right away. I thought it was good, a poor recording job and really weird vocals. Then after a few weeks I got more metal and hardcore from my friends (you know, the kind with singing you can't understand and hella fast riffs? ah, the best) and I started to like that stuff more. I listened to the CD again and I was entertained for months! And I still am now that I'm experianced in metalcore and "screamo."

There are killer guitar riffs from the great Matt Bachand and Jonathan Donais duo, heavy bass that sounds so cool (you can actually hear it in this metal band!) and awesome drums that blend with the other instruments. The vocalist (I hear he's in All That Remains now) is 10 times better than that Brian Fair in the other Shadows Fall albums. This guy sounds like an effing monster! His screams and growls are straight from the gut and amplified in the throat, almost gargley, I have no idea how to describe it, just awesome and like no other singer you'll find.

All the songs are great. There's only 10 of them but the pack a punch. Revel in My Loss sounds like Unholy Confessions by Avenged Sevenfold but pure metal. Pure is a nice, pleasant song even while the singer and guitar players are screaming in your ears. Lead Me Home is a beautiful acoustic instrumental that took me forever to give it a chance. Fleshold has a melodic singing intro and chorus then just bursts into a thrashing opening riff and awesome main riff. Eternal is great... Same with Suffer the Season. Somber Angel has an accoustic intro then starts with an extremely fast guitar thrashing... It's just a dark, heavy song. Then Lifeless is the perfect finale with the singers roaring and even some singing.

Sorry about how long this took, hope it helped, just check out this CD! Also good bands: Ruins of Eden(only on Myspace), This Side of the Nightmare (Myspace too), Behemoth, American Head Charge, All Shall Perish, Walls of Jericho, Slipknot, Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, Mudvayne, and Avenged Sevenfold. My myspace is (myspace address)/Jam_lee.

I'll admit it, it's usually harder for me to stomach sub-par production quality and death metal vocals. Since this album sports both of those traits, it would be reasonable to think that I would hate this album - but on account of the sheer inspiration and passion that is so prevalent on Somber Eyes To The Sky, those things simply don't matter at all.

Shadows Fall formed in my home state of Massachusetts (ignore the fact that I live in New Jersey) in the early-to-mid 90's in the Springfield area, which was (and still is) host to numerous exciting, new metal bands. After releasing two now-hard-to-find demos (Mourning a Dead World and To Ashes) the band released this album through guitarist Matt Bachand's own Lifeless Records.

Songwriting - One cannot ignore the inspiration it has to have taken to write these songs. In this release Shadows Fall mixes the violently brutal and innocently beautiful; rough, fast technical metal riffing is interspersed with gentle acoustic guitar interludes and intros; they even devote one track to an acoustic guitar duet, complete with a violin part and ambient rain noises, which makes up what we now know as the beautiful "Lead Me Home" (which is also known as "Risen" in some circles and sounds suspiciously similar to Morbid Angel's track Desolate Ways from the album Blessed Are The Sick - I don't care because LMH is awesome.) Acoustic guitar is a trait that will stay with Shadows Fall to the present, and it all began on their first album.

Performance - The performance is merely acceptable. Not the best you'll see from Shadows Fall. The solos in particular are ignorable, and Romanko's bass picking is uneven at times (better production would have hidden this better.) However, even though they were young at the time of this release, it is clear that all the members are talented musically, if more so at writing music than actually playing it.

Vocals - Phil Labonte's vocals are rough around the edges and occasionally even off-pitch here in some of the cleaner sections, but the energy the man has is remarkable and makes up for any potential flaws. While I do agree that he simply wasn't the man for Shadows Fall in the end (Brian Fair fits the bill much better) he is incredible in All The Remains and has grown into an extremely well-rounded vocalist that I idolize.

Lyrics - The lyrics, which would probably sound kind of cheesy their own, work well in this context and helped a lot in my deeming this album "inspired". You can tell that while some may have been simply thrown down, a lot seem to pull from the experiences of the members of the band, and they drew me in quite well.

Production - It sounds like it was recorded in a garage or a basement. The sound is oftentimes muffled. Although this does have a certain freshness to it (something about it makes it seem more up close and personal) most people will certainly not favor it. On another note about production, the use of synthesized noises (random ambiance, rain, part harmonization etc) is put to very good use and enhances the music where it appears, and all of the acoustic recordings sound clear as a bell. Why this is, I don't know.

Conclusion - Fans of modern metal will want to pick this up; for fans of All That Remains and Shadows Fall it is a must-own. Aside from the fact that the music is hard-rocking, it also illustrates very well the evolution that was going on in metal at the time and the development of metalcore as a subgenre. Casual listeners who are intrigued might be better off picking up the 2008 reissue of Of One Blood. This Shadows Fall album is remixed and remastered, and includes a couple of tracks off of Somber Eyes To The Sky (To Ashes, Fleshold, Revel In My Loss...) they sound brand new and have never been better.

Often, listeners of music make the mistake of purchasing only that platinum album with that one hit single. They follow a trend without identifying the musicians as artists with a past. Somber Eyes to the Sky, recorded by Shadows Fall in 2000, is a primary example of a musical masterpiece that did not receive recognition until after the band became mainstream. The album offers melody coupled with perfectly violent thrash.
Somber Eyes to the Sky as recorded by the original band, Shadows Fall, diverges from the group's current musical style. However, the work still offers the listener an idea of the onslaught of thrash metal the group will later produce. A more recent album by Shadows Fall, The Art of Balance portrays the same energy and musical capabilities as Somber, but is not as unrefined in the recording methods, the vocals, or the music itself. While the The Art of Balance exhibits musical control, Somber captures the raw side of Shadows Fall. Still, the group produces brilliant melodies that are calming and refined. For instance, Lead Me Home gives a depiction of the band's ability to utilize acoustics and harmony. Revel in My Loss, however, comprises of forceful rifts and drums creating metal that is enjoyable.
Because the band traded vocalist Philip Labonte for Brian Fair, there is a transition in the musical style and the lyrics.
I was fortunate to witness this band at Ozzfest and admired their energetic stage presence and music. Although this band is often classified as metal, the music is not merely metal. It is melodic, inspiring, and fun. Some of their works may be likened to Pantera or early Metallica.

No matter how big they are now, every band has (or has had) to start somewhere. This Massachusetts quintet known as Shadows Fall formed around 1995, and debuted in `97. Their first album, "Somber Eyes To The Sky," was not the band's breakthrough. But hey, they can't all be overnight sensations. Only through insistent touring and constant hard work did Shadows Fall become the band they are now (which is one of the biggest forces to be reckoned with in modern metal).

"Somber Eyes To The Sky" has absolutely wretched production. That's no figure of speech, either; this album sounds BAD! Obviously some songs are worse than others, but, overall, this has to be the cheapest, muddiest, and all around worst sounding C.D.'s I've ever heard. But, on the plus side, this disc's "recorded in a basement" sound gives it an extra rough and raw vibe.

But, with that out of the way, there is also plenty here to love. Guitarists Jonathan Donais and Matt Bachand were great instrumentalists even if they were only 19 or 20 years old at the time of this recording. They unleash catchy, sledgehammer riffs (see "Fleshold"), bullying leads (as exemplified by the super heavy and blistering seventh track, "Eternal"), and occasionally a solo ("Nurture" has two wild ones) or acoustic guitar will sprout up ("Lead Me Home" is a very pretty, twinkling acoustic interlude). Phillip Labonte, who was the vocalist at the time (he would leave the band to start a different group, called All That Remains), is also quite a talented fellow. He doesn't have nearly the same range as (current vocalist) Brian Fair, but he is very effective at low, death metal bellows and high pitched screams.

"Revel In My Loss" has to be the album's best track. It's bolstered by smoking riffs, a heavy, propulsive, dual guitar lead, and quick, pounding drums. Track two offsets a chugging rhythm with a beeping bass line, and "To Ashes" features another forceful guitar attack, but also some acoustic breakdowns and clean singing. Lastly, "Somber Angel" begins with an acoustic intro before catapulting into a scorching guitar onslaught, and the song is capped off by a fairly long, winding, and technical solo.

It may not be their best work, but these songs were precursors of the brilliance that was to come on future Shadows Fall releases. Thus, "Somber Eyes To The Sky" is an essential purchase for all fans of the band and metalcore/thrash metal.

if you like heavy music, you have to get this cd. it is one of the heaviest cds i have ever heard.the songs also have very good beats to them.