Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
War Within, September 28, 2004
This is my first Shadows Fall album. After all of the raving reviews I've read for The Art Of Balance, I became extremely interested in hearing this band. I did some research and discovered that they had a new album on it's way, so I held out for War Within. Let me just say that I am extremely impressed with this album. The guitar work is creative and very challenging. The lead guitarist plays lead while the rhythym guitarist plays rhythym creating a wall a sound I have longed to hear from American metal. The bass is actually really good. The bassist has a distinguishable tone and it comes out a lot when it needs to, especially in What Drives The Weak, the man is going off. The drumming is pretty good, a little soft sounding for a metal album, but pretty technical none the less. The singer has a good screaming voice, but also has a pretty good singing voice for a metal singer.
The DVD is pretty cool. It has some older songs recorded live. The camera quality is alright, there are a lot of angles and such, so it was done pretty professionally. There are also two guitar lessons and a drum lesson, which I find pretty cool for those musicians out there that want to learn the songs.
All in all, if you like top knotch metal music with fast drumming and ripping solos, then this is for you. Highly recommended.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What is WITH these reviews?!?, November 1, 2004
A 4 star average review. How is this possible? This is one of the best CDs from one of the best modern metal bands. Four stars usually means that there are quite a few bad reviews, which is the case here.
I see in this bizarre list of review several, too many, who have given "The War Within" markedly bad reviews with ridculous logic. Among these reviews, you have 4 types - I would like to address each type individually
1. Old school metal-heads who have learned about Shadows Fall because of their popularity. These guys think that AC/DC and Anthrax are the greatest metal bands of all time. They cannot grasp the rough vocals that Shadows Fall uses. I say that if you have the entire AC/DC collection, then modern metal is definitely not for you & you have no business reviewing this CD. Also, get off of the computer because other people at the nursing home want to use it.
2. Fanatical death metal / hardcore fans. Its always the same with these guys. They always whip out the "nu-metal" tag like a dagger. And their reviews always end something like this: "If you want REAL metal then save your money & check out the bands I listen to: Cryptopsy,Deicide,Dying Fetus,Cattle Decapitation,Pig Destroyer, blah, blah, blah." Listen, I am a very well-listened metal fan & I always either own or have heard all of the CDs that these idiots rant about. None of them, I repeat, NONE, are even good enough to hold Shadows Fall's scrotum area while they prematurely relieve themselves.
3. People who always compare to the previous CDs ... with a vengence. Its o.k. to compare to their older albums because those are the baseline. But some people whine if a band changes their sound, yet others whine when a band doesn't change its sound. In this case, if you think that Shadows Fall have deviated from their previous albums, especially "Art of Balance", then I have to believe that you have mistaken this band for someone else.
4. Metal fans who just do not like this CD or do not like Shadows Fall. Finally, reviewers worthy of some respect. You opinions are always valid & welcomed.
My opinion...Shadows Fall have outdone themselves with "The War Within". I don't believe that I have heard a metal album in recent memory with songs this good from start to end. Not only is every song good - every song is incredible. There is no doubt that this album tops the other 2 best releases of the year, Lamb of God's "Ashes of the Wake" and Machine Head's "Through the Ashes of Empires" (what's up with "ashes" anyway?). Shadows Fall are the best metal band today, period.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take it from a 20 year veteran: you can't get much better than this., August 21, 2005
I've heard the best of classic metal, I've heard the best of thrash, and I've heard the best of death.
Now comes a band that combines the best of all three.
People who won't like this: a) Those who like "pure" black/death metal; i.e. metal that puts agression above musical skill and is produced in a garden shed.
b) those who aren't into anything heavier than Glam (Cinderella, Whitesnake, etc)
But if you like good metal, then trust me, you'll gravitate toward this eventually.
Here's the recipe:
2 parts Testament
1 part Anthrax
1 part death
1 part goth
1 part Iron Maiden
Directions: Drink beer, set CD in player for 8 hours.
Sit and enjoy. Repeat directions for several years, daily.
(Omit beer if you have a job)
Trust me.
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