Shadows Fall - Threads Of Life
Shadows Fall
Threads Of Life
Shadows Fall have enjoyed a tremendous surge of hype since their 2004 breakout, The War Within, cracked the Billboard Top 20; and even though there’s a big difference between being Century Media’s biggest act and impressing the bean counters at a major label, the band sound more than ready to prove their mettle with Threads Of Life. While Mastodon and Lamb Of God beat them to the mainstream in 2006 with a pair of brutal albums, Shadows Fall have the advantage of entering the big-time with a melodically richer, ’80s-metal-classicist sound that doesn’t just recall Metallica’s thrashier glory days (to say nothing of Exodus, Testament or Anthrax); it forces James Hetfield & Co. to rise to the challenge with their next album. Yes, those are big words, but with musicians like this leading the charge, they’re merited: From the old-school headbanging of standouts like “Redemption” and “Forevermore” to the monster fretboard heroics of “Final Call,” Threads Of Life is the most unashamedly “true” metal album any major label’s released yet this year—and it’s also one of the best.
