Reviews list for Shadows Fall - Of One Blood (2000)

As a fan of modern metalcore/extreme metal bands such as Trivium, Lamb of God, and (of course) Shadows Fall, the albums I think are the most fun to review are the transitional ones, the midway point between 2 different styles, like for example, between melodic death metal and metalcore. Some of those albums beginning that specific transition while still being mostly melodeath include This Darkened Heart by All That Remains and this album, Of One Blood. Speaking of All That Remains, as mentioned in the last review, the previous lead vocalist Phil Labonte left the band in 1998 to form All That Remains. His replacement is Brain Fair, sometimes known as the "male metalcore Rapunzel" because of his extra long dreadlocks.

The production in Of One Blood has improved but it's still sort of in its poor muddy state. Despite that, this is still a great album filled with mostly brutal melodic death metal-ish nostalgia while slowly beginning its transition to strictly metalcore. One of those hints of the band starting to make their move to metalcore is Fair's vocals, which are as intense as death metal growling but harsh enough to appeal to fans of the heavier side of metalcore. The riffing really brings on the genuine melodic hardcore/metal grit while the drumming is still what you would usually in thrash/death metal.

The album begins with the intro "Pain Glass Vision" which is basically a 45-second swaying sound similar to the intro of the At the Gates album Slaughter of the Soul (another inspiration for the band's original melodeath sound). Then it segues to "Crushing Belial", breaking into drilling electric guitars, including a nice lead solo over soft acoustic guitars. The title track is one of my favorite songs of the album. It has a long, complicated solo that would've fit well in a Dragonforce song.

"The First Noble Truth" has a lot you would expect in a melodic metalcore song. 3 songs from Somber Eyes to the Sky were re-recorded for this album. While these songs now have Fair's vocals, it still keeps Labonte vocals in some parts. Those songs (along with their closest genres) are Fleshold (extreme metalcore), Revel in My Loss (melodic death metal) and To Ashes (true thrash metal). "Root Bound Apollo" is another of my favorite songs in the album with a fast searing Metallica-like solo. This was actually originally a song by Fair's former band Overcast, but it ended up in this album. It would later be re-recorded on the Overcast album Reborn to Kill Again.

"Revel in My Loss", a melodeath song with barely any clean singing, now has a 20-second solo at the end that was missing in the original version. The last 3 songs of the album; "Montauk", "To Ashes", and "Serenity" have dual-lead thrash/death metal solos, with "To Ashes" having an acoustic solo before its electric solo. "Serenity" is another one of my favorites and a good way to end the album.

This is some good melodic death metal infused into the metalcore of the band's later endeavors. A must have for metalcore listeners who want a more brutal underground sound. Of One Blood brings back memories of when the metalcore scene was first rising. Once again, a solid melodeath-ish metalcore release in the roots of heavy metal and one of Shadows Fall's finest hours (or at least 46 minutes)!

Favorites: "Of One Blood", "The First Noble Truth", "Root Bound Apollo", "Revel in My Loss", "To Ashes", "Serenity"