Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Shadows Fall - The Art of Balance (2002)
After the melodeath/metalcore sound of their first 2 albums, Shadows Fall decided to switch to the thrash metalcore they would later be known for, with their third album The Art of Balance. This is honestly a little similar to Trivium's move to a more thrashy sound on their third album the Crusade. One of the bigger differences is, the new thrashy sound is highly enjoyable and fits very well with the band, and that caused the band to reach a higher peak of fame and completely abandon their old melodeath sound. This new original style is pretty much what Shadows Fall fans are into now!
While Somber Eyes to the Sky and Of One Blood display a great flair of harmonizing guitar work and crushing riff wrath of Swedish-sounding melodic death metal, the guitar work in The Art of Balance really helped build the band's sound with the speed and rhythm of American thrash metal. Jon Donais throws in some sweet elements of technical soloing together with commanding riffs. A couple acoustic interludes were put into the album with very serene soundscapes as a good way to take a break from the extreme intensity. The band's sound has reached new heights with its thrash metalcore being found as "the perfect balance between melody and aggression". New drummer Jason Bittner lays down some awesome drumming you would typically hear in thrash metal and Brian's Fair voice has really taken consistent distinctive shape.
The album kicks off in a vicious bang with "Idle Hands", one of the most heaviness-focused songs on the album, containing death metal like riffs on guitars and bass, along with a Megadeth-inspired solo. "Thoughts Without Words" is another heavy song with thrash riffs and a very memorable chorus. There's also some good harmonized solo shredding and a killer breakdown at the end. "Destroyer of Senses" is faster and more thrashy than those first two songs, but a little simplistic and repetitive. Brain Fair does some guttural screaming in the slow sludgy part. "Casting Shade" is a beautiful, melodic, acoustic interlude that works as nice break from all that sheer aggression.
"Stepping Outside the Circle" is one of the best songs of the album with lots of amazing thrash. Riffs, time changes, gang vocals, all nothing but pure 100% thrash, with a capital TH. But at least there's a nice clean part and nice soloing. The title track is an epic ballad-like but still thrashy song. The song gets soft at first with emotional clean vocals, then the heavier riffs come out with Fair's brutal vocals. Then a clean part comes in along with a great solo. "Mystery of One Spirit" is another thrashy song with a lot of emphasis on guitar. The lyrics are really cool here and the screams sometimes get a little black metal snarly. Then things get kicked up with an epic power metal solo. "The Idiot Box" is another heavy thrash song with heavy riffs and angry political lyrics. The drumming works really well, especially in the cool breakdown at the end.
"Prelude to Disaster" is another acoustic interlude, and as the title would imply, would set you up for a disastrously awesome thrash epic. That epic is "A Fire in Babylon", an astonishing attempt in making a 7-minute epic (probably the longest song ever made by the band). It begins with some crazy pinch harmonics. The vocals vary a lot (clean, growling, screaming, shouting), all fitting perfectly in pure greatness. The bass sometimes does a counter melody and there's some heavy and melodic soloing. This is basically an amazing complex power/thrash metal song, and it is the best on the album and probably the best non-single song by the band. Then the album ends with a cover of the Pink Floyd hit "Welcome to the Machine". The original guitar part of the song even has a heavy part put together. There's even a synth that is rarely used by the band, along with mostly clean harmonizing vocals. After the song fades out, a door slam is the final thing heard in the album. Someone leaving the studio already?
Shadows Fall has made a great respected move to a new original modern sound after getting caught in a heated debate of melodeath. This release has clearly established them as part of the new wave of American heavy metal with their thrash metalcore sound. I'm a fan of Shadows Fall among other metal bands, and I believe this album really shows what the band is capable of. Hail to one of the NWOAHM kings!
Favorites: "Thoughts Without Words", "Stepping Outside the Circle", "The Art of Balance", "Mystery of One Spirit", "The Idiot Box", "A Fire in Babylon"