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Highly recommended to all Metal fans all over the globe! That is just how unreal good Retribution from Shadows Fall is… that I start off by just bluntly recommending this new album. Seriously, Retribution is one solid chunk of Thrash Metal Music for me. On this new release, (released September 15, 2009), Shadows Fall sounds as if they are not holding back the hard and heavy for no one. I am not taking the easy way out by saying all ten songs are damn incredible. The all encompassing barrage of Metal fury, that highlights each turn and corner on Retribution, is like a Metal power rush to my brain that I do not want to end. In my Metal opinion, it very much seems as if Shadows Fall took a long and hard listen to the once in a millennium, Metal masterpiece from Slipknot called All Hope Is Gone… and decided they too wanted to raise their own Metal bar. The All Hope Is Gone influence I hear on Retribution, is deserving of a raucous Metal applause for Shadows Fall, for if this influence is to be true… Shadows Fall surely knows real Metal when they hear it. The unrelenting surge of Metal power both musically and vocally, (both lead and backing/gang vocals), found within Retribution, are the best ways I can describe my All Hope Is Gone comparison. 

Brian Fair on lead vocals has never sounded this unreal great before, based on what my ears hear on Retribution. Brian Fair shows his harmonious side as a crooner and just as suddenly can deliver the bad ass vocals I have always expected… and he does so with the determination and tenacity of a seasoned Metal pro. If it was ever possible for Jason Bittner to elevate his already incredible Metal talents on drums, well, he did it here on Retribution… whoa. Jonathan Donais on lead guitar, takes full Metal command with creative leads that are above impressive. One recent professionally paid Metal Music critic wrote in the November 2009 issue of Revolver Magazine: “arguably the most mainstream-friendly album the group has made” – (?), uh, I beg to differ. First, I would never equate the word mainstream to Shadows Fall… never, ever, from 1998’s Somber Eyes to the Sky to 2007’s Threads of Life. Now, with Retribution, for this album to even be remotely considered mainstream friendly, well, that is like saying a Pit Viper hanging from a tree limb above your head is friendly too. Nickelback is mainstream friendly, with absolutely no disrespect of course, to them. This is just another perfect Metal example, that there are some Metal Music critics out there that never bother to listen to the album(s) they are being paid to review. Frustrating, to say the least.

My two choice picks on Retribution are: King Of Nothing and Embrace Annihilation. These are the two songs that just embody the core Thrash Metal essence of Retribution, in my Metal opinion. Shadows Fall has made me feel Metal secure, with their creating Retribution, this is an album that encapsulates all things powerful about Thrash Metal. Metal truth be told, I will be recommending this album to anyone who listens for the rest of my Metal life. Musical integrity and the respect for quality song writing are characteristics every band should uphold, Shadows Fall upheld them on Retribution ten fold. Shadows Fall will always have their Metalcore roots, with Retribution, they have imprinted themselves into the Thrash Metal genre like an unstoppable lightning strike.

Shadows Fall are:

Brian Fair on lead vocals

Jonathan Donais on lead guitar/vocals

Matthew Bachand on guitar/vocals

Paul Romanko on bass 

Jason Bittner on drums

Retribution was produced by Zeuss and released on Ferret Music and Independent Label Group.

This entry was posted on September 16, 2009 at 4:11 am and is filed under 1990's thrash metal albums, 1990's thrash metal music, Album Review, cool album covers, current extreme metal albums, current extreme metal music, current heavy metal albums, current metal albums, current thrash metal, current thrash metal albums, current thrash metal music, essential heavy metal albums, essential metal music albums, essential thrash metal albums, extreme metal music, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 2009, heavy metal bands this decade, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal music, metal music today, metal odyssey, Metal Reviews, Music, new heavy metal album, new thrash metal albums, rock music, Thrash Metal, thrash metal 2009, thrash metal album review, thrash metal albums 2009, thrash metal music, thrash metal music reviews, thrash metal today with tags Album Review, all hope is gone album, brian fair vocalist, current heavy metal albums, current thrash metal albums, embrace annihilation song, ferret music, ferret records, heavy metal music, independent label group, jason bittner drummer, jonathan donais guitarist, matthew bachand guitarist, Metal, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, paul romanko bass guitarist, retribution album, revolver magazine, shadows fall, shadows fall heavy metal band, shadows fall king of nothing song, shadows fall metalcore band, shadows fall retribution album 2009, shadows fall thrash metal band, slipknot heavy metal band, somber eyes to the sky album, Thrash Metal, thrash metal album review, thrash metal albums 2009, thrash metal music, thrash metal music 2009, threads of life album 2007, zeuss record producer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.