In a brand new interview with the Thunder Underground podcast, SHADOWS FALL singer Brian Truthful spoke concerning the band’s newest single, “In The Gray”, which was made accessible final December by way of SHADOWS FALL‘s new report label dwelling, MNRK Heavy. The monitor marked the band’s first new piece of music in additional than 12 years.
“We’re simply so comfortable to lastly launch new music,” he mentioned (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “We’re engaged on a full album’s value of fabric, however I really feel prefer it’s gonna drop sort of in chunks after which hopefully the remainder of it all of sudden sort of factor. We simply could not sit on it. We had been simply so excited with how that tune got here out. And it is sort of a distinct world now too, the place you possibly can launch singles main as much as extra songs and maintaining individuals . So, yeah, man, we had been stoked with the way it got here out and simply wished to get it out in entrance of individuals. And I am tremendous psyched to simply be writing once more with the blokes, ‘trigger we did not know if that was gonna be sort of a part of the deal once we began enjoying reveals once more. And the writing has actually develop into the primary focus for the final yr and a half or so, which has been superior once more to sort of get again in that mode. So it is killer.”
Concerning SHADOWS FALL‘s songwriting method for the brand new music, Brian mentioned: “Once we first began sort of writing music, we wished to ensure it was gonna be SHADOWS FALL music. We hadn’t labored on new materials in such a very long time, and as soon as we began writing, issues simply clicked proper outta the gates. And ‘In The Gray’ was a kind of songs that sort of got here collectively fairly shortly too. And we wished to sort of have the primary tune fairly energetic, simply come out swinging thrash metallic model. It is obtained an enormous, melodic refrain, however the remainder of it’s just about simply pedal-to-the-metal thrash. So, that was additionally — why fiddle? Simply come out with the primary one swinging. So we had been tremendous stoked. So, yeah, the whole lot about it was simply sort of an thrilling new chapter.”
As for a way SHADOWS FALL approached the recording course of after being away from the recording studio for therefore lengthy, Brian mentioned: “This recording course of with [producer] Zeuss [Chris Harris] this time round, we have accomplished it fairly stripped down so far as we’re not reamping guitar tracks a ton… Earlier than we’d experiment with reamping one million various things and mixing tones and all this. This one we sort of wished to make one thing that did not sound possibly as surgical and scientific as some metalcore or trendy metallic’s sort of gotten. We wished to carry just a little little bit of thrash power to it and just a little extra of a uncooked — not essentially sonically uncooked, however just a bit extra live-ish method to it.”
On the subject of SHADOWS FALL‘s new cope with MNRK Heavy, Truthful mentioned: “We talked to a couple labels, however only a few, ‘trigger we sort of had an thought of what we wished to do and sort of the kind of deal we had been searching for. So, we hit it proper off the bat with them. They’ve an awesome roster with everybody from Zakk Wylde and Ace Frehley, however then additionally DARKEST HOUR and ESCUELA GRIND after which HIGH ON FIRE and CROWBAR — simply so many killer bands. So, it actually made sense. They usually’re sort of additionally approaching it extra as we’re signing for a gaggle of songs the place we will form of launch issues slowly after which put all of it collectively. ‘Trigger simply the way in which we work as a band proper now, since it is not everybody’s full-time life, we wanna do it — not essentially take our time, however we wanna be sure we maximize our time once we can get it, ‘trigger it is so laborious to get everybody collectively. So, they had been actually keen to sort of work with us on that stage of realizing the place the band is at this level in our life. In order that was an enormous a part of it. They usually’ve been killer to this point.”
Elaborating on the variations in the way in which music is being launched these days in comparison with the way it was a few many years in the past, Brian mentioned: ”Yeah, it is extra simply the break from the album-cycle form of factor. Once we first had been round, you principally put out a report yearly and a half or so, and then you definitely toured nonstop. And that was sort of the way it labored. And now there’s so many various shops, there’s so many various methods to get your music to individuals. It is not as conventional report label relationship sort of setup, which is cool. And you need to sort of have a contemporary method. And for a band like us — we sort of come from an old-school method, so it is good to have a label that has that ahead considering and sort of is aware of methods to navigate the sort of new means of the music biz.”
Requested concerning the progress of the songwriting and recording periods for the following SHADOWS FALL album, Truthful mentioned: “We now have a pair [of songs] which can be completely accomplished that will want some combine [tweaks], however are tracked. After which we’ve the instrumental tracks for lots. And we’re beginning to work on vocal demos. Proper now we’re sort of buying and selling issues forwards and backwards. And we have the skeletons to a different group of latest songs that we have not tracked instrumentally. So, all mentioned and accomplished, we’re gonna sort of maintain simply writing and recording sort of as issues come alongside, however we’ve a superb basis of, I would say, six or seven songs which can be just about there and tracked instrumentally. And the vocal concepts are a minimum of in a skeleton type; it is a matter of getting in and getting time to report ’em. However then, like I mentioned, there’s an entire different group of songs proper behind it that we have gotta begin engaged on too.”
When “In The Gray” was first launched, Brian mentioned in an announcement: “We’re extremely excited to share our first new music in over a decade with our single ‘In The Gray’ and are proud to announce our partnership with MNRK Music Group.
“When SHADOWS FALL first obtained again within the apply house to arrange for our reunion reveals, we didn’t know if it could result in new music, however the pleasure of jamming collectively and all the riffs that Jon [Donais, SHADOWS FALL guitarist] had floating round in his head led us within the course virtually instantly. The thought started flowing, the power began constructing and new songs started taking type out of the chaos.”
He continued: “‘In The Gray’ is a full-throttle thrasher that incorporates all the parts which can be the bedrock of the SHADOWS FALL sound, but in addition provides new parts and approaches that developed within the latest previous whereas all of us explorer different musical avenues. Lyrically, I used to be attempting to place into phrases and describe the bodily manifestation of the burden and crushing energy that may include despair, that feeling that the burden of gravity is crashing down on you or being trapped at midnight waters of our personal thoughts, attempting to rise to the floor and take a breath. It may be an awesome and lonely place however there’s at all times a light-weight on the finish of that tunnel and we at all times must maintain striving for a brighter day and escaping the gray.”
Truthful completed: “We wish to sincerely thank everybody for the many years of assist that you’ve given SHADOWS FALL and we can’t be happier to be again and rocking as soon as once more. Crank up ‘In The Gray’, increase these horns to the sky, and bang your head as laborious as you possibly can. Keep tuned for extra music and information quickly…”
Final August, Truthful was requested by Sh!t Discuss Opinions whether it is “protected to say” that SHADOWS FALL “is again” and is “not going to go anyplace anytime quickly.” Brian responded: “It is not going anyplace, however I do not suppose we’ll ever be the full-time touring band we had been. It is plenty of household stuff and folks have simply obtained various things occurring. Jon, being in ANTHRAX, that is gonna be sort of his fundamental gig more often than not. Jason [Bittner, drums], yeah, he left OVERKILL, however he is additionally obtained CATEGORY 7 with John Bush and Phil Demmel and all these guys, and that new report’s killer. So that they’ll be busy with that. However we’re positively gonna maintain enjoying reveals. We’re gonna maintain doing festivals. We in all probability will hopefully do some brief excursions right here and there, particularly when new music comes out, however we’re gonna sort of decide and select our battles, which is, once more, additionally a pleasant place to be in.
“When the band was our full-time job, you could not keep at dwelling for too lengthy or there wasn’t gonna be a house to return dwelling to,” Truthful defined. “You’ve got gotta exit and grind. So it is good to not have that strain, but in addition to do it as a result of it is enjoyable once more. Every present that we have accomplished have all been blockbusters in our minds as a result of there’s simply sufficient time between each that you just get that excited once more. It ramps up after which it is identical to an explosion.
“Me personally, I used to be so burnt out by the point we stopped touring in 2015. We might been on a 15-year run the place I hadn’t been dwelling for quite a lot of weeks via that complete factor. And bodily, my neck was shot, my again was shot. I used to be burnt mentally as nicely, so it was time to return dwelling for some time. However then, now I am, like, ‘Okay, cool. Let’s go have some enjoyable.'”
“The one approach to survive in a band like us… We’re not gonna promote 10 million data and have all that stuff,” Brian added. “So you have gotta go on the market and keep on the street to maintain your identify in entrance of individuals, maintain the whole lot thrilling. You’ve got gotta promote t-shirts — that is the way you make your cash, [by staying] on the market on the street. And, yeah, if a label is gonna spend a bunch of cash to drop a report and do movies, they’re, like, ‘You’ve got gotta go put it on the market now. You’ve got gotta get on the market and hit it.’
“What’s driving us to report now’s that we love the songs we’re writing. It is not ‘trigger there is a deadline. And the reveals we’re enjoying is as a result of we’re simply, like, ‘That seems like a celebration, man. Let’s do it.'”
Elaborating on how he and his SHADOWS FALL bandmates selected their new record-label accomplice, Brian mentioned: “It’s very modified issues the place they’ve sort of realized their greatest function is as a promotional accomplice and a producer, in case you’re doing vinyl or no matter. CDs, they nonetheless make ’em, I suppose, however not within the numbers they used to. And plenty of them downsized, as a result of they needed to. So it is extra about partnering with the band and label relationship and discovering a approach to make it make sense for everybody.
“The outdated mannequin would not work,” the 49-year-old singer, who now lives in St. Louis, Missouri together with his spouse and their two youngsters, added. “It is damaged. You possibly can’t simply throw cash at issues and suppose it is gonna hit. Individuals have too many decisions. You possibly can put out music your self, so there’s positively an oversaturation, sadly, as nicely due to that. So there’s simply a lot content material, you have gotta discover new and progressive methods to share it and maintain it particular. And I feel the labels which can be surviving and thriving are those who’re versatile, keen to evolve, keen to work with the artists’ imaginative and prescient versus simply, ‘Cool, man. Let’s follow the outdated technique.'”
Truthful and his SHADOWS FALL bandmates have performed plenty of reunion live shows to this point, together with at Blue Ridge Rock Competition in Alton, Virginia, on the Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama, and on the Milwaukee Metallic Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The long-running Massachusetts-based metallers, who had been on the forefront of the New Wave Of American Metallic scene that dominated the ’00s, celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their “The Struggle Inside” album by enjoying the LP in its entirety in March 2024 on the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, the positioning of the band’s many traditional reveals. It additionally marked the primary time the band has carried out within the Backyard State in a decade.
In December 2023, Truthful instructed RichardMetalFan about SHADOWS FALL‘s choice to reunite: “We might wished to play reveals once more for some time and we simply wished the time to be proper. And as soon as the pandemic sort of hit, we form of realized, like, ‘Why are we ready round? It is the time.’ So we had been fortunate that we had been capable of sort of get everybody’s schedules collectively. And it was unbelievable. As quickly as we began jamming collectively once more, it simply felt enjoyable, it felt proper. So the reveals had been a blast. We actually rehearsed like loopy for it. And we’re in all probability higher ready for that than something we would ever been for earlier than that. And we additionally realized, like, man, we should always have been working towards extra once we had been collectively. We used to hate working towards. We at all times had been, like, ‘Ah, we tour sufficient. We needn’t.’ After which after we practiced a bunch, we had been, like, ‘All proper. Perhaps we actually ought to have.’ [Laughs] However then additionally once we began working towards, we figured if we’ve concepts, why not write new music as nicely? If we’re gonna get collectively, let’s examine what we have. In order that began resulting in some new stuff. So [I’m] wanting ahead to seeing the place it heads.”
SHADOWS FALL launched an announcement in August 2014 during which the bandmembers defined that monetary difficulties made it nearly inconceivable for the group to proceed as a full-time concern.
In August 2015, SHADOWS FALL performed just a few reunion reveals on the U.S. East Coast, one yr after finishing what was being billed on the time because the band’s “remaining” European tour.
“Fireplace From The Sky” was launched in Might 2012 by way of Razor & Tie. The CD bought round 10,000 copies in america in its first week of launch to debut at place No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Photograph credit score: Jeremy Saffer
