NASHVILLE |FM: KRISTINE ASHTON/LIBBY HENRY
SHADOWS FALL
PREPARE TO SHOOT VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE “DESTROYER OF SENSES”;
CONFIRM DATES IN JAPAN WITH KILLSWITCH ENGAGE;
SPRING EUROPEAN TOUR KICKS OFF MARCH 2 IN LONDON;
FOLLOWED BY A PERFORMANCE AT
NEW ENGLAND METAL AND HARDCORE FESTIVAL IN MAY
Before they head overseas for tours of Japan and Europe, SHADOWS FALL are set to shoot a video for their new single “Destroyer Of Senses” with director Zack Merck (Coverage, Atreyu). Live footage for the video will be shot at the band’s February 16 hometown gig at Fat Cat Original Music Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts. The band are inviting fans to join them at the club again as the shoot–including live performances of “Destroyer Of Senses”–continues the following day.
Next, the band will head to Japan for three shows with Killswitch Engage from February 23 through 26. These dates come on the heels of the band’s December performance at Japan’s acclaimed hard music Beast Feast festival, which also featured Slayer, Hatebreed, Motorhead, Soulfly, Arch Enemy, Killswitch Engage and In Flames.
After the Japanese trek, SHADOWS FALL will head to Europe for a spring trek including a series of headlining UK dates with opening acts Decimate and Fallen To. Then they’ll join Children Of Bodom and Soilwork for a five-week jaunt which kicks off April 18 in Stockholm. SHADOWS FALL will wrap these shows May 14 and head home for a performance at the annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival at the Worcester Palladium on May 16 or 17.
In other news, the band’s THE ART OF BALANCE CD (Century Media Records) has now sold over 25,000 copies since its September release. These sales have surpassed the overall SoundScan of the group’s previous OF ONE BLOOD CD. Elsewhere, THE ART OF BALANCE has received accolades from Germany’s Metal Hammer magazine, where it was named “Album of the Month” in January. The disc was also the #2 on CMJ’s year-end Loud Rock chart.
“Thoughts Without Words”–the first single and video from the disc–also continues to build a presence. The Darren Doane-directed video can be seen on MTV2’s “Extreme Rock” and MuchMusic USA’s “Uranium.”
Meanwhile, THE ART OF BALANCE continues to garner praise from the press in the U.S. and abroad. Here are some recent critical quotes:
“With its pleasingly familiar but cunningly forward-thinking sound that deserves to unite fans of both the old and new schools of metal, The Art Of Balance is a textbook example of how mainstream heavy music should sound in 2003…Shadows Fall combine the urgent riffing of ‘80s thrash metal, the emotive guitar harmonies of Swedish death metal and the streetwise swagger of metallic hardcore, all to thrilling effect…The Art Of Balance succeeds because it is stuffed to the gills with great songs. Whether it’s the irresistible hooks of ‘Thoughts Without Words,’ the melodic might of the title-track, or the razor sharp dynamics and righteous fury of ‘Stepping Outside The Circle,’ there is not a single shred of waste or weakness throughout these 50 blistering minutes…This is new metal–and not a moment too soon.”
–Dom Lawson, Kerrang!, 1/25/03
“Shadows Fall may be the best hard-rock band in America. The Massachusetts quintet’s previous release, Of One Blood, is already considered a thrash classic, but with its latest slab, The Art Of Balance, the band has outgrown the need to constantly blow eardrums…completely following through on the album’s title: It’s now equal parts Gothenburg shred, scented-candle ballads, and meat-and-potatoes riffology you’ll be powerless to ignore.”
Andrew Lentz, LA Weekly, December 19, 2002
“The Massachusetts quintet offers tuneful and thoroughly dynamic extreme metal. Their third album, The Art Of Balance, is their most varied set yet, blending Judas Priest-like melodies, overwhelming death metal, poignant acoustica (“Casting Shade”), and art-rock (a cool cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Welcome To The Machine’ in a way that makes the album’s title more than fitting. Throughout, drummer Jason Bittner does a killer job juggling numerous signatures with flair, while his jaw-dropping kick and furious fills make this one helluva ‘drum’ record.”
–Jeff Perlah, Modern Drummer, March 2003
“…a new accessibility accentuates the already seductive appeal of a band who’s seamless blend of aggression and stupefying expertise is as close to bankable irresistibility as extreme music is ever likely to get…their closing, dynamically unassailable assault on Pink Floyd’s ‘Welcome To The Machine’ is nothing short of genius…It may seem a little bit previous to suggest that one of this year’s finest albums has already been released, but the abundant evidence is etched into every single sector of this remarkable disc.”
–Ian Fortnam, Metal Hammer, January 2003
Catch SHADOWS FALL–BRIAN FAIR (vocals), JONATHAN DONAIS (guitar), MATTHEW BACHAND (guitar), PAUL ROMANKO (bass) and JASON BITTNER (drums)–in the following cities and log on to www.shadowsfall.comand www.centurymedia.com for up-to-date information.
Date City Venue
Fri 1/31 Augusta, ME The Edge
(with Unearth and The Takeover)
Sat 2/1 Cohoes, NY Saratoga Winners
(with Skinless, Burnt By the Sun, Locked in a Vacancy)
Sun 2/16 Springfield, MA Fat Cat Original Music Hall
(with The Takeover)
Japanese dates with Killswitch Engage:
Sun 2/23 Osaka, Japan Club Quattro
Mon 2/24 Nagoya, Japan Club Quattro
Wed 2/26 Tokyo, Japan Club Quattro
headlining UK shows with Decimate & Fallen To:
Sun 3/2 London, England Underworld
Mon 3/3 Nottingham, England The Old Angel
Fri 3/4 Manchester, England Manchester Roadhouse Ltd.
Sat 3/5 Birmingham, England The Academy
Tue 3/6 Cardiff, England MS1
with Children of Bodom and Soilwork:
Fri 4/18 Stockholm, Sweden Lilla Arenan
Sat 4/19 Oslo, Norway Rockefeller (Inferno Festival)
Sun 4/20 Gothenburg, Sweden Karen
Mon 4/21 Lund, Sweden Mejeriet
Tue 4/22 Hamburg, Germany Markthalle
Wed 4/23 Halle, Germany Easy Schorre
Fri 4/25 Berlin, Germany Columbia Fritz
Sat 4/26 Hardenberg, Netherlands Podium
Sun 4/27 Bochum, Germany Zeche
Mon 4/28 Nuernberg, Germany Hirsch
Tue 4/29 Frankfurt, Germany Batschkapp
Thu 5/1 Sheffield, England Corporation
Fri 5/2 London, England Marquee
Sun 5/4 Tilburg, Netherlands O 13
Mon 5/5 Paris, France Elysee Montmartre
Tue 5/6 Bordeax, France Theatre Barbey
Thu 5/8 Porto, Portugal Hard Club
Fri 5/9 Madrid, Spain Aqualung
Sat 5/10 Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz II
Sun 5/11 Bergara, Spain Jam
Tue 5/13 Lyon, France Ninkasi KO
Wed 5/14 Pratteln, Switzerland Z7
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