I Killswitch Engage sono i re del metalcore, non ho alcun dubbio su questo. Dietro di loro c'è un'altra band molto valida, gli Shadows Fall (che nessun'altro qui ha recensito... vergogna!!!). Dopo due cd praticamente inosservati esce “The Art Of Balance”, il quale finalmente riscuote un buon successo.

La musica è metalcore, ma ci sono varie influenze, soprattutto thrash: oltre a spaccare il mondo, gli Shadows Fall curano meticolosamente i brani più melodici: sentire Thoughts Without Water. La canzone più potente del disco è Stepping Outside The Circle, ma molto “spaccatutto” è anche Destroyer Of Senses.
Gli Shadows Fall hanno suonato pure una cover dei Pink Floyd, Welcome To The Machine, resa più metallizzata ed è stata realizzata veramente bene. Molto buona anche la title-track.

Mi ha stupito in particolare la bravura del cantante della band, Brian Fair: dai growl e screaming pazzeschi passa senza problemi ad un tono vocale più pulito. E poi, cazzo, avete visto che rasta ha??? Arrivano fino a terra... La produzione è meravigliosa, riuscendo a rendere meno evidenti alcune sfumature che la band ha ancora. Tra l’altro anche live spaccano da morire (chi è andato al Flippaut di quest’anno lo confermerà sicuramente).

Resto convinto che i Killswitch Engage restino i migliori del metalcore (e credo che Brian Fair e compagnia si siano ispirati un po' ai realizzatori di “Alive Or Just Breathing”, oltre che agli Atreyu), ma sicuramente gli Shadows Fall non hanno nulla da rimpiangere alla band inglese, anzi. Un album da avere.

Elenco tracce testi samples e video

01   Idle Hands (03:35)

Just a word all it takes to set it off
Uncontrolled all restraint has been lost

Absorbing more than I can stand
Of these self defeating unreal demands
Giving into frustrations command
The devil makes good use with idle hands
Overwhelming desire to react

I am too far gone forever turning back

Looking for something to lash out at

Turning inward it is myself that I attack

The anger grows inside everyday
Unquechable I have become my own prey

From where has this rage been spawned?
Been building deep inside for far too long
Forgotten memories buried and hidden
creating my own emotional prison

Can it be that i have lost?
Control of my actions and my thoughts

02   Thoughts Without Words (04:32)

Having awareness but no true sense of self
You find yourself enslaved in chains of earthly wealth
The unending chatter that plagues the mind
Confusion will be all that you find

Chaos reigns in an untamed mind

Still question all i know advancing foward
This fallacy i have disowned

You must quench the yearning and false desire

Only balance will elevate you higher

You must train the body and the mind to serve
Envisioning thoughts without words
Chaos reigns in an untamed mind

Still question all i know advancing foward
This fallacy i have disowned

Encaged in a world that fear creates
You must release yourself and liberate

I am seeking the way...

03   Destroyer of Senses (02:55)

The sweet taste of self destruction
Waves of purity wash away the memories

I keep on falling off
I keep on falling off

The agents of change will dissolve

Into the fabric of our very existence

I keep on falling off of this straight
and narrow line
The calm embrace of a sedated mind

Giver of life
Destroyer of senses
I INVOKE!
The sweet taste of self destruction

Waves of purity wash away the memories

I keep on falling off of this straight

and narrow line
The calm embrace of a sedated mind

04   Casting Shade (02:09)

[Instrumental]

05   Stepping Outside the Circle (05:26)

Here i go again
A vicious Cycle without end
Seeking distance for security
A desperate act to remain free
A balance point cannot be found
This whole thing will come crashing down
Down! Down!
My fear will drag you down
Into this world that i create
Your love for me has sealed your fate
Down! Down!
My fear will drag you down
Can I trust in what i feel?
Praying that this time it's real
Feel the strain!
All this times been spent in vain MY SHAME!
open wounds that still remain DECAY!
As my faith is stripped away YOU'LL STRAY!
The final price i have to pay

Digger in deeper still
The hollowness I yearn to fill
The story always ends the same
The cycle soon begins again

Stepping outside the circle!

06   The Art of Balance (04:46)

07   Mystery of One Spirit (05:11)

08   The Idiot Box (04:30)

09   Prelude to Disaster (01:49)

[Instrumental]

10   A Fire in Babylon (07:31)

11   Welcome to the Machine (05:15)

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine
Where have you been?
It's alright we know where you've been
You've been in the pipeline, filling in time
Provided with toys and 'Scouting for Boys'
You brought a guitar to punish your ma
And you didn't like school
And you know you're nobody's fool
So welcome to the machine

Welcome my son, welcome to the machine
What did you dream?
It's alright we told you what to dream
You dreamed of a big star
He played a mean gituar
He always ate in the Steak Bar
He loved to drive in his Jaguar
So welcome to the Machine

12   This Is My Own (04:48)

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