Bang your head and improve your metal health
Bernell DorroughThe Headbanger’s Ball Tour
With Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, Unearth
When: Tuesday, November 4
Where: Pop’s
1403 Mississippi Ave.
Sauget, Illinois
(618) 274-6720
All ages welcome
$16.50 advance
$18 at the door
Without the benefit of any truly mainstream airplay, heavy metal survives from generation to generation on the pure, raw power of its execution. Loud, fast, angry music will never go out of style with those unsatisfied by pop’s polish or hip-hop’s braggadocio. Shadows Fall is currently one of the best bands poking up from the metal underground and will be bringing their mix of distorted energy and technical proficiency to Pop’s this Tuesday as part of the MTV2-sponsored Headbanger’s Ball Tour.
On 2000′s “Of One Blood” and 2002′s excellent “The Art of Balance,” the Massachusetts-based band mixed the template of early thrash like Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax with the newer, progressive death metal sounds centered around the scene in Gothenberg, Sweden. The result is music that is full of tempo changes, dynamic shifts, and dueling guitars. Brian Fair’s vocals range from a soulful croon to a piercing shriek, often over the course of just one song. They have been described as too hardcore for the metal kids and too metal for the hardcore kids, but in their mix of genres they have created a style that can appeal to anyone who’s ever wanted to kick someone’s head in.
Shadow’s Fall has flirted with mainstream success, garnering airplay on MTV2 and topping CMJ’s Loud Music chart. This music is too extreme to cross over, though, ignoring the hip-hop influence that has turned bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit into stars. Instead of a head-bobbing groove, Shadows Fall plays at a galloping, double-bass drum clip, better for thrashing around than for chest pumping.
Accompanying them on the Headbanger’s Ball Tour are Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God, two other bands playing just below the mainstream who are too extreme to break through. This isn’t music made for your radio, but it is music made for the metal-friendly biker-bar confines of Pop’s. Put on your old, beat-up “Metal Up Your Ass” t-shirt, your stompin’ boots, and your torn jean jacket (with faded Anthrax patch) and head on down there.
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