Shadows Fall come from the old school. From the days of metal when it was standard practice to drink your beer, meet a few ladies, maybe trash a few hotel rooms, and still play your heart and soul out. Today, music seems to be smeared by internet pirating, high cost of concert tickets, hoggish record labels, and what is most depressingly obvious- bad, bad music.

The band is about to embark on Ozzfest- deservedly. This is their chance to prove their worth to you- the metal fan. BUT in actuality, this is your lucky chance to see a five-piece of multiple metal powers thrash in your face hardcore, aggressive music that will make the spikes on your black leather wristband spin around and around!

I spoke with Brian Fair, the voice fronting Shadows Fall during a few minutes of precious quiet time as he prepares for rock and roll summer camp.

Noize Pollution: So, you just got back from Europe, how did that go?
Brian Fair: Yeah, we just got back from the UK the day before yesterday. We played the Metal Hammer Awards and also the Download Festival at Donington Park-which was this insanely huge, crazy festival that Iron Maiden played and even Metallica stopped by to play a short set on the small stage.

NP: Oh, you're kidding?
Brian: Yeah! ( laughs) All old material, too. It was great!
NP: That's insane! You're so lucky!!

NP: I heard that you picked up an award at the Metal Hammer Awards?
Brian: Yeah, totally. We won the award for "Best Underground Band" which was pretty cool because some of the other people who won awards were Lemmy from Motorhead, and Marilyn Manson, so to be included in that group of pretty interesting bands is cool. But, the show itself was just great! It was at the Forum, and the show was sold out and lots of cool kids. Wasn't just an industry thing- they had a real audience. A lot more fun, so it was a good time!

NP: Do you notice differences between the audiences in Europe and here in the U.S.?
Brian: It really depends on what type of tour you do. We did a full European metal tour with Soilwork and Children of Bodom and it was super metal- they were head banging and doing in unison-type clapping, and not as much moshing. Where here, the metal shows are maybe a little bit more violent. But when we play hardcore shows over there, it's exactly the same. It's the same styles of reactions. In the UK, I'd say its probably more similar as crowds go to the States, cuz its a little bit more diverse between a mix of metal and hardcore kids at the same shows. In Europe, it seemed like the metal shows were metal shows. Here, the scene in the US is so integrated between hardcore, death metal, thrash metal- it just doesn't really matter anymore. The same kids are going to see different bands, and that's cool.

NP: In between your European dates you performed at the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest, how was that?
Brian: Oh, it was amazing! It's probably the best U.S. metal festival there is every year. It was a great line-up. It was kind of like a homecoming show for us too, we're all from the Massachusetts area- so it was great to come home and play a huge show! We were exhausted. We literally flew in from Switzerland and had maybe 12 hours before we were loading in gear to the show- it was pretty intense but there was no way we were gonna miss it. We just sucked it up and had a great time!

NP: It's funny because everyone does say that is absolutely the best metal festival to go to each year!
Brian: Oh totally. Its definitely the best run, the best variety of bands- there are no unknown bands. All bands are pretty much signed or at least well known. It always has a great line-up. The Palladium is a great venue and works out a lot better than the other ones.
NP: True, I was there and I love how the first and second stages are close enough so you're not running for hours trying to catch the next band you want to see.
Brian: Totally, it's so easy. The one problem is its starting to out-grow itself and its sells out in advance every year now. I can't imagine where else they could take it. Some people are just gonna have to miss out- their loss!

NP: I'm always interested in finding out how and why a band came up with the title to their record, cuz I feel it really sums up what they're going through and feeling at the time. The title of the new record is "The Art Of Balance". What's the meaning behind it?
Brian: It is a phrase I had in my head even before we started recording. I kinda came up with the idea, because at the time, musically- we were trying to bridge a lot of gaps between genres, and also maintain a real intensity, and technicality but within total song structures with a lot of melody. We even slipped in acoustic interludes- things like that. So, I just felt it really summed us up where we were at musically- just balancing all these different styles. Also, lyrically its a fairly positive record but kinda spits at you! (laughs) All those elements, as well as the fact that I think that concept should be in a part of everyone's everyday life- trying to find that balance point. The state of the world is in such chaos that it is a lot easier to go one extreme or the other. You're either in a total depression or you're just pissed off all the time, and if you let that take over, you'll never feel really satisfied- you'll never feel really focussed. You'll be schizophrenically going from one extreme to the other. It's something there to think about and strive for and to try and find that personal balance point in your life. It is something I always try and struggle for everyday- its definitely an art- its not an easy thing. That's why it's also the Art of Balance- not the We Have Achieved Balance- cuz we're not even close! (laughs)

NP: I love this quote I read from you: "This is Rock & Roll. It's about drinking beers and having fun." I think there are too many bands out there now that just do not know how to have fun with it.
Brian: Totally! We've (music fans) been going through that ridiculous period of the whiny, depressed artist for awhile now. What do they have to be depressed about at a point when they're selling ten billion records, and living in some ridiculous house somewhere?! Life can't be that hard all the time! For me its an escape, and I enjoy going to a show to be entertained. I don't really need to hear about these horrible things that happened to someone when they were six, and how they got made fun of at their locker everyday in middle school- I just try to pass that off! (laughs) If I go to see music, I would rather have fun! I listen to my favorite depressing music- old Cure cds and Joy Division, The bands I remember- Metallica and Anthrax, they were just young dudes having fun, drinking beer and playing fast music, and that's pretty much the school we come from.

NP: Is "Destroyer of Senses" really about beer, and was it penned after a specific night out?
Brian: Ah, it was written about a balancing act you can play with my favorite addiction- that is alcohol. I enjoy having a good time and going to bars with friends but I have definitely seen it destroy some friends that I know well. It's one of those things, the chrorus goes, "Giver of life Destroyer of senses." You may be the life of the party but you're definitely killing some brain cells along the way. And it was written- I totally went into Bukowski mode- I drank two bottles of wine, taken bong hits, and after eaten a few Xanex and got a little off the wall. Luckily, I recorded it all into a little hand held tape recorder, otherwise I would've definitely forgotten everything that I came up with.
NP: WOW! That's impressive!

NP: How was the video shoot for the song?
Brian: It was a blast! We took over our home-away-from-home, the Fat Cat bar in Springfield, MA, where we played a lot. The rest of the band lives right around there and spends a lot of time there, and we're good friends of the owners. Basically, we just wanted to show us on a normal weekend and us, as a band playing live. The director, Zach Merck had a great idea about it- he pretty much e-mailed me and was like, "I want to make the greatest metal drinking video ever!" We combined elements of House of Pain's "Jump Around" with Biohazard's "Punishment!" We called all of our friends, everyone's girlfriend's came down, and all the local kids- it was just a blast! Three feet of snow falling down on the ground at the time, it was in the middle of a blizzard, so besides that, it was amazing!

NP: What would you like to have as the next single and video?
Brian: I dunno. Since we've done two more aggressive songs, then maybe we'll try and go for either the title track, "The Art Of Balance," or maybe even do something really bizarre with the Floyd cover- just to do something really different. You know, I don't even want to be in the next video. We've already done the band on the stage thing and the band with our friends thing. I just want the next one to be completely different- so we'll see! No definite plans yet- we don't have any money, so that will slow down the video making process a tremendous amount!

NP: How do you see the bands progression from "Of One Blood" to "The Art Of Balance?"
Brian: I just think we really came into our own as songwriters and as friends within the band. Some of the songs on Of One Blood were written before I joined the band. We didn't have really any time or any budget to do the things we really wanted to, so we just said we're gonna record a really raw, a really high-energy almost live feeling record. We went in and just banged it out- it was a lot of fun but it wasn't like crafting an album, whereas with this one, after Jay joined the band, we knew we had the line-up we had always wanted. We took the time to write together as a band and demo some of the songs- listen back to them- change things around, we took the songs on the road for a few months- played them live to really have a tight feel. By the time we hit the studio, everyone was totally on the same page and everything was really well rehearsed and we were just ready to go in there and complete the album we had always wanted to make. It was a lot more of a complete process this time.

NP: Do you think the band would've been ready for Ozzfest during the "Of One Blood" days?
Brian: In a live sense- possibly but we have definitely come into our own a lot more in the last couple years just because we toured for a few years straight. Back then we definitely would've had the ability to get up there and kick some ass but I think with the material we have now it's a lot more solid, and definitely the lineup we have now is much more a solid unit. I'm glad things have progressed the way they have in the time frame they have because its given us a chance to really work out everything before we were thrown in the public eye. All our failures were a lot more private! (laughs)

NP: You have about less than a couple weeks before you hit the road with Ozzfest, what are you planning on doing during that time?
Brian: We've got about under two weeks, which is the longest break we've had since last May. It's been an insane year of touring. We were actually going to take this whole month off but we were offered the Donington Festival with Iron Maiden and the Metal Hammer Awards, so we weren't going to sit at home and miss that- so, that took six days out of our only vacation!

NP: What will you do from now until Ozzfest? Rehearse?
Brian: No, we're not even going to see each other to tell you the truth! I'm going to be sitting on my couch watching the NBA finals and hitting the basketball court myself just trying to relax, and get back in shape. Ozzfest is really important to us, so we want to be really fresh again and really well rested. Maybe once we'll get together and just jam.We are doing five or six headlining shows on the way down to Ozzfest, so that will be really the chance to check the set out and stuff. For us it's really weird because Ozzfest sets are probably about 20-25 minutes and we're used to playing 50 minutes to an hour.

NP: How do you think you're going to adapt?
Brian: It's hard for us to pick the songs- that's the hard part. We have some epics- so we definitely have to cut out all the seven minute tunes. That is the one thing that I am a little less nervous about, is I know everyday we go out on Ozzfest, I know I'm going to have the energy to really kick ass through the whole set because it is only five or six songs. There are some times on those headlining gigs when you're looking down and think, we have how many tunes left?!

NP: Do you have any Off-fest dates?
Brian: Yeah, we're gonna do a bunch of off dates, a few with Cradle of Filth, Killswitch Engage, and a few on our own or with Sworn Enemy or one of the other bands. For the second stage bands- none of us are getting paid, and there are so many days off that there is no way you would be able to survive if you didn't go out there and play. But-- it is a chance to play some of these smaller cities for cheaper door prices for just having a more intimate of a time with your real fans. Ozzfest is more about playing in front of new people whereas the off dates will be about playing for the kids that have been supporting us forever, and being able to come out and see us for $8 instead of $60.

NP: What can the audience at Ozzfest look forward to when watching your set?
Brian: Some real in your face, full on aggressive metal. We're not going to pull any punches- we're gonna come out with the total intention of just destroying it everyday. There's a lot of stiff competition between a lot of the bands. There are a lot of really good, live aggressive bands like Killswitch Engage, Sworn Enemy, Hotwire, so we're gonna come out and try to destroy it- that's our only plan.

NP: Is there a certain band on Ozzfest that you look forward to catch everyday?
Brian: I'm definitely going to be watching Voivod a lot. I'm really psyched about that- I was a huge fan of them growing up. I haven't seen them with Jason Newsted on bass yet, so I'm looking forward to that. Besides that, I'm sure there will be lots of bands I'm watching but when you're playing with the same bands for thirty dates there will be a few days where I can afford to miss some stuff! (laughs)

NP: Any last words?
Brian: We're looking forward to seeing everyone this summer and find out everything we're up to at ShadowsFall.com!
NP: Excellent! Thanks for chatting with us today, and best of luck on Ozzfest!

Interview by: Suzy Geers