Music from Shadows Fall's early days can be compared to metal legends such as Metallica, Slayer, and Iron Maiden as their songs relied heavily on the start-stop tempo changes made famous by the aforementioned bands. The band also had a lot of death metal influences at the time. They began touring the New England area and eventually were able to obtain open slots for acclaimed metal bands such as Fear Factory and Cannibal Corpse. In 1997, the band released its first full length album, Somber Eyes to the Sky, on Matt Bachand's own Lifeless Records. This however, would be the only album the band would record with Labonte. He was replaced by current vocalist Brian Fair in 1998.
The band signed with the prominent underground metal record label, Century Media in 1999. Early during the following year, Shadows Fall released Of One Blood. Their sound was a still mixture of thrash, death metal, and hardcore with a little more hard rock influence thrown in due to the entry of the Brian Fair. Shadows Fall released their critically acclaimed album The Art of Balance in the year 2002 after going through another lineup change, this time replacing drummer David Germain with present drummer Jason Bittner.
The band really broke through when it acquired a slot on Ozzfest's second stage in 2003. The band's fanbase grew largely while touring the famed metal festival. As a result of the enlarged fanbase, their next effort, The War Within, released in 2004 broke in at #20 on the Billboard Top 200 and went on to sell over 300,000 copies. The band released a collection on B-sides, covers, and reworked tracks entitled Fallout from the War in 2006.
Shadows Fall, now more than a decade old as a band, signed to Atlantic Records and released their major label debut, Threads of Life, in 2007. The album, an all-out thrasher with beautiful acoustic passages littered here and there, erased any doubts that this band would fall by the way side under major label pressure.
The band released it's sixth full length album, titled Retribution on September 15, 2009 on the the band's own label, Everblack Industries through Warner Bros. The band continues with it's melodic thrash influenced attack here, again utilizing vocals from multiple members and the harmonized leads along with thrashy rhythm guitar work.
Shadows Fall released their seventh full length album, titled Fire From The Sky on May 15, 2012 through Razor & Tie. The Fire From The Sky Songfacts states that though not a concept record, a doomsday theme does link the songs together. The band moved in a bit heavier direction for this album when compared to their most recent work.
Pure
Shadows Fall Lyrics
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Hope for ash of memory, this is pure agony
Eyes, they are too blind to see, this is pure agony
I'll not beg for you, this is pure agony
Knowing what's been true, this is pure agony
Fall from your light world, not again, this breeds fear
My life weakens and the pain I hold tight
Cease living somehow, I long to release you
As I fall I
As I fall we cry in despair
Don't be lifeline
Don't be my lifeline, let me fall away
Alone, desolate
Alone and desolate am I the only one
Can it be real
Can it be real, I can't go on
If you return here can I not ease the pain?
Forever knowing
Loneliness
Denial, I am the last one
Now would you look away?
Leave me alone here, That would tear me apart
As I fall I
As I fall we cry in despair
Don't be, lifeline
Don't be my lifeline
Now deliver my soul
Your love walks away
Leaves me as a child
Exposed to the horror I begin to cry
Emotions like velvet now caress my flesh
The truth that I run from
Pure, would you run away and leave me here to suffer?
Pain what did you want that I could not provide?
Pure would you run away and leave me here to suffer?
Pain what did you want that I could not provide
Fall from your light world, not again, this breeds fear
My life weakens and the pain I hold tight
Life it hurts so now, I have no power here
Cease living somehow, I long to release you
As I fall I
As I fall we cry in despair
Don't be, lifeline
Don't be my lifeline, let me fall away
Alone desolate
Along and desolate I am the only one
Can it be real
Can it be real, I can't go on
The song Pure by Shadows Fall depicts a person who chooses to suffer in isolation rather than begging for love and affection. The lyrics assert that longing for someone causes heartache and pain, but being alone is just as painful. The singer seems to regret the events that led to his/her current state of loneliness and desire for a painless release.
Throughout the song, there is a constant struggle between the desire to be alone and the desire to not be alone. The lyrics use the metaphor of falling multiple times, representing the singer's desire to let go and fall away from everything that has caused them pain. However, at the same time, they ask to be delivered and not be left alone to suffer.
The lyrics of the song evoke feelings of sorrow, loneliness, and the pain of lost love. The singer refuses to beg for a person's love or attention and chooses to suffer in isolation. The song portrays the complexity of human emotions and the internal struggle between what one desires and what one needs.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll not want for longing, it causes heartache yet this singularity burns just the same
I don't need to desire something as it only leads to heartache but the feeling of being alone still hurts.
Hope for ash of memory, this is pure agony
The longing for something that cannot be achieved is unbearable pain.
Eyes, they are too blind to see, this is pure agony
The inability to understand or accept the reality of a situation causes immense agony.
I'll not beg for you, this is pure agony
I won't stoop so low as to beg for someone's attention or affection, as that sort of pain is pure agony.
Knowing what's been true, this is pure agony
Being aware of the truth of a situation, especially a painful one, causes pure agony.
Fall from your light world, not again, this breeds fear
I don't want to fall from your world of light again, as it instills fear in me.
My life weakens and the pain I hold tight
The pain I hold onto is weakening me.
Life hurts so now, I have no power here
My life is full of pain and I feel powerless to change it.
Cease living somehow, I long to release you
I'm overwhelmed with the pain of living and just want to release myself and let go.
As I fall I
As I fall, I...
As I fall we cry in despair
As I fall, we cry in despair.
Don't be lifeline
Don't be my lifeline or support, let me fall on my own.
Don't be my lifeline, let me fall away
Don't try to save me, just let me fall away and deal with my own problems.
Alone, desolate
I feel alone and helpless.
Alone and desolate am I the only one
Am I the only one who is alone and helpless?
Can it be real
Is this all really happening, or is it just in my head?
I can't go on
I can't continue to live with this pain and despair.
If you return here can I not ease the pain?
Even if you come back, can you really make the pain go away?
Forever knowing Loneliness
I will always be aware of the loneliness I feel, and it will never leave me.
Denial, I am the last one
Despite what I may try to tell myself, I am the only one who feels this way and is in denial about my pain.
Now would you look away?
Would you turn a blind eye to my struggles and pain?
Leave me alone here, That would tear me apart
If you left me alone, it would only make the pain worse and tear me apart even more.
Your love walks away
The love that you offered is now gone or leaving.
Leaves me as a child
I feel helpless and vulnerable without your love.
Exposed to the horror I begin to cry
Without your love and support, I am exposed to the horror and pain of my situation and it makes me cry.
Emotions like velvet now caress my flesh
Even though my emotions are painful, they still provide some small comfort or solace.
The truth that I run from
The painful truth that I try to avoid or escape from.
Pure, would you run away and leave me here to suffer?
Even though the truth is pure and honest, would you abandon me and leave me to suffer?
Pain what did you want that I could not provide?
What did you want from me that caused this pain and that I could not give?
Now deliver my soul
Please help me escape from this pain and suffering.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVID GERMAIN, JONATHAN DONAIS, MATTHEW BACHAND, PAUL ROMANKO, PHILIP LABONTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind