Shadows Fall have always been somewhat of an anomaly in my eyes. They came out at the same time as many of the metalcore bands that are at the forefront of American metal right now (and unfortunately have been for a few years now), yet they’ve been embraced by a crowd that stretches beyond that of their peers. To be honest, aside from their terrific In Flames-influenced album Of One Blood and their cover of Welcome to the Machine, I have found little lot like about this band. This new album, Retribution, does little to change my mind.

Fans of Shadows Fall’s last effort, Threads of Life, should have no problem getting into Retribution, as it picks up right where that album left off. The Path to Imminent Ruin is an acoustic intro done admirably well, and it has kind of an And Justice… feel to it. Unfortunately it only lasts a little over a minute before the standard Shadows Fall thrash-power hybrid riff kicks in and My Demise blasts forth in all its formulaic glory for almost 7 minutes. The opening riff is very generic, and singer Brian Fair’s vocals are mostly uninspired (something that drags the album down overall). There is a cool midsection about 3 minutes in, where Brian Fair sings very nicely showing how much his vocals have improved over the years. At the same time, he does the cooler, deeper growls that were missing on Threads of Life, but overall My Demise is a pretty lackluster opener. The next song, Still I rise, is the first single off the album, and probably the best song on here. Its introductory riff is so brutal, I had to check I was still listening to Shadows Fall. It transforms into an uber-technical thrashy riff, which is not where I expected it to go, but still sounds good. After that, however, the band regresses to a considerably less heavy and less interesting riff and vocal melody. This is upsetting because I feel that Still I Rise had the potential to be a track that floors you and begs you to listen to it over and over, but I wind up just listening to the first 30 seconds over and over.

Track four, an interesting if somewhat silly re-arrangement of Bob Marley’s War--I know, I had to read it that sentence over to believe it as well—is barely recognizable, but will probably be a fun live song since its short and doesn’t slow down. Beyond this, the album just spurts out more of the same, and while every song has its moments--The Taste of Fear’s catchy chorus or Embrace Annihilation cool acoustic interludes with layered vocals on top—none stand out as truly noteworthy songs.

It should be noted that the key changes on this album are the significant improvements in the guitar playing—the solos on the disc are the best part of Retribution and they even save a few of the songs—and the decline in inventive vocal melodies. There is literally not one vocal line on the entire album that I can say anything more than generic, a shame since Brian Fair is a better singer than any of his metalcore/modern fake American thrash contemporaries. Modern fake American thrash, you say? Well, I have to say that there was many a time--Still I Rise , Dead and Gone--that I thought I was listening to newer Trivium, except that Trivium are less whiny and catchier. The comparisons to other bands don’t stop there, and are not helped in any way by Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe’s guest appearance on King of Nothing

If it isn’t clear by now, I don’t like this album. However, fans of Shadows Fall have no reason not to, and it isn’t bad--the band sounds tighter than ever—but it isn’t to my tastes. If you like this type of music or are looking for a gateway band into much, much better things, I recommend you listen to Retribution, and work backwards.