After more than a decade away from the studio, Shadows Fall recently reemerged with “In The Grey,” their first new song in over 12 years. Released last December via their new label home, MNRK Heavy, the single marks the beginning of a new chapter that feels both familiar and forward-thinking.
“We’re just so happy to finally release new music,” frontman Brian Fair told the Thunder Underground podcast (via Blabbermouth). “We’re working on a full album’s worth of material, but I feel like it’s gonna drop kind of in chunks and then hopefully the rest of it all at once kind of thing.”
That “chunks” approach speaks to the evolving landscape of how bands deliver music these days. As Fair explained, “We just couldn’t sit on it. We were just so excited with how that tune came out… it’s kind of a different world now too, where you can release singles leading up to more songs and keeping people interested.”
Fair made it clear this isn’t just a reunion for nostalgia’s sake. The band’s energy is focused on creating. “I’m super psyched to just be writing again with the guys, ’cause we didn’t know if that was gonna be kind of part of the deal when we started playing shows again,” he said. “And the writing has really become the main focus for the last year and a half or so, which has been awesome again to kind of get back in that mode.”
For longtime fans, “In The Grey” carries the hallmark traits of Shadows Fall‘s early material. “When we first started kind of writing music, we wanted to make sure it was gonna be Shadows Fall music,” Fair explained. “Once we started writing, things just clicked right outta the gates. And “In The Grey” was one of those songs that kind of came together pretty quickly too.”
That natural flow didn’t lead to any hesitation when it came to the song’s intensity. “We wanted to kind of have the first song pretty energetic, just come out swinging thrash metal style,” Fair said. “It’s got a big, melodic chorus, but the rest of it is pretty much just pedal-to-the-metal thrash… everything about it was just kind of an exciting new chapter.”
The recording process reflected that energy. Teaming up again with producer Zeuss (Chris Harris), the band took a more stripped-down approach than in past sessions. “Before we would experiment with reamping a million different things and combining tones and all this. This one we kind of wanted to make something that didn’t sound maybe as surgical and clinical as some metalcore or modern metal’s kind of gotten,” Fair noted. “We wanted to bring a little bit of thrash energy to it and a little more of a raw — not necessarily sonically raw, but just a little more live-ish approach to it.”
Partnering with MNRK Heavy was also a deliberate choice. “We talked to a few labels, but very few, ’cause we kind of had an idea of what we wanted to do and kind of the type of deal we were looking for,” Fair said. “They have a great roster with everyone from Zakk Wylde and Ace Frehley, but then also Darkest Hour and Escuela Grind and then High On Fire and Crowbar — just so many killer bands. So, it really made sense.”
Importantly, the label also offered flexibility. “They were really willing to kind of work with us on that level of realizing where the band is at this point in our life. So that was a big part of it. And they’ve been killer so far,” he added.
With the music industry no longer tethered to strict album-tour cycles, Shadows Fall is embracing the freedom. “When we first were around, you basically put out a record every year and a half or so, and then you toured nonstop,” Fair recalled. “And now there’s so many different outlets, there’s so many different ways to get your music to people… it’s good to have a label that has that forward thinking and kind of knows how to navigate the kind of new way of the music biz.”
As for the status of the new material? “We have a couple [of songs] that are totally done that may need some mix [tweaks], but are tracked. And then we have the instrumental tracks for a lot. And we’re starting to work on vocal demos,” said Fair. “All said and done, we’re gonna kind of keep just writing and recording kind of as things come along, but we have a good foundation of, I’d say, six or seven songs that are pretty much there and tracked instrumentally.”
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