What a difference a decade makes. In 2004, Shadows Fall were one of the Big 3 of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, with Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage (with Unearth and God Forbid not too far behind). Shadows Fall were one of the first metal bands of that era to land a major label deal, with Atlantic Records. They were opening for Slipknot in arenas across the country. They were on the up and up.
Unfortunately, that label deal only lasted one album until they were dropped. Since then, it's been a tough road for the band and now that a decade has passed, and members have families and other projects, the band are considering shelving the project for the immediate future.
We received a statement from the band's management promoting Shadows Fall's final European tour, where they left all their cards on the table:
There are many factors that are behind this difficult decision that the band has been dealing with for some time now. In a nutshell it comes down to families, member availability, and finances. Further impacting our decision is the fact that we have two members with young children. Plain and simple, they want to be with their families to watch their kids grow. Touring full time in a band these days has never been more difficult financially. When you have to ensure the future comfort of your family, difficult decisions have to be made.
Another reason is the fact that our lead guitarist (Jon Donais) is now in Anthrax, which makes it hard for us to do any extensive touring with our full lineup. Due to his obligations with Anthrax, he will not be able to join us on this European tour. Felipe Roa will once again fill Jon’s position and we are thankful to him for joining us on this run. Also returning for this tour is original bassist Paul Romanko who has sat out from touring for the last two years to raise his son. This has been a real hard decision for all of us to make but we feel at this time this is the right thing to do.
We don’t hate each other, we’re not bitter, we in fact still have a really great time together, but the ride has slowed down and it's time for the next chapters in our lives, whatever that may be. We can't thank the fans that have supported Shadows Fall since the beginning enough. Without you, none of this would have been possible. For the past decade and a half, we have been able to create the music we have always wanted to hear and share it with music fans everywhere. That being said, you still may see us at a festival or two over the next few years…if they ask, we will come! In the meantime please check out the dates for the last European go around and we will see you out there!
The band promise to announce North American tour dates soon, but for now, here are their final European tour dates:
08/29 Frankfurt, GER – Beachrock Helenesee
08/30 Munster, GER – Sputnikhalle
08/31 Rotterdam, NET – Da Baroeg
09/01 Koln, GER – Underground
09/03 Derby, UK – Hairy Dog
09/04 London, UK – Underworld
09/05 Liege, BEL – CCC
09/06 Oberbach, GER – Pell Mell Festival
09/07 Paris, FRA – Trabeno
09/08 Winterthur, SWI – Salzhaus
09/09 Ingolstadt, Weststadthalle
09/10 Prague, CZE – Futurum
09/11 Graz, AUT – Explosiv
09/12 Brixen, ITA – Club Max
09/13 Linz, AUT – Posthof
09/14 Aschaffenburg, GER – Colos-Saal
Are you sad to see Shadows Fall go, or have you long forgotten about them?
