All Things Fallen
Shadow Way

Shadow Way saves an otherwise quite dreary week of reviewing, all albums I have written about this week besides this one was a different grade of bad. Therefore it is nice to write about something good as the last one of this week. It is the second album of the Swedish band that calls itself All Things Fallen, sounds a bit extreme metal but it is a progressive metal band. I read that their first album was well received, we didn’t review and I never heard it, but if it is anything like this one it is not impossible. I like the artwork; it makes my mind wander in all kinds of direction – maybe towards a dystopic future where we are all heading – or something else. It is fun to imagine things, and great when music actually takes you there.

The members of All Things Fallen come from bands like Darkwater, Pain of Salvation, End of September, and you can notice traces of those in the sound of All Things Fallen. The sound is progressive, tempo is not high but quite varied. There are some nods to bands like Rainbow, hardrock of the past that is balanced with a modern progressive sound. Good variation over the tracks, and the paying time spanning about fifty minutes is very sensible. I think the vocalist is very good, and while they may not really reinvent the progressive wheel they are still making music that sounds quite fresh.

I like this one, it offers a lot of positive things. Not only lifting the mood with a good album after a whole bucketload of negative albums, but it is enjoyable. Tracks like Pandemonium and Narcissistic Ritual are very memorable, but I can miss that outstanding hit song like you get on many of Dream Theater’s albums. I like the soundscapes and variation but think that they should have added a bit more up-tempo stuff to make the album a bit more dynamic. It is a strong effort by a good band, perhaps it is worthwhile to also check out that debut, but you do well with only this one.

If you are a fan of the progressive metal you should have a look at this one, it is a fine offering in that genre. A good album, plain and simple. This Swedish band certainly knows how to make great progressive metal, and you will not be disappointed if you play Shadow Way in your music player – I know that I will keep playing it even after this review is punctuated.

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