MATT BACHAND Reflects On SHADOWS FALL’s Rise During ‘The War Within’: ‘There Was No Ceiling’

By David E. Gehlke

SHADOWS FALL‘s fourth studio album, “The War Within”, is celebrating its 20th anniversary next year, which, for anyone who enjoyed seeing “The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal” (also see: LAMB OF GOD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE),overtake nu-metal, is enough of a reminder that, yes, time really does move that fast. Behind their exciting hybrid of thrash and death metal mixed with rock, SHADOWS FALL rode a dogged touring schedule and routine airings on MTV2‘s “Headbanger’s Ball” into “The War Within”, which eventually became one of Century Media Records‘ best-selling albums.

But unlike LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, SHADOWS FALL was unable to sustain its mid-00s momentum. The band signed to Atlantic Records for 2007’s “The Threads Of Life” and experienced the all-too-common happening of the revolving A&R door that displaced the people who brought SHADOWS FALL to the label and left them in less-than-knowledgeable hands. SHADOWS FALL then went independent for 2009’s “Retribution” and released “Fire From The Sky” in 2012, but called it a day in 2015 due to lack of income. It was an abrupt end for a band who, a decade prior, could do no wrong.

SHADOWS FALL has since gotten back together for the occasional reunion show and “The War Within” is slated for a vinyl reissue in early January, which warranted a call to founding guitarist Matt Bachand to wax on some very busy but good times.

Blabbermouth: What do you remember most about the period between “The Art Of Balance” and “The War Within”?

Matt: “It was very busy. I remember having no downtime at all. We were constantly on the road and that never stopped. We barely had time to stop and do the album. In between whatever tours we were doing, we had writing sessions and tried to write from the road as much as we could, which wasn’t the easiest thing. Sure, we could do it, especially now with the technology, but for me, I needed to be in a certain headspace. I couldn’t get that vibe from the road. We used whatever little downtime we could to pick away at it. But we didn’t want to lose any momentum, either. At that point, having done Ozzfest [in 2003] and some bigger stuff, it was starting to pop, so we had to follow it up hard and quickly before people forgot about us. That tour was near the end of the ‘Art’ cycle; the timing was good for us to take some time and get the record done as soon as possible without feeling rushed. But we never stopped writing throughout that process.”

Blabbermouth: What was the moment you knew something was happening? Was it Ozzfest? That was the year when the tide started to turn away from nu-metal.

Matt: “That was one of them. The thought never crossed my mind that we’d even be invited on a tour like that. That, in itself, was really great. It’s hard to say. We’ve always been grateful when people come out at all. [Laughs] When we started the run for ‘The War Within’, which was headline shows, it was like, ‘People are coming to see us! They’re sticking around.’ We never thought about it. It was always, ‘Oh, we’re the support band. They’re forced to see us because we’re there.'”

Blabbermouth: Given everything leading up to “The War Within”, did you start to feel the pressure?

Matt: “I think the pressure was always on because we put it on ourselves. It was never enough. We were always trying harder. There was never a ceiling. Even if it was perfect as it can be, it could always be better, not just in production but the live performance, the energy, the overall show. At that point, it started to become more important to have flashier stage shows and things like that. Before, it didn’t matter that much. You’d play your tunes, but especially, you can’t go anywhere without a crazy show because that’s what people expect. It’s almost impossible to do it any other way. We were always trying and pushing ourselves to add as much of that into the show as possible.”

Blabbermouth: That makes me think of when you came around in 2000 with DISMEMBER, KATAKLYSM and KRISIUN. You were the first band on that bill.

Matt: “We were making 50 bucks a night on that tour. [Laughs] Per night. We were driving all over the country, sleeping in truck stops. It was the big test: ‘Do you really want this?’ We tried not to get too greedy with it. Like, ‘All right, we’re making more money. We’ll put it in our pockets.’ We put it back into the shows.”

Blabbermouth: Those tours had to be crucial in bonding.

Matt: “Oh yeah. For all those years, even before 2004. We had been going since 1995. There was a lot of time eating shit to get something. [Laughs] That does create a bond, for sure. There was nowhere else to go; you’re locked in a van with the same five dudes and that’s it. They’re the only people you’re seeing when you’re traveling down the highway. You better get along or it’s going to be a long ride. There’s definitely stuff that I do not miss, but stuff I miss too. You were out there with the fans. We were so low on the bill; we didn’t get a dressing room, so we were out there at the merch table, trying to push ourselves. As you get bigger, there are other things, more distractions, a lot more press to do, things like that, which got in the way. I’ve always been one, regardless of any period, to go hang out at the merch table. For some reason, I have retail in my blood, so I’m always at the merch table, making sure everything looks right. [Laughs] It’s part of the presentation, just like the show.”

Blabbermouth: Going into the writing for “The War Within”, was there a specific direction? The album was like “The Art Of Balance”, but you did everything better.

Matt: “The older we got, the more we got to know each other, and the better our collective songwriting skills became. We tried to keep it going. We did what we were feeling. We don’t want to write the same thing over and over again. It would get boring for the fans and for us, too.”

Blabbermouth: How did the division of labor work out with your clean vocals and Brian [Fair]’s?

Matt: “We knew right away which voice would work for what part and the vibe of the song. Brian‘s range is in the middle thrashy range, but if it called for a super-polished, clean vocal or a guttural death metal part, that’s me. I don’t have that middle-of-the-road thing that he has. We knew right away what the song called for. It’s how we did it, and it’s always been pretty easy. Brian does most of the writing, as far as the lyrics. He’d say, ‘This part is going to be you. Let’s try this.’ We bounced every idea off the wall.”

Blabbermouth: Did you enjoy doing clean vocals? They were definitely a “thing” by then.

Matt: “Oh, sure. We had been doing that since day one. It’s always been something, and we said it back in ’95, ‘Why can’t we do death metal and clean singing?’ It was always, ‘Why are there rules?’ I love it. Even right now, I’m doing a ton of solo acoustic dates. I have two of them this week. I’m out there playing at breweries and bars, doing three hours of covers. It’s fun and keeps me in shape. The older I get, the harder it becomes. I want to make sure I stay active.”

Blabbermouth: This was the era of “Headbanger’s Ball” on MTV2, and SHADOWS FALL were regulars on the show.

Matt: “I never thought we’d have a music video and be on the show I watched as a kid. I’d wait for the ‘Triple Thrash Treat’ segment on the original ‘Headbanger’s Ball’ with the host before Rikki Rachtman and Adam Curry. It had always been a part of what I grew up watching and listening to, so to be even invited and be on it was crazy. I never thought anything like that could happen. It was crazy. Still blows my mind.”

Blabbermouth: “The Power Of I And I” video was like the gathering of all the hot new metal bands at the time in one place.

Matt: “The first date of Ozzfest was in Hartford. We set up in the parking lot where they had the Ozzfest and invited everyone who was on it to have a big barbecue. We filmed a giant tailgate party.”

Blabbermouth: I don’t think anything captures that era and scene better than that video.

Matt: “Especially for all the bands on Ozzfest that year: GOD FORBID, DARKEST HOUR, LAMB OF GOD. It was cool to have everyone hanging out. We got lucky that it was right near home when we needed to make it happen.”

Blabbermouth: Major labels soon started sniffing around SHADOWS FALL. Do you recall what your reaction was?

Matt: “My whole thing was not to be influenced by anything like that. Even when we did move forward and go to a major, they had not even heard what we were writing and recording. It was part of the contract. We didn’t want to be influenced by the suits. Did they really know? They know what might sell, but it’s not what we’re about. We wanted to deliver the tracks that worked for us. That was very important right off the bat. We knew that if we were going to go that route, it had to be done our way.”

Blabbermouth: You only did one record with Atlantic (2007’s “Threads Of Life”). Would you consider the experience a letdown?

Matt: “Not necessarily. They did want a second record from us. We didn’t want them to have it. Reason being, there was a sweet spot between when we signed the deal and when the people that signed us, the head of A&R and president of the company, Jason Flom, both got let go. We had already signed the deal. It was too late to back out. If we had known it was going to happen, we would never have done it and gone elsewhere. Now, the two rock guys at the label are gone, and the record ends up on the desks of the rap people who were trying to figure out how to sell it. It still did decent numbers. They wanted the next one, but we knew the team they had in place was not for us and we asked to be released. It was an awesome experience, though. It is nice to have an actual budget and experience a different way of doing things since we always did our records at home with [producer] Zeuss [Chris Harris]. There was nothing wrong with that and that is what we will do again. It was nice to see a different side of it. That was the first time we all lived somewhere else and away from home for two months. We worked on the album in a great studio, Studio 606, which was an awesome spot. I loved the experience.”

Blabbermouth: By the time of the “Retribution” album and the end of the decade, were you fried?

Matt: “I wouldn’t say that. We gave ourselves a little more time to take longer breaks. The longest break we would take between tours was usually a month. We were constantly going. We spent a little more time to ourselves and got back at it. We felt that if Atlantic couldn’t sell the next record, we’d do it ourselves with our own imprint. We’re going to do it right. That’s still, I think, to this day, ‘Retribution’ is probably my favorite.”

Blabbermouth: You did some reunion shows last year. How has the experience been getting the band back together?

Matt: “It’s great. We came right back like no time had passed, which was nice. It’s not like we were estranged from each other. We simply stopped touring because we couldn’t support our families and pay the bills. It’s that simple. We weren’t making enough money to make it worth it. A couple of guys had kids. They didn’t want to live in truck stops while they had kids. We just weren’t making enough money. Now, it’s a no-pressure scenario. We don’t have any plans to do any full-scale touring. It’s not something we’re looking at. Not to say it’s a definite no. It would depend on the opportunity. Right now, it’s zero pressure. We’re taking our time. We’ll take some offers, do some festivals, some gigs. We’re working on new music. When it’s ready, it’s ready. We’re not signed to a label. We’re not doing any of that. We’re making it on our own and we’ll see what happens when it’s done.”

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral