Shadows Fall

Day two of a new Shadows Fall tour is known by the band as "sore neck day." "You feel great on stage, all the adrenaline kicks in, you try to remember to pace yourself," vocalist Brian Fair tells Noisecreep. "But you never do. So, the next day, it's like 'Owww!'" he complains of the headbanging whiplash he's suffering. "I've got to get the neck muscles back into shape."

Since September -- when the Massachusets metal band released their latest album, 'Retribution' -- Shadows Fall have trekked through the U.S., Europe and Australia. The winter tour, which kicked off Jan. 21, is comprised of two months of North American dates, including the band's first headlining tour of Canada. Still, it was the break over Christmas that was the killer. Says Fair, "After three weeks off, I'm ready to get back on the road."

Before this tour started, Shadows Fall put in time at the annual NAMM trade show in Anaheim, Calif. But it was hardly work. "Our drummer, Jason, jammed with George Lynch from Dokken and Stu Hamm. They did a little acoustic jam. Besides that, we just did signings. I got to do some signings with a couple of the guys from Anthrax -- Charlie Benante and Frank Bello -- and Tim 'Ripper' Owens, too.

"NAMM is just an excuse to drink on the endorser's tab. They want to show off their new product, and we just want to run up their tab," he says with a wicked cackle. "It's fun; it's like musician's camp. You see people you haven't seen in years. Get them all in one room, and it's like a powder keg waiting to explode."

Lest anyone think that Shadows Fall are all about the party, Fair says when it comes to touring, they have rules. "We take gigs really seriously," he reveals. "We never party until after. That's why we prefer not to headline; to cover that. There's nothing worse than finishing the show, and you're like, 'Where is everybody? Oh, They went home."'

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