While I admittedly am not a fan of much of Shadows Fall’s stuff after Of One Blood (2000), the sound quality of this live album is superb.  All the instruments and vocals come through as clear as if you were onstage next to vocalist Brian Fair and the rest of the band.  This is impressive considering the recording is of the band’s set at 2009’s Pulp Summer Slam Festival, with more than 20,000 fans screaming in the background.

This live album acts as a sort of greatest hits collection, with tracks that will please the most diehard Shadows Fall fan.  Among the tracks on this album are “Crushing Belial” off 2000’s Of One Blood, “Destroyer of Senses” from The Art of Balance, and “The Light That Blinds” and “The Power of I and I” off The War Within, among other tracks spanning the entire Shadows Fall catalog.  In addition to old favorites, the album includes a number of tracks from their most recent studio album, Retribution, making it an excellent entry point for new fans, who can survey the best of the band’s efforts over time, and where they are heading in their most recent release.

The quality of this live recording is so good that I think new and longtime fans alike should snap this up.  Those that were not really into Shadows Fall before this album, though, are unlikely to find anything on this to change their minds.

(Ferret Music, 258 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901)