Once upon a time a bunch of American bands laid claim to inventing the NWOAHM. Nowadays Shadows Fall are not only survivors, but also undisputable kings of modern metal mayhem who - along with Lamb of God, Chimaira and Killswitch Engage - are expected to thicken their own standards with each and every album. As a result, with "Threads of Life" there are certain degrees of what one may call sell-out. There are big-riffing anthems and mid-tempo ballads, as well as a few real radio-friendly tunes - all slickly produced and shifted away from the chaotic essence of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal, but moved towards cleaning all the unnecessary little things that once made Shadows Fall's albums a tough shit to listen to. Some of the songs ("Redemption", "Burning the Lives", "Forevermore") are real shredders, while others are less brutally inclined ("Failure of the Devout", "Another Hero Lost"), but, as a whole, the album is far from wimpy. Quite on the contrary - Shadows Fall are grown-ups now and as grown-ups they show interest in complicated matters. The expression though is of a simple, brave and honest album. It might be even progressive in places, but never boasting with lavish time changes. Being labeled as one of the best metal albums of 2007 so far, "Threads of Life" surely will make even more people sit down and take notice. Shadows Fall not only saved their position after switching from Century Media to Roadrunner Records (Atlantic for the USA), but pushed the boundaries one more time. And this is all heavy music is about, isn't it?