The bastion of pop culture, urbandictionary.com, defines "Sellout" as "Anyone who sacrifices artistic integrity in an effort to become more successful or popular (generally in music); someone who forgets their roots."

When the metal world caught wind of the fact that Shadows Fall were signing to Atlantic Records, you can bet there were catcalls from far and wide proclaiming that Shadows Fall were going to sell out, if not just sell their souls to the devil. Fans waited to hear what the alleged hit-makers at Atlantic Records were going to do try and fuck up the Shadows Fall sound. Well, wait no more. Threads of Life (Atlantic Records) is proof that you can go from the underground to the mainstream and not wind up sounding like Fallout Boy.

The War Within, the last proper studio record, seemed like Brian Fair and company were trying too hard to make a metal hit. Threads of Life reflects the chunky budget and significant studio time to write a record that encompasses all of the qualities that make Shadows Fall one of the standard bearers of the Massachusetts metal scene. While missing some of the growling of their early releases, Threads is not the sound of a band turning into a bunch of major label wusses. "Failure of the Devout" no doubt caused the record company execs to soil their Armani suits after the airy opening of the song devolves into a roar of double bass fills from the underrated Jason Bittner and blazing thrash riffs. Pelegrino water was probably spilled in unison after "Dread Uprising" hit the speakers with its pounding rhythm and Brian Fair's growled vocals. The beautiful hammer-on solo in the middle probably brought thoughts of 80s metal and sighs of relief to the room before the mosh pit assault came roaring back to close the song. Clearly, the suits had no idea they were releasing a circle pit friendly beast of a record. But amidst the classic Shadows Fall thrash and bash, there are some serious hooks to be found on this record. "Redemption" sends Brian Fair's voice soaring to new levels. "Burning the Lives" has him singing around the twisting and winding riffs laid down by Jonathan Donais. The potential misstep on Threads is the pseudo ballad "Another Hero Lost". While props go to the band for honoring a friend lost in the war, this song clearly could have been built differently..

Atlantic Records better know what they are doing in the marketing of Shadows Fall because the band clearly did not compromise their sound to make Threads of Life. If the suits thought they were going to be able to transform Brian Fair into the next Davey Havok or Billie Joe Armstrong, they made a serious miscalculation. Brian Fair and company have stayed true to their sound and released a record that, if you didn't look at the label, doesn't sound like the quintessential major label release also known as the Big Sellout.