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Brian Fair | |
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 Fair at SoundWave Sydney 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian James Fair |
| Born | May 30, 1975 |
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Member of |
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| Formerly of | |
Brian James Fair (born May 30, 1975) is an American musician from Massachusetts, best known as lead vocalist of the metalcore band Shadows Fall. He graduated from Milford High School in 1993, and went on to study literature at Boston University.
From a young age, Brian Fair had always been known for his affinity for a wide range of music. In seventh grade he had his first visit to a recording studio after he and two friends won a radio jingle contest (sponsored by Mass Electric) with a Beastie Boys-inspired tune "The Energy Conservation Rap Song." In high school, he played bass and sang in a punk band called Frenzy that performed at local underage shows.
In the summer of his sophomore year (August 1991), Fair co-founded Overcast, an influential hardcore band in the Worcester music scene. While Fair was on vocals, Scott McCooe and Pete Cortese played guitar, Mike D'Antonio played bass, and Jay Fitzgerald played drums. Overcast's first 7-inch, Bleed Into One, was released in 1992 through Exchange Records. The band's first full-length, Expectational Dilution, was released in 1994 and is considered a groundbreaking effort as many claim that Overcast are the pioneers of the metalcore scene. Their final full-length, Fight Ambition To Kill, was released in 1997. This release was followed by nationwide touring with Shai Hulud and Disembodied. Overcast eventually split up in November 1998.
Soon after Overcast disbanded, Fair joined Shadows Fall in place of Phil Labonte, who left due to creative differences. Soon after, the band signed to Century Media Records. The band recorded its second studio album Of One Blood with Fair on vocals in 2000. The release included re-recorded songs from Somber Eyes to the Sky .
Shadows Fall decided to change its style to find its own sound. Inspired by thrash, hard rock and power ballad influences, the band recorded its third studio album, titled The Art of Balance . Released on September 17, 2002, the album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Top Independent albums chart. Shadows Fall released three music videos to promote the album; "Thoughts Without Words", "Destroyer of Senses", and "The Idiot Box". The Art of Balance featured a cover of the Pink Floyd song "Welcome to the Machine". Andy Hinds of Allmusic stated the album is "a modern heavy metal album that is both brutal and highly musical, traditional yet forward-thinking", but criticized the placement of "Welcome to the Machine", stating the song "is stylishly well-executed, but seems a tad out of place nonetheless." Shadows Fall supported The Art of Balance by touring on Ozzfest in 2003.
Fair continued with Shadows Fall as his main priority, and the band released several more records. On April 29, 2006, Overcast reunited to play at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. The band then announced and re-recorded archive material and two new tracks, produced by metal producer Nick Raskulinecz, under the name Reborn to Kill Again .
Shadows Fall's fifth record, Threads of Life , was released on April 3, 2007, through Atlantic Records and Roadrunner International. Fair has also recently worked with Necro, an underground hip hop musician and producer, on his album entitled Death Rap . Fair appears on Death Rap's fifth track, "Suffocated to Death by God's Shadow", with Mark Morton (Lamb of God), Mike Smith (Suffocation), and Steve DiGiorgio (Death).
The sixth studio album from Shadows Fall, titled Retribution , was released on September 15, 2009, and the seventh, titled Fire From the Sky , on May 15, 2012.
In December 2021, when asked by the Podioslave Podcast if there will be new music from Shadows Fall, Fair said, "We've talked about writing stuff, and there's a very definitive Shadows Fall approach to writing. So if Matt or Jon or Paul had ideas that really made sense, I'd see us pursuing 'em. But nothing right now. All we wanted to do is get through this show — we wanted to get through it, see if we could pull it off, see how it went. And now we're, like, 'Okay, now we can think about if we wanna do something else.' But nothing planned right now. I know Jon and Matt are riff machines — I'm sure they've got stuff — but they do also have other projects they're working on too… But right now we're just kind of recovering a little bit, trying to make sure I get my neck back in shape." [1]
In January 2003, a new space rock project called Transient was formed. Transient saw Fair taking a break from vocals, this time playing the guitar and the drums instead. Fair was reunited with Overcast member Scott McCooe, who was now playing bass. Transient released a three song demo, whose tracks were recorded by Pete Rutcho of Blistered Earth, in November 2004. This is Transient's only material to date.
Death Ray Vision is an American hardcore punk band from Massachusetts. The band includes members and former members of the bands Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Cannae, Seemless, and Overcast. [2]
The band released their first studio album titled We Ain't Leavin' Till You're Bleedin' in 2013. The band also released an EP in 2011 titled Get Lost or Get Dead. In 2018 the band released a second LP titled Negative Mental Attitude.
Fair is currently singing with St. Louis hardcore band Hell Night, and works in the music industry as a rep for Alvarez Guitars, Dixon Drums, and a number of other instrument lines.
In 2018, Fair collaborated with Derek Kerswill, Matt LeBreton and Pete Gelles to form the band Downpour. [3] In 2014, they released their first single "The Serpent's Tongue" followed by "Beautiful Nothing" in August 2017. [4] Their debut album is set to release in September 2018. [5]
Fair is married and has a son and a daughter.[ citation needed ]
Fair is most known for his dreadlocks that have been known to be a large part of his stage show. He says he has kept them ever since making them when he was almost 16 years old. His locks are currently just shy of his six foot two frame, reaching down to his ankles and a couple inches from touching the ground; according to Fair they weigh over a pound. [6] He uses them in a windmill fashion to whip fans during live shows. Fair says in an interview that he does get it caught and pulled by things often, including car doors, office chairs, light fixtures and guitar pedals. [7]
Stirring the Killer (7-inch) (1995)
Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band's lineup consists of brothers Lou and Pete Koller on lead vocals and guitars respectively, Armand Majidi on drums, and Craig Setari on bass. Sick of It All is considered a major part of the New York hardcore scene, and by 2020, the band had sold at least half a million records worldwide.
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin Foley. Howard Jones was the band's lead vocalist from 2002 to 2012.
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy and percussive pedal point guitar riffs and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming; more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.
Throwdown is an American hardcore and heavy metal band from Orange County, California. Formed in 1997, the band has endured numerous lineup changes to the point where no original members remain. Throwdown has toured as part of Ozzfest, Sounds of the Underground, Hellfest, and Warped Tour, as well as with bands such as In Flames, Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Korn and Cavalera Conspiracy. The songs "Forever" and "Burn" were staples on MTV2's Headbangers Ball and Revolver Magazine called them part of "The Future of Metal" after hearing the album Vendetta. Initially branded a hardcore punk band, albums like Venom and Tears and Deathless took a sharp turn towards metal, with critics likening the band's sound to that of Pantera and Sepultura. The band are straight edge.
Jesse David Leach is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the metalcore band Killswitch Engage. He is also a vocalist for Times of Grace and The Weapon. Leach co-founded Killswitch Engage in 1999, but left the band in 2002; in February 2012, he rejoined the group following the departure of vocalist Howard Jones. He currently resides in the Catskill Mountains in New York.
Shadows Fall is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of guitarists Jon Donais and Matt Bachand, bassist Paul Romanko, lead vocalist Brian Fair and drummer Jason Bittner.
The Art of Balance is the third album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall, released on September 17, 2002. The album sold over 4,500 copies the week of its release, and debuted at position 15 on the Top Independent Albums chart. With this release being the first with Jason Bittner, the lineup was solidified onwards as it is today's current members and the longest lineup in Shadows Fall's career's history.
Somber Eyes to the Sky is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall, released in 1997 on Matt Bachand's own label Lifeless Records in the United States, while the European release was handled by Genet Records. This was the band's last release and only studio album with lead singer Philip Labonte, who helped form All That Remains the following year.
Michael D'Antonio is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist and founder of the metalcore band Killswitch Engage. He is also the founder and bassist of the bands Overcast and Death Ray Vision.
Jonathan Donais, also known as Jon Donais, is an American guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Anthrax since 2013, and as co-founder of metalcore band Shadows Fall.
The War Within is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall. The album has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide. The War Within is the band's best selling album, and in 2005 made sales history on Century Media Records when it became the label's best selling album of all time. To date, the album retains this status. The album was also issued as a limited edition digipak with an exclusive bonus DVD that featured bootleg concert footage along with drum and guitar lessons from members of the band. The album debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 during its release.
Unearth is an American metalcore band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1998. The group consists of lead guitarist Buz McGrath, vocalist Trevor Phipps, bassist Chris O'Toole, drummer Mike Justian and rhythm guitarist Peter Layman. They are currently signed to Century Media Records and have released eight studio albums. Their most recent studio album, The Wretched; the Ruinous, was released on May 5, 2023.
Fallout from the War is a compilation album by heavy metal band Shadows Fall, released on June 13, 2006. It contains a selection of songs written during the sessions for The War Within and The Art of Balance, as well as some covers by bands that have inspired Shadows Fall over the years. Fallout from the War is billed as a "companion" to The War Within. It was their final release for Century Media before moving to Atlantic Records.
Jonah Jay Jenkins is an American vocalist, known for his work with bands such as Only Living Witness, Miltown, Milligram, The Northern Skulls and Raw Radar War.
Vanna was an American hardcore punk band from Boston that was formed in 2004. On December 15, 2017, the band played their final show at the Worcester Palladium.
Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodic death metal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted guitar tones, palm muting, double bass drumming, blast beats, metalcore-stylized breakdowns, and vocals that range from aggressive screaming and death growls to clean singing. The genre has seen commercial success for employing a more accessible sound at times compared to other forms of extreme music. Many notable melodic metalcore bands have been influenced by At the Gates and In Flames.
Derek M. Kerswill is an American musician best known for his drumming in the bands Unearth, Seemless, Kingdom of Sorrow, and multiple fill-ins/studio projects. While no longer on the road, he continues to play in several bands in the greater Boston area.
Overcast was an American metalcore band that formed in Boston in 1990, and disbanded in 1998 after an unsuccessful tour. The band is often regarded as pioneers of metalcore.
Rotting Out is an American hardcore punk band from the San Pedro community of Los Angeles in California.
Death Ray Vision is an American hardcore punk band from Massachusetts. The band includes members and former members of the bands Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Cannae, Seemless, and Overcast.
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