Editing Shadows Fall (section)

===Formation and ''Somber Eyes to the Sky'' (1996–1997)===
Shadows Fall was formed in 1996 by guitarists [[Jonathan Donais]] and [[Matt Bachand]], who were good friends from the local music scene.<ref name="formation">{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2000 |title=Shadows Fall Interview |url=http://www.metalupdate.com/interviewshadows.html |access-date=May 10, 2012 |website=metalupdate.com}}</ref> Bachand had previously been a founding member of a death metal band and Donais a member of the metalcore band [[Aftershock (band)|Aftershock]]. Later on, the band found a complete lineup with the addition of Damien McPherson (vocals), Mark Laliberte (bass), and David Germain (drums). Also in 1996, [[Adam Dutkiewicz]] performed live drums to fill in for Germain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Killswitch Engage: Adam Dutkiewicz |url=http://www.spirit-of-metal.com/membre_groupe/membre_groupe-nom-Adam_Dutkiewicz_-id-15016-l-en.html |access-date=May 10, 2012 |website=Spirit of Metal}}</ref> By late 1996, the band recorded and released a demo titled ''Mourning a Dead World,'' of which only about 200 copies were produced.<ref name="formation"/> It consisted of the songs Lifeless, Suffer the Season, Fleshold, Forever Lost, A Souls Salvation, and Deadworld. McPherson decided to leave the band and was replaced by [[Philip Labonte]] in 1997. Around the same time, bass guitarist Paul Romanko, formally of the hardcore band Pushbutton Warfare, was recruited as a permanent replacement for Laliberte, who had originally joined temporarily.<ref name="formation"/><ref>[http://www.hardtimes.ca/shadowsfall10 "Shadows Fall 'The rebel becomes the next oppressor'"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926131059/http://www.hardtimes.ca/shadowsfall10 |date=September 26, 2010 }}. Hardtimes.ca. Retrieved on May 10, 2012.</ref> Now with a more solid lineup, the band released its first EP, ''To Ashes'', with Dutkiewicz playing as a session drummer. The band's name, according to Bachand, comes from the title of a comic book published in the early 1990s.<ref name="Name interview">{{cite web|author=Epstien, Daniel Robert |url=http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=17152 |title=Shadows Fall interview |publisher=Ugo.com |access-date=January 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127184013/http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=17152 |archive-date=January 27, 2008 }}</ref>

Shadows Fall toured the New England area opening for artists such as [[Fear Factory]] and [[Cannibal Corpse]].<ref name="AMG">{{cite web| author=Huey, Steve |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p373312|pure_url=yes}} |title=Shadows Fall biography – AllMusic |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 5, 2008}}</ref> On November 30, 1997, the band released its first studio album, ''[[Somber Eyes to the Sky]]'', through Bachand's recording label, Lifeless Records.<ref>
*{{Cite web|title=Shadows Fall - Music on Google Play|url=https://play.google.com/store/music/artist/Shadows_Fall?id=A3fjidquqmk22jlngdxnvikjihq&hl=en_US|access-date=June 4, 2020|website=play.google.com|language=en}}
*{{Citation|title=Shadows Fall - Somber Eyes to the Sky|url=https://www.metalkingdom.net/album/shadows-fall-somber-eyes-to-the-sky-9456|language=en|access-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref>