Sonic Excess: Retribution has a more thrashier, and a return to Shadows Fall, heavy, guitar driven sound. Is this direction Shadows Fall will continue in?

Brian Fair: I think we have always had the thrash basis for our music. Retribution fits more into the rock thrash world than some of our other records. We are playing faster and heavier, because I feel that's the way we are leaning; because that’s what we feel like we are doing well.

SE: Out of all of Ozzy's catalog, why did you cover "Bark at the Moon"?

Brian: We kept it close to the original. Obviously I can't sing like Ozzy, but it was cool because I never thought in my life that I would sing about werewolves. That is not usually a subject covered by Shadows Fall, and that was definitely a blast. That song came from us just jamming on tunes, trying to figure out what we want to do. John (guitar) has always been a big Jake E. Lee fan. (former Ozzy Osborne guitarist)

SE: The deluxe edition of Retribution has a bit more than the standard live and demo tracks. You jammed a ton of stuff into the re-issue. Can you tell us about that?

Brian: Well, these days you really need to step it up packaging wise, because anyone can steal the music from the internet, there are cover songs; there are drum and guitar lessons on the DVD; some live footage; a making of the record documentary; and behind the scenes stuff. Some of them come with t-shirts, laminates passes, and stuff like that. It’s a way to give back to the real fans who are going to the stores and buying records instead of just jacking it off the internet.

SE: Talk about getting a bang for your buck.

Brian: It's becoming more standard practice, and you almost have to motivate people to come out to the stores. Even with package tours, you need to get a ton of bands on the bill to give fans a bang for their buck. People are broke all over. So, you have to make it easy and go a little bit above and beyond.

SE: What is your proudest achievement and personal favorite track on Retribution?

SE: You have been on almost every metal festival, or touring metal festival. How do you like Mayhem compared to those?

Brian: This is as good as it gets. It's not only a great line-up, but it's organized really well. All the bands have a chance to play for a decent amount of time, as opposed to playing a 15-20 minute slot on other festivals. I'm really excited. We have done a lot of festivals, so it's great to be back in that environment. It’s like s rock and roll parking lot, everyone just hanging out and raging.

SE: You guys get off early, so what are you going to do with the rest of the day?

Brian: Ya, its crazy. We get up early and are done with everything at 5:00. So that gives us a lot of extra time to get into trouble

SE: Will Randy from Lamb of God be joining you on stage at the Mayhem Fest for "King of Nothing"?

SE: Shadows Fall will be releasing a DVD in August. Can you tell us about that?

Brian: The date is going to get pushed back. We just want to make sure it's perfect, and it took us a little while to get our original tapes back from the Philippines. We filmed a concert in Manila, and we played a festival with about 25,000 people. They just went out of control with production. We had pyro and big paper mache skulls. Honestly, it was a fire trap waiting to happen, but the footage came out sick. The crowd was great. Right now we are just trying to get everything edited. We are trying to get some bonus footage as well. We want to include some Korean appearances we did. We are trying to make a Asian world tour DVD out of it.

SE: Will you be releasing a live CD with it?

Brian:  The audio came out great! We were able to get a good mix. So, hopefully we can include that and people can just rock that in their cars.

SE: Any chance of another Overcast reunion?

Brian: We never say never, but it's tough to get everyone in the same room at the same time. Mike is really busy with Killswitch Engage right now. Our drummer is actually Killswitch Engage's drum tech. So, he is is on the road with them

SE: I gotta ask you about game seven in the NBA finals with the Boston Celtics.

Brian: Ohhh, that's a touchy one. I felt like the Celtics could have won game seven easily, but they just couldn't hit a shot. It was the last eight minutes that really did 'em in. I think the Celtics played a better game and are a better team overall. They just couldn't hit the shots when it really mattered. They are definitely due for one more run, but, now with the super all-star team, the Miami Heat it's going to be tough.

SE: Especially with Labron James now.

Brian: Ohh, I know, but I have been a Celtics fan through the best days and the words days. So, I always stay loyal.

SE: Typical Boston fan. No matter what team, the Sox, the Patriots, we rally around 'em, but we have been on fire the last decade.

Brian: It's title town. It has just been crazy.

SE: Too bad Doc Rivers (Celtics head coach) is retiring.

Brian: Well, we have him for one more season.

SE: Another chance then.

Brian: Exactly. Gotta get it when the getting is good.

SE: Any last words?