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When another German Power Metal band drops into my review queue I think a couple of things; I'm going to hear some quality, crunchy Heavy Metal but it is going to be similar to most of the other German Power Metal bands I've heard (and there have been a LOT). Shadowbane, and their debut Facing the Fallout, deliver pretty much what I expected. Musically, we're talking chugging guitars with a great, angry tone, double-kick drums aplenty and a lack of keyboards so their style is as much Vicious Rumors as it is Grave Digger or Accept. The vocals are clean but not as powerful as is typical of this style and when you combine that with some more melodic vocal lines you can hear a Mob Rules influence. The songwriting is strong and there are a couple of standout tracks like "Traitor" and "Dystopia" but the rest fall into the "good but not particularly distinctive" category. At the end of the day, while this stuff isn't groundbreaking, its strengths outweigh its weaknesses and it is the sort of ass-kicking shit that will undoubtedly please the crunchy Heavy/Power Metal crowd. And I'm sure it sounds great blasting out of car speakers rolling down the highway.