Somber Eyes to the Sky

Most of the album's songs had previously appeared on demo albums released by the band.

The songs "Lifeless", "Suffer the Season" and "Fleshold" originally appeared on the band's demo, Mourning a Dead World, released in 1996.[3] The songs "Eternal" and "Somber Angel" were originally recorded and released on a demo EP in 1997.[4] "To Ashes" originally appeared on the 7" EP of the same name, which was also released in 1997; the EP also contained a re-recording of "Fleshold".[5]

Audio mastering was done at Monkeyhouse Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Somber Eyes to the Sky is different from the usual metalcore sound of the band's subsequent albums, featuring a lo-fi melodic death metal sound with elements of standard death metal. Phil Labonte's vocals are generally death growl vocals that resemble typical death metal vocals. Melodic guitar riffs and occasional dissonant riffs are featured throughout the album. The lyrics are dreary, with themes like despair, depression, suicide, isolation and loneliness being featured throughout the album.

In 1996, Shadows Fall recorded a demo called Mourning a Dead World, printing 200 copies. Guitarist Matt Bachand said the demo "was really intended just for us to work on things". People bought the demo and the band began to have concerts. Bachand formed Lifeless Records to produce Somber Eyes to the Sky and both self-financed and self-promoted it. Genet Records of Belgium created a repress of the album, and Somber Eyes to the Sky sold 15,000 copies worldwide, including a few thousand in Europe.[6]