Album Review: Five Finger Death Punch - Got Your Six - 2015

Genre: Heavy Metal
Country: USA
Year: 2015

Tracklist:

1. Got Your Six
2. Jekyll and Hyde
3. Wash It All Away
4. Ain't My Last Dance
5. My Nemesis
6. No Sudden Movement
7. Question Everything
8. Hell to Pay
9. Digging My Own Grave
10. Meet My Maker
11. Boots and Blood

12. You're Not My Kind
13. This is My War
14. I Apologize
15. Jekyll and Hyde

FFDP repeats its wining formula once again. These guys have been perfecting it since their first album, released many years ago, and it seems that now that they have it ready, they'll stick to it as much as they can. "Got Your Six" feels then, more like a third volume of the previous compilation "The Wrong Side of Heaven...", than an independent work. They are so close in composition and sound that it'd be hard or impossible to distinguish one album from another, if you're listening randomly to their songs for the first time. So, there you have the first and biggest let down: the absence of novelty. 

Still, there are some bits with which one can differentiate this album from the others. Some of them are, for example, the tweaked sound (yea it seems they have made it even better than before), and... Well, there you have it! Really there is not to much difference, which is a real shame. Even more, some melodies seem to be a rip-off of tunes from previous albums. Just check out the similarities between "Question Everything" and "Diary of a Dead Man", between "Digging My Own Grave" and "The Wrong Side of Heaven", and between the starting tune from "Got Your Six" and the one from "Far From Home" to see of what we're talking about. This is not the first time the band recycles old tunes. Check the riff from "Dying Breed" and the one from "Wicked Ways". The evolution and change that this band has been needing since many albums before hasn't come this time. 

We have therefore some mixed feelings about this album. On the one hand this album packs great songs of high technical quality in both audio and instrument play, but on the other hand there is no surprise about it... or about anything really. The good audio quality and song writing is present once again but nothing additional or new is there to make feel this release different or special. This work will surely please every FFDP's fan, but surely it won't attract new ones. Maybe, and just maybe, the band has stayed for too long too fixed in its own style.

As said before, the band has tweaked the audio a bit. Now, it sounds louder, clearer and crispier than before, being today, without any doubt, one of the best sounding works out there because it matches perfectly the band's musical style. It makes you almost believe that every heavy metal group should sound like this. However, some sacrifices had to be made to achieve this spectacular result. Some instruments tend to be shaded by others (for example, the atmospheric guitar through the chorus on "Question everything" and on "My Nemesis", is constantly tending to disappear), but that's better than having a flat audio (like the one of Soilwork's "The Ride Majestic"). Because most of the time just the basic instruments play together, it's not a big issue. The fewer instruments, the easier to distribute them through different audio frequencies.

The album length is of 48:39 in its physical "Deluxe Edition", or 49:21 counting the 15th hidden track, and priced at $19.98 at Amazon. We believe it’s a bit pricy, not only because of the rough amount of content but also because of the production value of this work. Even if in its own right this is a fine compilation, this is not an outstanding (FFDP's) album, and other great releases with more content, like Amorphis’s “Under The Red Cloud” or Soilwork’s “The Ride Majestic”, are priced lower than this. The "Deluxe Version" is however a must have, if your going for the physical copy, that is. Why would someone go for the cheaper version with 3 missing tracks? We really don't know. If your out of money just go for the digital purchase, priced at $12.49, but don't go for the "Standard CD Edition"! Even if there is a hidden 15th track only included in the physical deluxe edition, it doesn't worth it.

We won't be stopping for too long talking about the album and song structure. If you have already listened to any previous FFDP's release, you know what's the scheme... just pop. Therefore, every song has an AABA form, that works fine most of the time. In some pieces, like in "Ain't My Last Dance", "My Nemesis" and "Meet My Maker", there is some discordance between the riff and the chorus. Even more, in those pieces, the chorus sucks and the riff rocks (it's supposed to be never like this, that's why the chorus exists). Also, no track has an impressive bridge, which is a shame and a result of the absence of fresh ideas. About the album structure it must be said though, that even while there is no intro, coda or interlude, the songs seem well ordered giving the album a good pace.

We feel there is a big void in this work: the absence of a truly memorable song. Maybe it's because the style is so worn-out, or because previous songs like "Cold", "The Pride" or "No One Gets Left Behind" and others, were too good and groundbreaking at their time, but the loss of thrill seems undeniable. "No Sudden Movement" and "Jekyll and Hyde" might have been those great songs, but at this point in the band's history, they just don't stand out like other tracks did. 

All in all, we have here a good but unimpressive release. It’s not the best one nor the most original or groundbreaking one, but it will be a nice addition to anyone’s metal collection.

Rating: 7/10

Album Review: Subsistence - Portrait Of A Dying World - 2015

Genre: Metalcore
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2015

Tracklist:

1. Pretentious
2. Visions
3. Reaper
4. Portrait Of A Dying World
5. Wasteland
6. Back To Life
7. The Fear
8. The Demons
9. Brick By Brick
10. Heart Of Hatred
11. The Rain (ft. Matt Murphy)

Subsistence is a new and promising self-recorded, self-produced, female fronted metal band from New Zealand. It is, for now, a pretty much unknown Metalcore band, but I’m sure not for too long. Before starting to shit all over this album, it's important to say that this is a good work, and one that every Metalcore fan should listen to. It shines thanks to an outstanding composition, despite some flaws. It's such a good album that I can't help but to try to spread the word of its existence. I'm sure that any help is well appreciated by the band. Because my intention is only to contribute to create better music, I truly hope the following critics will be well received, if they manage to reach any of the band members.

“Portrait Of A Dying World” is like breathing fresh air in the middle of an oversaturated metal scene. Today, there are so many bands out there, maybe more than willing listeners, and so many of them are so much alike, that discovering this special work is awesome. Yes, it is Metalcore, there is no doubt about it, but within the boundaries of the genre, the band’s style excels thanks to good and fresh ideas. Then, if you are reading this and haven't already listened to this album, click one of the links below to do so, you won't regret it.

This awesome album has eleven full-length songs and plays for about 51:37. It has then, a very good amount of content. Considering its quality and its price (about $6.45 in bancamp.com, physical CD), I say it's a great deal. So, there should be no pretext to not buy this work, unless you don't like it, of course.

The song structure is something to be praised. Even though it obviously follows the pop scheme, and therefore there is always a chorus in every track, it varies sometimes substantially. For example, in "Pretentious" the chorus repeats only two times and the riffs are something more like two bridges. Something similar occurs in "Visions", "Reaper" and some others. In general, it's hard to see clearly the AABA song form, which may be a little confusing or even non catchy to some listeners, but for me it's just great.

The album structure however is not as interesting. As already said, there is no intro, interlude or coda, just full songs. This may be a good thing in terms of content amount but it also may be a downside in terms of pace variation. Also, there is no track that may serve as a pace changer, besides the middle track "Wasteland". This is a direct consequence of the absence of deep contrasts from one song to another. This is the only let down in composition. While it brings an overall novelty to the genre, it remains too fixed on a single style.

This compilation reminds me so much of the first and self-titled Killswitch Engage’s album. Not because of its style, sound or composition, but because of its big implied potential. Just like in the KSE’s work, the sound of “Portrait Of A Dying World” is crappy, and the musician’s performance is not as polished as one could hope. In both works, the package is not as pretty as its content. KSE released maybe the best Metalcore album of all times, “Alive Or Just Breathing”, two years after, mostly using polished songs from, precisely, their first one. It's surprising the difference that a good audio and a good vocal and instrumental performance can make. So, what I’m trying to say here, is that this album seems like a rough diamond that may shine like few, if it is properly polished. I truly hope to listen to some of these tracks revamped, in the future. What are those rough edges? Let's see.

The most evident problem in this compilation is the sound. It's just bad, feels cheap and ruins, up to some point, the otherwise nice experience. The drums are flat, undefined and sometimes very shaded by the other instruments (what is very extraordinary in a Metalcore production). The guitars are lacking crispness and the vocals clarity. Thus, I can say there were surely some issues in the mixing process, but it seems that some ones occurred throughout the recording also. The volume is too low for today standards, so the mastering was also poorly done. I know, many things can go wrong producing music, but in this case, some extra care (money, maybe) was needed. Of course, we are talking here about an independent and self-produced band, so these problems are not to be taken too seriously. Even more, I'm sure that someone will like the audio as much as I dislike it.

Other problems are related to the clean vocals. While the growls and screams are OK, the clean vocals, both male and female, are constantly missing the right notes, sounding dissonant. They also lack technical brilliance and strength. One could say that they fit the special Subsistence's musical style, and they do up to some point, however I can't but think they represent a missed opportunity of better music. This may be a bigger issue than the previous one because of its wider impact. 

Those are the most evident issues that this album suffers from. They may be unforgivable to some listeners but behind its imperfect face lays a much richer and better work than some of the most iconic Metal and Metalcore bands out there. Above all, it's an enjoyable work. Even if there are still many problems that need to be fixed in order to make this work shine as it should, right now, it's a great piece of art.

I congratulate the band members on this work. It's hard to self produce and publish, but they did it, and in a great way.

Bancamp (Full Album)

YouTube (Full Album)

Rating: 7/10