 |
|
October 8, 2008 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
01. Velvet
02. The Great Collapse
03. Rituals
04. Sirens Singing
05. Hollow Inside
06. The Architect
07. Challenge
08. Mission Immortality
09. Norm Ad
10. Reign
|
|
Up until about a week ago, I had really been missing how IN FLAMES used to be. The rocking guitar harmonies; the great performances; the cool tunes. They used to be something special. So what happened a week ago that changed things? I put on FEAR MY THOUGHTS' newest CD, "The Great Collapse". Now it must be said that I don't think these guys are copying the sound IN FLAMES used to have. On the contrary, FEAR MY THOUGHTS are the band that IN FLAMES would be if they had managed to stay on course.
Recently signed to the burgeoning label Lifeforce Records, FEAR MY THOUGHTS are the total package - monster (and I do mean MONSTER) guitar harmonies, massive driving rythmns, and a great talent for songwriting. Oh yeah, they are incredible players as well. Can Lifeforce pick 'em? You bet! Having been around since 1998, FEAR MY THOUGHTS have learned, and developed their craft quite well.
The album starts out with "Velvet", a brief, stylized guitar intro, before the album blasts off with the title track, "The Great Collapse". Clocking in at just over 6 minutes, this is a wonderful showcase of absolute hardcore melodic metal. As powerful as they come, "The Great Collapse" shows all the bands out there just how this type of metal should be played. Just try to stop yourself from bangin' yer head during the song. Sorry - can't be done.
Throughout the disc, vocalist Mathias Ockl does a great job of mixing the hardcore, nasty vocals with the clean vocals. It's an effective mix that highlights the dynamics found in certain songs, with the bridge section in "Sirens Singing" being the best example. It never sounds wimpy when Mathias cleans it up, only more passionate. The song "Mission Immortality" also has a cool clean vocals bridge, however the spoken word ending is unneccesary and too lengthy. They should have stopped while they were ahead.
Though "The Great Collapse" smokes, there are a couple of things that do bother me about the album. I really don't like it when a band have intros or sound bytes on their album(s), and then classify them as being songs. They're not songs. On "The Great Collapse", there is one intro, and then 'song' six, "The Architect", is merely a spoken word section that lasts less than a minute. As well, the last tune on the album has a soft piano ending that goes on for two minutes - far too long. For a minute there I thought I was listening to "Layla"! If the ending stopped after about, oh let's say, twenty seconds, then "Reign" would have been a very nice way to end this album. As it is, the ending is simply far too long and completely takes away from the song. Maybe it's just me, but I much prefer it when the band sticks to playing, and don't try and be too 'artsy' or avante-garde. Sometimes, less is more.
All in all, FEAR MY THOUGHTS are very impressive and wonderfully melodic on "The Great Collapse". They are talented musicians and songwriters, and have a promising career ahead of them if they stay on course. Hey, IN FLAMES, are you paying attention?
|
|
|
|
