Review Summary: Feeding average metalcore to the masses.
The Australian metalcore scene currently seems to be mirroring the slow but steady success of all those NWOAHM bands who stormed the metal world around fifteen years ago. And already the major discussion as to whether the likes of Parkway Drive and The Amity Affliction are actually going to headline major stages around the world is already getting pretty boring. Boring, because everybody probably saw it coming anyway. Whilst Parkway Drive are arguably the ideal frontrunners of this particular scene-petty internet hype notwithstanding-there are also a smaller group of bands who just so happen to perform with the same musical formula in mind. One of which is Feed Her to the Sharks, whose name already screams childish edginess to the masses of "troo" metalheads out there.
Seriously though, how many metalcore bands does Australia have to keep reproducing before this scene gets old? Well, none of this seems to affect the general direction in which new album
Fortitude is going. The album is chockful of big choruses, monotonous breakdowns and a vocal delivery which, on its own isn't all that bad. The thing is, FHTTS already have some talented, fairly young players to perform every song with as much instrumental vigour as we'd expect, but what's really missing here is a spanner in the works. For as well oiled and pristine as this metalcore machine may seem, a song as seemingly soulless as opener "The World is Yours" just doesn't cut it. That may be the album's biggest flaw, yet at the same time probably its greatest strength too. These songs are certainly big enough to take to the stage, and as 2015 progresses FHTTS will have a more improved fan-base than they do now. That's not necessarily a complement, but a reality check for those of you who are too cynical to nod along to the shuddering rhythms of "Walking on Glass" or indeed "Faithless".
With a deeper listen however, there are just too many moments in
Fortitude where you wish things were somewhat subtler. For one thing, all the swathes of electronic energy and glossy production effects are simply forced. This aspect of the album's sound is just not natural at all, and every time the intro to "Terrorist"or "Heart of Stone" grates at your ears, there won't seem to be any point in continuing to listen to the rest of the record. Thankfully, these effects are never as prominent as the decent yet predictable rhythm section or the harsher vocal delivery, but they are there like a distinctively bad smell. They roam around in the background, always reminding you that FHTTS aren't quite the fearsome metalcore act others claim them to be. Notably, some songs are better than others. Unsurprisingly enough, the better songs are those which aren't infiltrated with woeful synthesiser effects and weak clean vocal delivery. Even more interesting is how these album highlights all appear towards the end of the album, and shows that the second half eclipses the first in terms of just about everything.
Yet as consistent as the likes of "Walking on Glass", "Faithless" and "Badass" are, they don't cover the main flaw coarsing its way throughout the album's 40 minute run-time. It's simply average, and that's all there is to it. Whilst
Fortitude may certainly go on to wow the festival audiences as surely as the likes of Parkway Drive have done, the fact that FHTTS' latest effort is largely uninteresting just goes to show the unreliable nature of metalcore when regarding anything original or outstanding.
