Review Summary: A huge accomplishment from one of the most respected bands in their genre, Fear Before The March Of Flames
“The Always Open Mouth”, is the third release from the very popular band Fear Before The March Of Flames, or Fear Before for short. This is the album that album that when a band releases they change their genre completely. And when this happens most the time the fans of their old material don’t like the new material, and the fans of the new material, aren’t fans of the old material. This is the just the way music is. Sometimes the genre change ruins the bands career. That is not the case with “The Always Open Mouth”. This record changed Fear Before and they finally found the sound they were looking for. With a new mature sound, Fear Before while loosing fans is also gaining a lot more fans due to this new record.
With “The Always Open Mouth”, Fear Before changed from the metalcore soundings of “Odd How People Shake,” and “Art Damage,” to the industrial/experimental sounds of “The Always Open Mouth.” The talents of the band although present in their previous works is shown very well in “TAOM.” Although there are no guitar solos or no real “epic” songs on the album the way that all the instruments flow together and the major addition of keyboard and synthesizer on the record contribute greatly to Fear Before’s new sound. These changes present in every track, are shown the most in the tracks, “Dog Sized Bird,” “…As A Result Of Signals Being Crossed.” Both of these songs are best when comparing Fear Before’s albums because of the “different” feeling of them.
However some songs do sound similar to their old material. “Drowning The Old Hag,” is one of the heaviest songs on the record. It starts off with a hammering Drop D guitar riff, and then the vocals. First is very deep screaming, and as the song continues on it goes into some yelling. This song is just insane. The Other song that would remind some one of the old material is “A Gift For Fiction.” This song just blasts off at one hundred miles per hour and doesn’t let up. It’s one of the shortest songs on the album but what it lacks in length it makes up for in technicality and an all around heavy song that’s just a lot of fun to listen to. It’s these two songs that remind us of the old days of Fear Before.
The first single off the record is “Taking Cassandra To The End Of The World Party,” and it was one great song. It starts off with a guitar with some reverb sounds on it, and it starts off with some soft vocals with some very haunting lyrics: “No one makes it out alive, but I know where the killer hides tonight.” Then at 1:30 the yelling comes in, but as soon as it comes in, it soon leaves as we hear a short interlude of nothing but drums and vocals, then the guitar come back in and we’re left with a very haunting feeling. The track “High As A Horse,” is another great example of their new sound, it starts of with some guitar chords and some softly song vocals with such lyrics as “Our child gets a scratch, we give our child a brand new head.” This song is a all around catchy song, and is sure to be a hit with the fans of “TAOM.” My Deer Hunter which features guest vocals from Circa Survive’s Anthony Green, is what of the greatest songs on the record. It starts off with a very industrial sound and some “robotic” vocals and then about a minute into the song there is a chorus, and boy what a chorus it is. With some great vocals and some great guitars this is a song to remember from Fear Before.
Overall “The Always Open Mouth,” is not a step backwards from “Art Damage,” it is most definitely a step forward for Fear Before The March Of Flames, and is one of the most unique and original records from the year of 2006. Although this album came out in the fall of last year, it is because of TAOM that I am looking forward to the next Fear Before record.
PROs
Great and unique music
Excellent musicianship from all members of the band
A new change from the traditional metalcore
CONs
Not one epic song the longest song clock in at just under 5 minutes
Some fans will be disappointed with the genre change
Recommended Tracks:
“Taking Cassandra To The End Of The World Ball”
“High As A Horse”
“My Deer Hunter”
