Review Summary: Their name says it all.
Full Scale Revolution have to be the most underappreciated Australian bands I've come across in quite a while. Fronted by charismatic lead man Ezekiel Ox, their heavy, energy infused sound, catchy riffs and no-holds barred vocals warrant a much, much greater level of attention.
For anyone familiar with Metal and Hard Rock bands such as System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine and the Deftones, as well as Australian bands The Butterfly Effect, Mammal and Karnivool, Full Scale Revolution are a must-hear. Their debut album, actually recorded with a slightly different lineup, features some of the most surprisingly consistent songwriting in recent view, as well as a brutal, crunching sound that is somewhat of a rarity in recent years. Indeed, Full Scale know exactly what they want, and are not distracted by filler-esque ballads and ineffective use of the loud-quiet dynamic that plagues so many bands of today. They don't conform to a certain song formula, and this is what makes them so essential and promising.
The song placement throughout this album is impeccable, and the flow is completely uninterrupted. Album opener "Empty Texas" is a perfect fit for the role, with its wah-laden, heavily riffing intro and shuddering verse. Frontman Ezekiel Ox shows his individuality here more than ever, going from a solidly yelled verse to a soaring chorus without hesitation. Full Scale continues its winning streak with absolute jems such as "Feel It", "The Heimlich Maneuver" and album centerpiece, "Party Political". Ox raps and screams with unforgiving force on "Feel It", while then-guitarist Jimmy Tee lays down more rhythmically brutal riffs over Robkaay's bellowing bass guitar and Crutey's rapid-fire drumming. "Party Political" is an almost instant classic, with its unforgettable bass-drums introduction, before Ox comes in, hooks galore, with a voice more gravelly than Cobain at his finest. There is not one less-than-shuddering moment in this song, and here the inventiveness of the band shines through more than ever.
"Rapture" follows, perhaps the only less-than-electric moment in this thoroughly electrifying album, but any taste of mediocrity left in one's mouth will be instantly washed away by the slowly accelerating sledgehammer that is "The Heimlich Maneuver". What begins with a subtle guitar line progresses with rattling aggression and politically-fueled anger, this riff-laden song will long remain on your "most-played" playlist, much to the jealousy of your previously favourite band. Furthermore, the album continues in a more-than-solid fashion through "Manifesto", another personal favourite, and the somewhat System of a Down-inspired "Here Comes the Weekend". The insane undertones of this paint a picture of what it would sound like if you took a mental patient from the Asylum and gave him a guitar, while he urges you to "kill your boss and take all his money". After the above-average "Download the Destruction", the album concludes itself with "Five-Six", in as great a fashion as it begun. Among the best of the album, "Five-Six" couldn't have finished it better. The song perfects every other element that the band has presented to the listener throughout the course of its previous 11 tracks, and finishes with unrivalled fury and force. After listening to the album start to finish several times, this reviewer struggles to find yet a single moment of disappointment, a single chink in their sound or truly "filler" song. And whilst it may be said that Full Scale Revolution lack a certain sonic range, the strength and energy of their sound is enough to forgive this small issue.
One may consider themselves rather fortunate to have found a band of this calibre, one that we may well be lucky to have known in five years time. Full Scale Revolution reek of a band with years of songwriting and musical unity under their belt. With unique, crunching and brutal centrepieces such as Empty Texas and Party Political, production that shines throughout and some of the most surprisingly consistent songwriting in recent view, "Full Scale" is a must-hear for all metal and hard rock fans.
