Review Summary: Stop thinking, start making sense!
Funeral For A Friend return to their roots on their most recent studio album, while managing to freshen up the sound that made us love them. When FFAF released 'Tales Don't Tell Themselves', many fans wrote them off, as much as I wanted to, I just couldn't. 'CDADIC' still holds it's place in my list of my all time favorite albums. Well, this one is also up there. The guitar riffs and pounding drums are back, while Matt sounds at his best throughout 'Welcome Home Armageddon'. Speaking of pounding drums, Ryan Richards is back with the occasional unclean vocals, even taking the front seat in 'Front Row Seats To The End Of The World'. The addition of Gavin Burrough and Richard Boucher has certainly played a role in the rebirth of the band. The guitar riffs are better than ever, with Kris Coombs-Roberts showing why he deserves to be placed among the best guitarists of the genre. Let's get to the album then:
The albums starts off rather slowly with the opening track, 'This Side Of Brightness'. While only really a short intro, it doesn't really fit with the album. 'Old Hymns' is where the album actually starts, with some of the best guitar riffs and vocals on the album. Truly memorable song. 'Front Row Seats...' is the first aggressive track on the album, with a melodic and catchy chorus. A great sing along ending makes this one of the highlights. 'Sixteen' follows in the same vein as 'Old Hymns', melodic and fast. 'Spinning Over The Island' is another 'heavy' song, with a rather average chorus, while the beautiful ending makes up for that.
Funeral goes for a more mellow vibe on 'Owls'. Another standout song which features some haunting lyrics, something new to the traditional Funeral sound. The album even features a kinda pacy punk song, in 'Damned If You do, Dead If You Don't' (Also featured on the EP, along with Sixteen). If your also a guitar player, this song will make you want to play straight away. 'Medicated' is another mellow track, while 'Broken Foundation' is the heaviest track that Funeral has ever written.
The album ends with the title track, which features a Iron Maiden-ish intro and a catchy sing along chorus. The perfect ending to a great album. It wasn't really a surprise that the album is this good, we could all see it coming after the brilliant EP released last year. If you loved the debut album, you will certainly like this. After releasing two average albums, Funeral is once again among the elite of Post-Hardcore music.
Standout Songs:
Old Hymns
Front Row Seats To The End Of The World
Sixteen
Spinning Over The Island
Owls
Damned If You Do, Dead If You Don't
