Review Summary: A glowing example of success doing what dozens of bands try and fail to do.
5 of 5 thought this review was well writtenIn the new age of rock, featuring an almost comical amount of complicated sub-genres it's so hard to create an original work. And trying to convince somebody that any work is indeed original is a lost cause today. The purpose of this review is not to attempt at convincing that
In Fear and Faith as the band's eponymous album is original work, but to highlight the elements that are so negligible by all of the other bands that are somehow popular in their genre (whatever genre you may want to call it). All the elements found here are also found in other records but no other record has breached a level of musicianship as this for a long time, as all the failed attempts by other acts of the same format are compiled by their upsides in
In Fear and Faith.
In Fear and Faith is the first of the band's tenure to feature Scott Barnes on lead vocals in full form of the music (as
Symphonies was a symphonic extended play by the band in '11), and he sounds oddly reminiscent of Spencer Sotelo of Periphery with a manageable screaming ability and prowess in clean singing with powerful range. He commands the flow of the music, pulling the argument of self titled as a less technical
Periphery II: This Time It's Personal. The album courses effectively with the ever present strength of the guitar work led by Ramin Niroomand, as well as his nicely placed piano/synthetic parts. The keyboards can be corny at times, but the relentless progression of the record excuses this. The Calm Before Reform utilizes the violent screams by David Stephens of
We Came As Romans to perfection in the album's great opening song, and other songs like It All Comes Out (On The Way Down), Look What You Made Me Do, Self Fulfilling Prophet, and A Creeping Dose are high points in an already well-crafted record.
A specific feature of the record would have to be the irresistible choruses, either by way of effectively placed vocals or just damn good writing. That trend is held without cease, even when the rest of the song doesn't quite measure up to the chorus's power. A downside, however, would have to be the face-palming lyrics at times. Usual 14 year old struggles within the mind of Scott Barnes are spilled into song regarding some trauma-torn passion between his also-angsty lover, which disappoints more than it would have had the album been sub-par. This is also excused as the album has a lack of fodder purely concerning the music that almost makes the lyrics completely disregarded.
By the end of the album, a listener should feel satisfied. The closing track leaves no questions asked with a nice anthem like theme to it, nice creativity, and no unnecessary outro that could ruin it either. It raises the bar for other groups within the scene that might want to have any success in the future, so game on.
Recommendations: The Calm Before Reform, Look What You Made Me Do, It All Comes Out (On The Way Down), You Had Your Chance, and Self Fulfilling Prophet
