Review Summary: Phinehas closes their acoustic EP, showing that this band can execute both heavy breakdowns and strong acoustic melodies, even with a few flaws.
Phinehas is an American Metal core band known for their key melodic elements and great, if not amazing overall musicianship. They have released 3 LP's of their signature sound, and seek to change their style significantly with the release of their second EP. Being a Christian band, Phinehas uses not only messages of the usual "God saves" ordeal, but of courage and inspiration, clearly expressed in this EP, titled "Fight Through the Night". "Fight Through the Night" is completely acoustic, with no screamed vocals, electric guitar or drums. It is comprised of six tracks, with three covers of songs from their previous release, "Till the End". The other three tracks are made up of two Interludes - of which are completely instrumental - and one 5 minute song with guest vocals from Silent Planet's Garrett Russell.
The first track, "Cessation of Breathing", comprises of a bold acoustic guitar that stretches just over two minutes long. It immediately flows to the first cover, "Forever West". "Forever West", matches the band's clean vocals with an excellent melody somewhat reminiscent of the original song - minus the tremendous breakdowns. Now, I mention this because one of Phinehas signature parts of their sound was the heaviness, accompanying their beautiful sound already. Alone, it still stands strong, however, less impressive. "Dead Choir" is the next cover, being significantly longer than it's metal counterpart. It is also worth mentioning this particular song is much, MUCH more focused on the melody than the one from 2015, as every piece and part is carried by the acoustic guitar, no beat or rhythm from drums or bass is present. Now, one could consider this to be either a much better composing of the song, as the clean vocals present throughout are the driving force, or this could be seen as worse movement, with the exclusion of other instruments that were used to provide the necessary support. Either way, this album is such a drift away from Phinehas' usual sound that it can't be seen as impressive from an objective standpoint. Track four, "Selah", is a rather strange addition to the list, clocking in at a minute and 32 seconds is another interlude that, for lack of better terms, sounds quite folkish and is something one would hear at a quiet Irish village or something. Track one "Cessation of Breathing" and "Selah" are quite distinguishable from each other, proving valuable to the band's variety. Yet, "Selah" is mostly on the weaker side of the album, combined with it's extremely short length and awkward (yet welcome) presence. However, don't let this put you off of listening, as said before, you'll seemingly miss the track if you don't pay attention to it.
Standouts of the album are the last two tracks, titled "Seven" and "Book of Names". "Seven" boasts both a piano (Opposed to every other track missing it), and more noticeably layering of the singer's voice, creating an excellent harmony between the singer and the piano. This track carries on slowly and more emotional than it's counterpart, up until the 4:02 mark, where, after a somber bridge, gives a rising sense of hope, singing of the narrator's triumph from his "Borrowed time spent in hell". The final track, "Book of Names" is an original song just over five minutes long, and contains a rather pretty spoken part two minutes in by Garrett Russell of Silent Planet. Being Garrett, his lyrics are quite interesting, and are definitely identifiable when he yells:
"Slowly, it occurs to me; amidst this blissful apostasy; I'm less ensnared by heresy; Than the tranches I dug between them and me!"
Ending on a strong note, Phinehas closes their acoustic EP, showing that this band can execute both heavy breakdowns and strong acoustic melodies, even with a few flaws. "Fight Through the Night" is a great example of Phinehas' ability to provide variety to with enough focus.
Individual ratings:
Cessation of Breathing - 3/5
Forever West - 4/5
Dead Choir - 3.5/5
Selah - 2.5/5
Seven - 4/5
Book of Names - 4.5/5
