Review Summary: The Swaggiest of Christiancore (aka one million times better than those first couple underoath albums)
If you think you know anything about hopesfall and haven't heard this album then forget everything you know. Hard reset. Really the only thing you can take into this album is if you wanted an album that was all Faint Object Camera… this is the closest you may ever get.
In many ways and over many years hopesfall changes drastically; topically this characteristic of the band is usually brought up comparing their newest album to its most recent ancestor. The Frailty of Words is the most (in)comparable however…possessing the most bangers of any hopesfall album and the hardest in your face intensity. The screams are guttural, the grainy riffs are heavy, but oh my god there are some ***ing beautiful segments interlaced in between balls to the wall verses and breakdowns. Even when they were a whole other project they still had the best guitar writing of the genre. There are some interludes on here that rival any other hopesfall interlude. Classic hopesfall.
What's most peculiar and different about this album? Even what should be the chorus is still balls to the wall heavy screaming moments, rarely will you get cleans. Many regard their next release the EP No Wings To Speak Of as their best album, but The Frailty of Words comes insanely close to reaching heights that album found. You can tell the band was already very close to making that next leap in terms of quality songwriting and recording on this album and arguably they do reach that same quality with more than half the songs Frailty of Words has to offer. Some are ***ing jams and some are intense explosions and all are addled with highly mixed in bass and drums that get randomly attacked by melodic guitar passages just when you think the band doesn't want to do one for this song. It's an adventure and nothing more should be said. You have been convinced to try it out.
