Review Summary: A 5 piece Welsh band that knew how to standout.....and do it well
Funeral For a Friend (FFAF) - "Seven Ways To Scream Your Name" - EP - 2003
Lineup (on "Seven Ways To Scream You Name")
* Kris Coombs-Roberts – guitar
* Gareth Davies – bass guitar
* Matt Davies – lead vocals
* Ryan Richards – drums, screaming vocals
* Darran Smith – guitar
In the presently stale genre of post-hardcore, there was once much variety found within it. There is no doubt that Funeral For A Friend ceased that variety and applied it and applied it well I must say. Before the days of the mediocre "Memory and Humanity" and the downright awful "Tale Don't Tell Themselves", Funeral For A Friend had a very distinctive sound. "Hours" may have been more melodic and mainstream if I say so myself, but it was still a superb record. But this album is not about the latest 3 albums FFAF have released, this is going back to the days of their first LP "Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation" and more importantly that little EP that slid it's way into FFAF's discography titled "Seven Ways To Scream Your Name"
For starters, before I even get to the music, the album cover is just plain wicked! A red background with seven bullets aligned perfectly across the center, (Seven bullets, hence the album name and the fact there are seven total songs). Simple art, yet effective...now onto the music! FFAF plays music that fits generally into the post-hardcore genre, but what separated them from the other bands of this genre back in '03 was the metal edge that they incorporated into the music instrumentally. This metal sound is most relevant on the opening guitar riffs of "The Getaway Plan", and "The Art of American Football" these intros could have easily been found on any metal album. The vocals are traded between the catchy clean melodies of lead vocalist Matt Davies and the harsh screams of drummer Ryan Richards. The screams are somewhat raw and don't seem very produced, but that's not a bad thing. As many bands nowadays have very overproduced screams (see Atreyu "The Curse", still an excellent album though). Ryan also does a superb job drumming too, keeping it basic for the most part but throwing some moments of double bass which only increases both the intensity and variety found in the songs. The bass has few audible moments, but it's still there and doing its job just fine.
Another quality that makes this album shine is the song structures. Most bands follow the same structures - intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, breakdown, chorus, outro, but FFAF takes those song structures and put them wherever they'd like in the songs and it's done outstandingly. Combining the perfect combination of melody and aggression is really what brings this album to attention. The tradeoff between the screams and clean singing seems flawless and flows perfectly, "Red is the New Black" is the best example of this, with its harsh screams, crunchy guitars and unbelievably catchy chorus. Or "This Year's Most Open Heartbreak" opening with a simple guitar riff for the first 0:25 seconds before exploding into a wall of guitars and drums that can detonate your speakers. Following with the trade off between Ryan's screams and Matt yelling, then with Matt providing yet another catchy chorus and Ryan showing off with some background screams.
If you enjoy post-hardcore or screamo, you will without a doubt dig this album as it brings something completely new to the table. Even some fans of softer metal will not be able resist the crunching metallic guitar riffs found in many of the songs. With only seven songs, it's a short album (28:10 total) so you might as well give it a spin because it is more than worth it and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
