Review Summary: The poor man’s Taylor Swift of new age traditional heavy metal…
Ah, Five Finger Death Punch. If there was ever a need for testosterone filled, middle fingers lifted, I don’t care… I care too much, love me or hate me brand of modern metal, Five Finger have got a dose big enough to keep that need at bay - continually. It’s 2013 and as of now Five Finger Death Punch have released an onslaught of records all bolstered by remixes, live cuts, acoustics and cover tracks, only to hint at doing something memorable. It’s the end of the year and the Los Angeles act are releasing the second part to a double album, not only does the material represented throughout thrill just as much as the first riveting instalment of
The Wrong Side of Heaven & the Righteous Side Of Hell but it unfortunately, also bears no lyrical or contextual reference to the album which bears the same name.
Understandably, the band’s music is not going to shift to far from the original style bred back in 2007 with the group’s debut
The Way Of The Fist and now another four albums later, the recycled themes, over-used riffs and repetitious drum patterns have taken their toll on the world of metal. As of now,
Volume 2. stands as a testament to the derivative, boring and exhausted music that plagues the industry across all genres. For now, Five Finger Death Punch have unleashed a second dose of bland and uninspiring music, culminating into forty minutes of “look at me’s”, “we’re all going to die”, “I hate everyone” with little to no bearing on so-called quality music. Five Finger Death Punch have fallen for their mainstream hype and instead of writing twelve or so decent tracks the band has opted for a double album chock full of average to worse tracks. In short, the band has stretched their recipe too thin and the music suffers greatly because of it.
It’s unfair to say that this group is failing miserably, for all the misgivings and the underlying recycled themes the band can manage a few good rhythmic chops, they’re just becoming rarer. “Battle Born” stands as an easy highlight for the record (although it didn’t really need to do a lot to stand out). Almost a ballad, this mid-paced track relies heavily on hook lines, and a journeyman story-line – relatable to most of the band’s fans (similar to the effect of Metallica’s “One”, but to an obvious lesser extent). What’s instantly noticeable here is that Five Finger’s songs are crafted with a live crowd in mind. Surely, the fans of the group would love to yell, kick, scream and swear along with Ivan Moody, but the syncopation and rhythmic bounces suit the live setting down to the smallest details. There’s enough aggression and rhythmic spacing to engage any crowd into a jumping mess.
Overall, it’s a shame that these guys have nothing else to write about, save for the continuous “f
uck you” and “my life is a curse”, even if it was completely expected. Five Finger Death Punch have come a long way, but not musically. Their music suffers from the same need to appease the mainstream and stay angry and pissed off. Of course, if you’re into this simplistic formula, you’ll have very little to complain about. For the rest (and majority) of metal listeners, there’s a lot better out there.
