Review Summary: What could have been a pretty solid album is held back by a fair amount of poor lyrical content.
Ivan the Terrible and the gang have returned with more macho metal to share with the world, and it can (surprise, surprise) be a tough pill to swallow at times. But 5FDP's seventh LP is not devoid of good material, and is actually quite enjoyable at times. Yes, it can be easy to hear Ivan immaturely yell, "You're such a punk, you'll never see, what it's like to be a man like me!" in songs like "Rock Bottom" and lose all hope for these guys. However, this album also has more slow songs/ballads than any of their previous albums, and "When the Seasons Change" is an unusually uplifting, hopeful, and loving song for them. Unless you're a die hard fan who will just gobble up anything these guys release, there will be a lot of sifting to do in order to salvage this album. If you can't stand the band at all, there's probably no point in trying, but if you've enjoyed some of their past music there's a good chance that you'll be able to find some material that you like.
"Fake" and "Rock Bottom" are the worst songs on the album. Musically, they are alright and the solo on "Rock Bottom" is actually one of the better ones on the album, but the lyrics (and the way Ivan delivers them) are simply dismal. "I rock, you suck," basically summarizes the lyrical content of these songs, and for good measure, half a million MF's are thrown in on "Fake." Now, I'm sure that there are some fans who just can't wait for the next 5FDP song that will overuse the F bomb (like Burn MF or Boots and Blood from past albums), but if there's any hope for the world most people are not impressed. "It Doesn't Matter" and "Trouble" kind of run along the same lines, but aren't quite as bad. "It Doesn't Matter" starts out with an obnoxious "One, Two, Three, F$&# you! F$&# you!" and Ivan has never sounded more like Merle from "The Walking Dead" than when he bellows "That Ain't Me!" Okay, so maybe "It Doesn't Matter" is about as bad as "Fake" or "Rock Bottom", but I would say that a generally better vocal performance and slightly less cringy lyrics make it a little bit better. " Trouble" does run along the same lines, but it has a fun factor going for it. When Ivan sings "I don't look for trouble, trouble looks for me. ROAR!!", I can't help but grin at just how ridiculous it sounds. It's so over the top that it manages to be kind of fun, and the lyrics aren't as bad as the aforementioned songs.
Their cover of " Blue On Black" is one of the highlights of the album. The musicianship is great, with a good mixture of electric guitar, acoustic picking, and a solid guitar solo. Also, the bluesy feel of the song allows Ivan's rich low voice to shine through very nicely. "Will the Sun Ever Rise" has a blues feel to it as well, and they again pull it off pretty well. Lyrically, this is one of the better songs as well. He laments that he's always taking one step forward two steps back and says "I'm trying to overcome myself, trying to work around this hell." Definitely a more mature outlook than you see in some of the previously mentioned songs. I really think that these guys do a good job with these bluesy songs, and would like to see more of them in the future.
"Sham Pain" and "Top of the World" have their problems, but manage to be just enjoyable enough to be passable. First of all, the hooks are really infectious in these songs. I have had the choruses stuck in my head for the last few days and just can't get them out. The verses in both songs are the usual bitching about one thing or another, and then the choruses sarcastically pronounce that everything is going just great. "Sham Pain" gets some extra points for being musically diverse from the rest of the album. In the verses he raps/talks, and the chorus has a mid-tempo tune. The instrumentals are more groove oriented and the solo is pretty fun. The lyrics are obviously not great, but the songs are at least somewhat fun, the vocals are well delivered, and the lyrics aren't bad enough to make them unlistenable.
"I Refuse," "When the Seasons Change," and "Gone Away" are pretty nice ballads that help give a contrast to the constant in your face feel of many of the songs. In "I Refuse" Ivan gives a very moving vocal performance as he laments that he's "tired of living life like it's a dream." The guitar really shines through on this song as well, and the acoustic solo is simply beautiful. "When the Seasons Change" is probably the only hopeful song on the album, and the positive lyrics about not letting someone down and seeing the angel in their eyes feels out of place (in a good way) amongst so many songs that are about blaming or reacting negatively to another person. This song also utilizes the acoustic guitar well, and the chorus is very catchy. I would really like to see more positive songs like this from Five Finger Death Punch because they do a good job at them. Their cover of "Gone Away" is pretty well delivered. The vocal performance is moving and the guitar solo is solid, as usual.
"Bad Seed" and "Fire in the Hole" are basically upbeat songs about being a bad dude. "Fire in the Hole" is more successful as it imploys groovy instrumentals that make make you think of pirates on the sea before Ivan even gets to self identifying as a pirate. It's also fun to hear him sing that "there's a short in my brain," which is something that anybody who's listened to these guys all that much has already figured out by now.
"Bloody" and "Stuck in my Ways" are fairly mid-tempo songs about relationships that show more lyrical maturity than much of the album. "Bloody" shows glimpses of maturity, but also a resistance to embrace a better perspective as Ivan admits that "I can't blame you for leaving me. I took more from you than I could give away," but then stubbornly says "I will never wish you well." In "Stuck In My Ways," he basically warns whoever he's talking to about how flawed and reckless he is, and advises the person to run away and leave him behind. It's a sad song, but an admirable one in the sense that he's at least facing up to his problems and trying to spare another person from having to suffer on his account.
Overall, this album is full of flaws but does have a lot of fun and enjoyable moments too. The ballads and bluesy songs are pretty well done and really help to make the album better on average. Musically, it's pretty solid throughout, but some of Ivan's lyrics and vocal delivery are just too bad to make some of the songs redeemable. This isn't an album to listen to all the way through. The way to approach it is just to take every song by itself, and figure out which ones will and won't make good additions to your music collection. Hopefully 5FDP will be more consistently good on future albums, but in the meantime "And Justice for None" certianly does contain some music that's well worth enjoying.
Reccomended Tracks:
Blue on Black
When the Seasons Change
Fire in the Hole
Will the Sun Ever Rise
Songs to Avoid:
Fake
Rock Bottom
