Review Summary: Fallenmania, Part 24
Let’s take Fallenmania back to a place you know well: the unclassifiable band that’s halfway between alternative and gothic metal, and who of course, only made one album. Faces of March’s only album “Confessions” is kind of predictable from beginning to end, it reminds me of many other albums in this series, and of many other artists in general. But it’s the enjoyable kind of predictability, with some catchy and rather well-made songs.
For example, listen to the first track, “Not Enough”. It begins with a moody guitar riff, before bringing in more distortion, keyboards and electronic sounds, the good ol’ Going Under riff (it probably has an actual name, but that's what I'm calling it for this series) and a singer whose vocal melodies and intonation is clearly inspired by Amy Lee’s. But Gia’s raspy and nasal voice is different enough from Amy’s, and it has some power and emotion. More importantly, the song is pretty catchy, and all the instruments sound really good.
And it gets even better. “Broken”, aside from its cliché title, begins with a very nice, dark and melancholic verse. You can feel the faster-paced chorus coming a mile away, but it’s fun and catchy. The violin in the second verse doesn’t play more than the typical fallenmaniac violin riff, but it’s a nice touch, just like Gia’s vocalizing on the bridge. Gia isn’t an exceptional singer in any way, but she’s pretty good at singing in a moody, fallenmaniac tone.
But she and the band really let it all out on the album’s big hit, “Too Late”. It begins like a ballad that also becomes faster and heavier as it progresses. Her soft singing sounds really good, there’s a nice piano melody that gives way to electric guitars and keyboards, it turns into a symphonic metal track in the middle and it’s great. Another highlight is “Who’s To Blame”, with its dark industrial sound, melancholic violins, moody melody and angry, powerful chorus. It’s one of the more credible Evanescence imitations, and it’s a great song in its own right.
When Gia isn’t bringing this darkness into her voice, she can bring a pretty catchy hook. “Drowning” has a nice industrial intro, and a heavier riff. The vocal melody is way too much like the one in “Not Enough”, and to other tracks, but that “save yourself some misery” hook quickly gets in your head. I also like the moody tone of the song. But some of the songs are much more upbeat, and if you don’t mind the contrast with other tracks, you’ll find some things to enjoy. “Maybe” is more optimistic, with upbeat riffs and a “Na na na” hook. That’s what makes the bridge, where the riff gets heavier and Gia’s sing-talking gets angrier, so unexpected, but the contrast is great. For a song that sounds even more like a pop punk track you’d hear in a 2000s teen comedy, there’s the album closer “Wanna Be”. Every second of this song feels borrowed from someone else, and I won’t comment on the irony of a Fallenmaniac calling someone a wannabe. But it’s irresistibly catchy, and while some may not like the idea of a fallenmaniac band making fun songs, I like these, they instantly put me in a good mood.
Even what I’d consider the weaker parts of the album can be somewhat entertaining. “Nothing” is a completely generic ballad, but it has a nice melody and instrumentation. “Alone” also has everything I’ve come to expect with this album and others similar to it: a ballad that progressively gets heavier, electronic sounds, quiet to-loud singing. It’s full of clichés, but the kind of clichés I like. “Turn Around” is a more laidback rock track, with a similar melody to other songs. Repetitiveness is the album’s real flaw, but again, it makes the album predictable rather than truly bad. You know how everything is going to go because it sounds like the things you already know and enjoy.
It’s also good enough to be a decent successor to its obvious inspiration, not as great but with some amazing potential. I enjoyed this more than I expected. Yes, it’s just another Evanescence imitator, but it sounds really good, I’d say it’s even better than most of its obvious peers. Above all, the existence of this band means that “Fallen” isn’t just an unclassifiable album, it created its own sub-sub-genre, and Faces of March were, for a short time, one of its good bands. I started this series to process my complicated feelings on Evanescence imitators, but also because I like finding new albums that give us more of Fallen’s unique style that borrows from other sub-genres without being completely a part of them. There aren’t many bands who do that, and most of them have completely disappeared. Most of them are very derivative and bland, so it’s even more exceptional when I can find a good one. Faces of March made only one album, and then moved into different musical directions, but I’m still happy that I got to hear them.
