Artist: Fear My Thoughts
Label: Lifeforce Records
Release Date: 6/1/04
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Title: The Great Collapse Artist: Fear My Thoughts Label: Lifeforce Records Release Date: 6/1/04 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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3 | ||
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3 | ||
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3 | ||
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Abyss's Review:
Upon hearing the name of this band, I wasn't sure how much I was going to have in common with them. Mostly because I doubt many people would 'fear my thoughts'. Mostly because, let's face it, I don't have many of them and when I do have them they aren't all that intimidating. Take today, for instance. The only two thoughts I remember having today were "Golly, she has large breasts," and "Cheese tastes goood!" See? With the exception of the few statistical anomalies who seem present in any survey (like that damn dentist who just refuses to recommend Trident gum!), most of you probably aren't trembling in a corner at those thoughts.
"One word review: Great." But luckily, after listening to this band, I realized we're not as socially segregated as I might have feared. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this act, they play the breed of metalcore that continuously claims a hardcore influence, but shows less and less of it. Hopefully in the next few years I'll just be able to start calling these acts metal bands, but until then I'll be shackled by popular opinion. In all honesty, metalcore in general has continuously evolved into much more metal than core. The melodies throughout this album make this point rather blatantly, as I hear not only the standard thrash influences, but leads and effects that wouldn't sound out of place on an Edge of Sanity record.
But the bottom line is this is a pretty fun record that fans of Caliban, God Forbid, Diecast, and Killswitch Engage should enjoy thoroughly. It is true there is a glut of music like this currently being released, but these guys have a relatively good product and are firmly entrenched in the upper-middle tier. One word review: Great.
Death's Review:
German metalcore act Fear My Thoughts return with their third album, this time released through Lifeforce Records. German metalcore? Right. Well, more like At the Gates and The Haunted inspired German metalcore, with heavy emphasis on the "metal." Yes, you've heard this sound many times before. True, you probably don't need more bands like this in your life. But also true: This band is very good. If you like to headbang and like post-Slayer meets Hatebreed meets God Forbid style aggression with some Amon Amarth style toughness and some Maiden or Unearth style melody thrown in for good measure, you will want to check this band out. There are some deadly riffs here and some interesting changes, so don't instantly write it off just because you feel you've "been there done that." In fact, Fear My Thoughts do what they do rather well. In spots, they just might blow away your favorite band. While the stuff isn't always all that memorable after your turn off the stereo, it is possible I just haven't listened to the album enough to let it get under my skin.
"This band is very good." (Interesting side note for old-school thrashers: The band's 2003 release Vitriol featured ex-Destruction singer Thomas Rosenmerkel guesting on the title track, although Rosenmerkel only sang on the later-era post-Cracked Brain Mike Sifringer material that I don't really consider to be true Destruction.)
Hel's Review:
I’m not a hardcore fan. And at the rate that the genre is being shoved down my throat these days, it seems likely that I’m never going to be. There have actually been more hardcore CDs coming into MJ in the last year than any other genre. I believe this is pretty indicative of a widespread trend. There’s also the fact that every metal bill these days seems to have one or more hardcore bands on it, not to mention this year’s Ozzfest line up, and don’t even get me started on the video shows on TV… At times, I feel like I’m being drowned in a sea of hardcore. Is hardcore the glam metal of this era? I think we might be heading in that direction.At any rate, I will try very hard to put my personal feelings off to the side and be objective about Fear My Thoughts, at least as much as possible. The one thing I cannot set aside, however, is my distaste for typical hardcore vocals, as this is the fundamental starting point for my dislike of the style. Fear My Thoughts utilize a very standard style of hardcore vocals.
"Overall, they are a better than average hardcore band, and if you enjoy the genre, I advise you to be sure to check them out." The musical base underlying these vocals is the best part of the band. They strive for a melodic guitar style and incorporate a number of metal elements into their songwriting, even including a small dab of black metal style keyboards. For me, whether a band falls more strongly into the “metal” side of core is highly dependant on the drummer. I have found that if there is a metal drummer behind the kit, the sound of a band as a whole leans more strongly in that direction. While Fear My Thoughts has a competent player behind the kit, I would not classify him as a “metal” drummer, for he uses very little double bass and does not hit with the kind of ferocity I associate with a metal drummer. Therefore, in this case, the guitars are the driving force to inject metal into the band, and the result is a hardcore band with some metal influences.
Because there are so many hardcore bands in the scene today, my unwilling exposure has given me a good sense of where Fear My Thoughts stand in the overall scheme of things, and in my opinion, they are one of the better hardcore bands out there right now. They are still not, however, a band that I will ever personally become a fan of. I do give them a lot of credit for deviating from the traditional verse-chorus-breakdown formula that has become the standard for most of the bands in the genre. That is definitely a refreshing change, and is almost enough to knock them up a skull, but the lack of the kind of powerful drummer I find necessary to make hardcore tolerable is the ultimate reason I am unable to do so. Overall, they are a better than average hardcore band, and if you enjoy the genre, I advise you to be sure to check them out. For me though, this is ultimately a three skull record.
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