ALBUM REVIEW: Boombox – Fozzy
Imagine a darkened stage, strobe lights flashing in cannon up a catwalk, and out onto the platform struts professional wrestler-turned-musician Chris Jericho. On his shoulder he’s carrying a boombox that’s blasting out a medley of every possible entrance song you can imagine, culminating in the standard blueprint for a FOZZY record. The heavy metal quintet’s eighth studio album then is aptly titled Boombox, and the 12-track record is the epitome of macho bravado with a healthy dose of emotional vulnerability that’s been successful in drawing both wrestling and music fans in since their 2000 debut.
FOZZY’s previous full-length, 2017’s Judas, set a high-standard for the band to reach, so it comes as no surprise then that Boombox falls short and strugglingly crawls behind in its shadow. Opening track and lead single Sane draws obvious influence from OZZY OSBOURNE’s latest album Ordinary Man with its staple end-of-the-world-madman preachings, while second and third singles I Still Burn and Purifier turn to uplifting synths, strings, pop-riddled hooks and auto-tuned melodies in an attempt to pen a radio-friendly anthem. Rich Ward’s Zakk Wylde-inspired guitar solo on I Still Burn does enough to inject a dose of excitement into the track, if only for a moment too brief.
The ballad Army Of One begins promisingly, the lyrical narrative of being your own worst enemy yet still only ever being able to count on yourself nonetheless ringing loud and clear for most people. For a hopeful and bright tune though, the vocal notes in the middle-eight key change don’t seem to reach quite as high as the track intends and instead come out weak and flat. For a track that aims to uplift and put a spring in your step, you’re instead left feeling more empty and deflated than before.
The next two tracks only worsen the personal turmoil with Ugly On The Inside recycling the line, “U.G.L.Y, you ain’t got no alibi. You ugly!”, a childish taunt frequently heard on a primary school playground. The lyric “Doe-eyed, your innocence is weaponised” only just pulls the track out of overdone and unoriginal territory before a cover of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD’s Relax has Grant Brooks implementing a double kick drum build up that edges but fails to give us the release we desire.
After Nowhere To Run’s lack of punch in the drums, coming off like a weak and limp baseball serve, the payoff finally comes in the form of a battering ram breakdown in My Great Wall, something that could’ve had a bigger impact six songs prior. If you make it through the first half of the record, the sadistically pleasurable punch to the guts comes with What Hell Is Like and closing track The Vulture Club. By the time the long-awaited emergence of distortion, walking bass lines from P.J. Farley, and one of the only vocal variations in the form of a demon-like pre-chorus and breakdown arrives, you’re left wondering who was in charge of the track listing.
Even in an age where streaming and playlists are king, Boombox proves that slaving away and pulling your hair out over meticulously setting out an album’s track listing is still insanely important and should never be overlooked. With the Instant Generation growing larger and more demanding, no band can afford to save their best material for last.
Rating: 6/10
Boombox is set for release on May 6th via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group.
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