ALBUM REVIEW: Six – For the Fallen Dreams
At this point in their career, FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS seem more akin to a creature from a bygone age than a metal band. Not only have they been peddling their wares since the early part of the new millennium, but the brand of metalcore that they specialise in has seemingly been around for an eternity and has long since started to outstay its welcome. It’s with a good deal of delight then that the sixth record from these Michigan heavyweights (ingeniously titled Six) turns out to be nowhere near as bad as the vast majority of sub-par metal still flooding the world from a genre that is creeping ever closer to being on its last creative legs.
The album certainly starts strong, with electronic elements creeping in on opener Stone, before bludgeoning vocals that could topple small buildings come crashing in like a wrecking ball being swung by a drugged-up Godzilla. It’s not all testosterone and violence however, as polished clean vocals soon jockey for position and add an extra dimension to what had to this point been a decimating explosion of 21st century metal. The destructive breakdowns do keep this album firmly in the realms of metal, but that’s not to say that this record is an aggressive one trick pony. There’s plenty of melody on display here too, and thankfully the mix of clean and harsh vocals manages to avoid the pitfalls that lay waste to so many similar bands and ruins so many potentially great records.
There’s a sense of grandeur that, while not exactly perfected, does run seamlessly alongside the heavier elements of this record, but while there are glorious moments where everything falls into place there are also sections where it seems as if both styles start to clash unnecessarily, fighting tooth and nail for the seat at the head of the table. Burning Season is a great example of when everything works harmoniously as it’s as anthemic as they come, with a skyscraper chorus bookended by a tonne of low end, some bowel-loosening screams and more gang vocals than you could ever need.
It’s the fact that there are some truly great individual moments however that ultimately proves to be this record’s downfall. The quality evident on large swathes of the album only serves to shine a light on the less cohesive passages, as there’s a clear difference between the times when FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS really excel and the times where it all falls a little flat. Void is a track that could sorely do with some added firepower, as it already starts to drag before the tempo gets upped in its final third, and both Unstoppable and Hypnosis are guilty of overindulging the more emotional, melodic tendencies that end up severely hampering the impact of the record as a whole.
Six is at its best then when it throws subtlety out of the window and truly puts its foot down, with some stomping, high energy head bangers that threaten to tear holes through the speakers at any given moment. Frustratingly it’s in the downtime between these bursts of acceleration that ends up sounding dangerously close to filler, and this up and down pattern stops the album being anything more than a solid metalcore release. There’s certainly cause for optimism however, as the expansive, sweeping climax to Ten Years hints at a more creative direction that could be an interesting avenue for the band to explore on future releases, adding a level of craft to their sound that lifts this particular track above the standard Warped-Tour fare that currently lives in a very similar world to the majority of this record.
Stylistically FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS are from the same sort of world as the likes of THE AMITY AFFLICTION, MEMPHIS MAY FIRE et al, albeit predating them by a few years, and for all its missteps Six is still a much better record than anything released by either of these bands. When comparing this to the more creative goliaths of the metalcore world who consistently evolve and expand beyond the limitations of this genre however, the likes of ARCHITECTS and PARKWAY DRIVE to name just two, it does feel as if you’re being a little bit short changed with this effort. There’s undoubtedly a huge amount of talent on display here, but unless it starts to shine through for a full record from start to finish, FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS may end up wallowing in a mire of mediocrity and obscurity in the not too distant future.
Rating: 6/10
Six is out now via Rise Records.
Like For the Fallen Dreams on Facebook.