Five Finger Death Punch look like post-apocalyptic freedom fighters and have a seriously aggressive guitar sound to match. It is somewhat paradoxical then, that they can write pop hooks and have an ear for a melody that any pop star would be proud of. As a result, Zoltan Bathory and company manage to play hard-assed metal loaded with radio-friendly hooks and melodic choruses, hence their astronomical success.
The intensely rocking title track of ‘Got your Six’ starts things off positively with some great heavy guitar work, before segueing into the nu-metal tinged first single ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, which like the opener sounds cool enough. They then proceed to tell us how little of a fuck they give on ‘Wash it All Away’, which switches between growling and classic rock vocals and is blessed with a great riff and a very radio-friendly melody; sure to be massive.
Things go on in similar vein; serious heavy guitars, shredding solos, machine gun drum-rolls and sing-along choruses, ‘Ain’t my Last Dance’ and the emo-esque ‘My Nemisis’ being prime examples. However, the standout track from a metal point of view is ‘No Sudden Movement’, which is frantic mosh fuel with a killer solo and more than a hint of Pantera to it.
Although they have a super heavy guitar sound and are obviously spectacularly talented musicians, they leave quite a lot to be desired lyrically. ‘Question Everything’ being among the worst offenders for ultra-meaningful cliché lyrics; “She was a princess / She could’ve been a queen / She had the angels / Beneath her broken wings.” Power ballads ‘Digging my Own Grave’ and bonus track ‘Apologize’ are stacked with regret, whereas ‘Boots and Blood’ is fuck this, fuck that and fuck fuck fuck fuck it all – dull, dull, dull, awful.
Nevertheless, I am in no doubt that this album will continue FFDP’s phenomenal and thoroughly deserved success. If you can get past its lyrical limitations, the crystal-clear production offers up plenty to throw yourself around to, notably Bathory and Hook’s badass riffing and scorching solos.
3/5
‘Got Your Six’ by Five Finger Death Punch is out now on Eleven Seven Musics.
Five Finger Death Punch links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland)
