{"id":25638,"date":"2013-12-13T12:37:54","date_gmt":"2013-12-13T12:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-five-finger-death-punch-the-wrong\/"},"modified":"2023-01-21T10:10:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-21T10:10:44","slug":"review-ffdp-wrong-side-of-heaven-vol-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-ffdp-wrong-side-of-heaven-vol-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Five Finger Death Punch – The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side of Hell, Vol. 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FiveSupporting Avenged Sevenfold on their current run of European dates would blow many bands out of the water, especially with how massive the California quintet have become. This is not, however, the fate of Five Finger Death Punch<\/strong><\/a>. Avenged\u2019s fellow statesmen have proved more than a match on every step of the trek throughout the continent, it would seem, and when listening to the record they\u2019re here to promote, it\u2019s hardly surprising. The Los Angeles metallers are in the form of their life, and the second half of the two-album \u2018The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell\u2019<\/em> series is a blistering statement of world-conquering intentions if there ever was one.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no messing around, and the chugging intro to opening track \u2018Here to Die\u2019 <\/em>is straight to the point. As always the instrumentals of the five-piece are the kind that vibrate walls and rattle bones and Ivan Moody\u2019s vocals are the kind that have you screaming along and attracting all manner of worried looks from those around you. The atmosphere is no less explosive across the following tracks \u2018Weight Beneath My Sin\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Wrecking Ball\u2019,<\/em> and while the former of the two is another anthemic-sounding shout-along, the latter trades out the arena-filling sound for a brand of angry \u201cfuck you\u201d metal ripped right out of the Disturbed playbook. If you need a fresh addition to your playlist of songs to accompany your angry stomps to your local newsagent to buy a pack of smokes with a fake ID because your parents just don\u2019t get you, \u2018Wrecking Ball\u2019<\/em> should probably be a front-runner. <\/p>\n

The album\u2019s lyrics, mostly provided by rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, can have your eyes rolling at times, but for the most part its either anger fuel or pump-up music. \u2018Battle Born\u2019<\/em> and \u2018From the Cradle to the Grave\u2019<\/em> sit on opposing sides of the divide, but there\u2019s a reason that \u2018Battle Born\u2019<\/em> was chosen as the record\u2019s lead single. By FFDP\u2019s<\/strong> standards it\u2019s a reserved track if anything, but it encapsulates the anthemic sound that the band have started to evolve into. From the first bar, meanwhile, \u2018Matter of Time\u2019<\/em> is a belter, harbouring the album\u2019s best instrumental work and Moody at his vicious best. It\u2019s unlikely, however, that any FFDP<\/strong> fan would buy the album for tracks like \u2018The Agony of Regret\u2019<\/em>, a pointless interlude that sucks out a large amount of momentum from the album. \u2018Cold\u2019 <\/em>slowly builds things back up but it\u2019s \u2018Let This Go\u2019<\/em> that pulls the quintet back to their incendiary best as they romp back into \u201canger fuel\u201d territory with undoubtedly the highlight of the album\u2019s second half.<\/p>\n

\u2018My Heart Lied\u2019<\/em> is the penultimate effort on the record\u2019s main tracklist, but between \u2018Let This Go\u2019<\/em> and closing track \u2018A Day in My Life\u2019<\/em> it just fades into the background. It isn\u2019t a standout track but it keeps things ticking over, and while the LP does not perhaps end on the highs that it hits in earlier stages, the final tracks certainly don\u2019t take away from the quality of the album as a whole. It doesn\u2019t end for good, however, until Five Finger Death Punch<\/strong> have become the millionth band to cover \u2018House of the Rising Sun\u2019<\/em>. It\u2019s hardly the best version of the song you\u2019ll hear, but FFDP<\/strong> fans will find it hard to complain. It\u2019s a strong addition to the album\u2019s final death throes; maybe not a challenge to \u2018Bad Company\u2019<\/em> as the band\u2019s best cover, but to send the \u2018Wrong Side of Heaven\u2019<\/em> two-parter out, it\u2019s a solid one.<\/p>\n

We were hardly complimentary about \u2018Volume One\u2019<\/em><\/a>, that much is true, but it\u2019s staggering how many opinions can differ from person to person. If you\u2019ve found yourself a fan of the post-2000 arena metal sound peddled by the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour and Atreyu, then it\u2019s really time that you jumped on the FFDP<\/strong> bandwagon, provided you haven\u2019t already. If you have, it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll be hopping off any time soon. The Los Angeles outfit are still going from strength to strength, and there are no signs of them slowing yet.<\/p>\n

4.5\/5<\/p>\n