Five Finger Death Punch’s latest, American Capitalist, is a concise slab of 21st Century thrash metal. On their third album, FFDP really deliver the goods. Zoltan Bathory’s guitars sound nastier than ever, Jeremy Spencer lays down a slick and solid drum groove while Ivan Moody sounds better than ever behind the mic.
The third album is the defining moment for any band. On the first, you get an introduction. The sophomore album can go either way: an experiment or more of the same. But the third album, that’s the one where a band should be progressing with the sound they’re aspiring to achieve. American Capitalist sees Five Finger Death Punch doing exactly that. I know it’s cliche at this point, but this is definitely the heaviest the band have ever been yet the most melodic.
The first three tracks alone are the perfect melding of mayhem and melody. The title track which opens up this opus lays down a solid razor sharp riff until Moody’s drill sergeant growl enters for a few verses followed by a very different, extremely sweet sounding Moody on the pre-chorus. In modern metal today, there’s no one who can sing like Ivan Moody. Check out songs like “The Pride” where he spews redneck necessities like bile one moment and then opens up in a beautiful chorus the next. Or the somber “Coming Down” where you’ll barely hear a growl from him. Moody proves you can keep the heavy without raising your voice.
There’s so much raw, metal fury on American Capitalist and so many great performances. While War Is The Answer was a great sophomore record, American Capitalist is the real deal. It’s 2,000 steps beyond that album in every aspect. “Generation Dead” is a mid-tempo headbanger that sees Ivan Moody takes on a spoken word vocal approach akin to his Ghost Machine project which leads into “Back For More”, a straight up heavy metal pop song. It’s ridiculous how catchy it is. I remember seeing the lyric video on youtube about a month ago and replaying the crap out of it. If you can get through the chorus without attempting to sing along then you’re a stronger metal fan than I.
With American Capitalist, you’re going to get a no nonsense metal album with melodic overtones which is hands down, the best recorded output of Five Finger Death Punch’s career thus far.
American Capitalist is available now.
Grade: A
2 comments
The Popblerd Chart Report 10/20/11: People Still Like Evanescence, Apparently | Popblerd!! says:
Oct 20, 2011
[…] scores the first of five albums to debut in the Top 10. Rock outfit Five Finger Death Punch score an impressive first week, surpassing expectations with 91,000 units sold and landing at #3. […]
The Popblerd Chart Report 10/20/11: People Still Like Evanescence, Apparently says:
Oct 22, 2011
[…] first of five albums to debut in the top 10. Rock outfit Five Finger Death Punch score an impressive first week, surpassing expectations with 91,000 units sold […]