Album Reviews

Fear Before The March Of Flames… no wait, it’s just Fear Before now! Let’s start again… Fear Before has already released a couple of cool albums with an everchanging and ever-improving sound. Let’s take a short trip down memory lane, shall we?

First there was “Odd How People Shake” which pretty much sums it up… twitchy and bizarre with lots of spastic riffs and yelped vocals. Next up was “Art Damage” which already sounded a lot tighter and cohesive. Something they repeated on “The Always Open Mouth”, an album that also saw the band messing around with electronics and incorporating way more layers than ever before.

And now there’s the new self-titled album on which Fear Before once again takes it to the next level. It’s an album that is as intense and brutal as it is beautiful. It has something from everything they’ve released up to this point and on album number four it all clicks and you can hear they’ve finally come into their own. “I’m Fine Today” and the mission statement that is ‘Fear Before Doesn’t Listen To People Who Don’t Like Them” remind of that other essential Colorado band Vaux, another highly underrated post-hardcore band that wasn’t shy of an experiment here and there. Thrice is another name that comes to mind on a regular basis so you know what you’re in for… this album has everything from the excellent to the adventurous and from the bolsterous to the melodic…. It’s all here!

I’m pretty sure this is the album for which they’ll finally get the recognition they deserve!