By: James Southworth
Rating: 2/5 Stars
I used to be a pretty avid fan and defender of Five Finger Death Punch, and I am somewhat embarrassed now to admit that. Now, the band does have some good songs, even up to their embarrassingly awful "Got Your Six". Still, overall their discography is weak. The only albums of theirs I can honestly say I like a good portion of are "American Capitalist" (a legitimately good release) and "Wrong Side of Heaven Vol. 1" (a passable album with some really good moments and some really bad ones). The band has been the exact same from their debut to now, not doing a whole lot to change up their "bro-metal" sound. They are the Nickelback of the hard rock/metal community, and it's stretching it to say that they are a metal band at all. While not nearly as bad as "Got Your Six", 5FDP's new album "And Justice for None" suffers from being incredibly boring and intermittently cringe-inducing.
There are only a couple of moments on this album that I enjoyed. I'll admit that I was surprised at the increase in content that was trying to have some emotional weight. "I Refuse" is the best example of that, as it's far and away the best track on the album, as well as one of the band's stronger songs in recent memory. Even though the lyrics are nothing that special, I still couldn't help but admire the song's theme of refusing to give in to depression, instead choosing to live life to the fullest. It doesn't come across as cheesy, lead vocalist Ivan Moody even tries to let his voice sound a bit raw rather than its usual polished sound. I also enjoy "When The Seasons Change", a legitimately beautiful ballad with some good guitar work. Once again, its writing is not legendary, but it at least works in delivering its message. "Stuck in My Ways" actually has Ivan being a bit self aware about his destructive behavior, which I haven't heard from him before. He has some internal realization that the anger he has seems to define him, so he doesn't want anyone else to be near him. Though I think the anger that Moody expresses is more often just this persona he's putting on, it's interesting to see him develop his persona into someone a bit more vulnerable. The final track to commend is "Fire in the Hole", which is a fun ride due to the legitimately great guitar and drum work.
I wish there was more good stuff to talk about on this album. It frustrates me that this band full of clearly talented people is just wasting their time by putting out the same trite formula that they've done for years. You can predict very easily what's going to be on every 5FDP record: a song or two that needlessly drops the f bomb repeatedly, a cover that is very uninspired, songs that try to sound tough but just come across like whining, and only a few songs that remind you that the band has talent. The bad stuff is in large quantity here, which made me mainly forget the good stuff. The album starts off on a very bad note with "Fake", which definitely fits the mold of repeating the f-bomb. This song actually made me mad, because it's just so freaking lazy. The band relies on cursing for almost the entire song to get across their anger. Why not express anger in a more creative way? There's nothing interesting about what this track does, from the guitar work with no real punch and the same type of drumming pattern we hear in so many other 5FDP songs. I don't get why rock fans would find charm in this, as it's just as bad as all the rappers who endlessly curse in tracks due to no originality. Speaking of no originality, we get the annoying track "Top of the World" immediately after this, which has Ivan whining in the verses, and then acting like he doesn't care because he's so famous. A track like this makes me mad, too, because the band so clearly cares about their haters; if they didn't, they wouldn't be writing songs about them. Songs with this subject matter are in pretty high quantity on this album. Somehow, things get even more painful with "Sham Pain", which might be even more cringe worthy than "Jekyll and Hyde" on the band's last album. It bleeds hypocrisy as Ivan complains about different little inconveniences he's had to deal with in his life, before going into a chorus where he says that he likes all that stuff. So which one is it? Because, once again, Moody makes it abundantly clear he does care about any criticism leveled against him. This song musically lacks creativity, with the chorus being unbearable.
After this we get our first of two covers on this album, "Blue and Black". It seems like 5FDP relies way too much on covers. Ever since the success of their cover of "Bad Company" (which is definitely their best cover to date), the band has found a very safe avenue of doing at least one cover for every album and making it one of their singles. While this one isn't a single right now, it bleeds radio friendly in every way, and I'm sure it'll be on the radio soon. It's just so boring, and doesn't do anything distinctive in comparison to any other of the band's covers. I don't know how they do it, but with every cover the band strips it of the interesting textures the originals have and instead make it sound like every other radio rock song out there. "It Doesn't Matter" benefits from being somewhat catchy, but still doesn't do anything to stand out. It leaves no impact on the album ultimately. But then we get a song that is so bad, and not in a so bad it's funny way. "Rock Bottom" embodies everything that is bad about 5FDP: repetitive guitar work, drumming that does nothing to be interesting, and a vocal performance from Moody that lacks passion. The way Moody tries to do this screaming vocal style that more comes across as shout singing has become annoying to me, because he does this style on every. Single. Song. He's done nothing to change his delivery up. The chorus of this song made me cringe repeatedly: "Rock bottom/I got nothing left to hide/Rock bottom/I got nothing left but pride". There's nothing new being said here. The album ends out on three tracks that are just forgettable; the cover of "Gone Away" which has been played to death on the radio, and "Will the Sun Ever Rise" and "Bloody" are both completely standard affair for the band.
I can't emphasize enough that there is so clearly talent in this band. It's apparent at moments in this album that it's still present. Why can't they make the effort to do more songs like "I Refuse"? The answer is because it's always been the band's most generic material that has made them succeed. Like other bands who are just giving in to mainstream tendencies this year (Three Days Grace, Fall Out Boy), 5FDP knows the formula that works for them. They manipulate it to a nauseating degree, and their rabid fanbase eats it up. "And Justice for None" is one of the weakest, most uninspired releases I've heard this year. The fact that it will do better than other extremely underrated bands' albums makes me sick to my stomach. Besides the songs that I mentioned, I would advise you avoid this album, and maybe reflect on the rare times when this band actually uses their talent.
Favorite Songs: "I Refuse", "Stuck In My Ways", "When The Seasons Change"
Least Favorite Songs: "Rock Bottom", "Sham Pain", "Fake", "Top of the World, "Gone Away"
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