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Monday, July 23, 2012

For The Fallen Dreams: Resolvent Feelings


Metalcore rockers FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS have dropped themselves a new music video for your listening pleasure.  The video comes off their latest album, "Wasted Youth", which hit stores on July 17th, 2012 via Artery Records.  Check out the video (below) for the track "Resolvent Feelings":


The album (so far) has been mixed when it comes to reviews.  The album gives the bread and butter breakdowns and harsh vocals (as is standard of FTFD), but it seems as if people were looking for a little more than the average album, with potential for stronger song structure, some tempo changes and a lil more of a mix up than just the standard 'verse, chorus, verse, breakdown, etc'

Not to bash these guys or anything (I wouldn't be writing about it if I didn't like it), but this is the vibe I got from some of the more notable online reviews:

"It also doesn't help that the songwriting is still suffering. Being their second album since founding drummer Andrew Tkaczyk left the fold (they are now on their second drummer since his departure) the band is still suffering without his songwriting skills at their disposal and have continued to water down their sound into the generic metalcore heard from countless other acts. Every song relies on the same predictable formula by relying on Richter's cleanly-sang choruses and plodding breakdowns, which results in many of the songs sounding the same. Denney further worsens this fact by no doubt once again lending an influence from his former band into this album as he did last time with the clean vocal sections and breakdowns, except this time they feel more generic than ever and lack any power at all due to the production.

It's these reasons among others that leave Wasted Youth a very underwhelming record as well as a disappointing one. Among the sea of acts that is modern metalcore, For The Fallen Dreams were one of the more promising ones when they first appeared with two solid efforts in Changes and Relentless. However, Wasted Youth signifies the downfall of the band and that (among the countless breakdowns this album contains) they have resorted to using the same formula that dozens of others have. The departure of their primary songwriter has no doubt left them in a state of confusion of where to take their sound, and with the band once again looking to record with Denney on their next effort after the Wasted Youth cycle is finished, they will only continue to descend further into mediocrity and become just another metalcore act." -Sputnik Music



1. Hollow
2. Resolvent Feelings
3. Please Don't Hurt
4. Until It Runs Out
5. Sober
6. Living's Lie
7. Always About You
8. Moving Forward
9. Your Funeral
10. When Push Comes to Shove
11. No One To Blame
12. Waking Up Alone
13. Pretending

"As far as FTFD’s prominently heavy grooves, the band again has its hits and misses throughout. 'Hollow' opens the album with a jarring crack of downtuned guitars that churns without sounding too dissonant – an admittedly enjoyable way to start this album. “When Push Comes to Shove” falls into a similar category, branching again into territory generally reserved for The Acacia Strain that the band touched upon in Backburner. Again, the trap is set for a resolving chorus, and lyrically this track seems right in tune with the rhythmic pummeling we’re subject to otherwise, but the transition just doesn’t hold up.

'Funeral' is also a bit too quirky to build the proper momentum it needs with mid-tempo riffs and an almost Bury Your Dead undertone at times, especially in the screamed vocals. That undertone pops up every now and then ('Until It Runs Out'), but more often than not the riffs seem almost unable to escape the desire to inject some upbeat melodies into their otherwise quite metalcore-tapping sound. Yet as the formula wears thin, For The Fallen Dreams somehow finds a way to find a groove late in the game here. “Pretending” refreshes the band’s influence from A Day to Remember without sounding overly poppy. The undertones are there for this to morph into something they’ve been trying to do throughout the whole record – yet this track stands as one of few without a clean sung chorus. Much more confident and arguably leaner and meaner, this track shows the band at what they do best without overly relying on their influences.

For a band so ripe with hype and backing from their fans, it is surely disappointing to hear For The Fallen Dreams not only fail to build on Backburner, but also completely lose their train of thought in the process. With very little to be redeemed by, Wasted Youth finds a band surely needing to rethink themselves next time around if they plan to continue their build towards success and credibility." -Absolute Punk

In the end, make your own conclusions and your own review of the album.  I liked it, will listen to it again and recommend it.

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