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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01 - Intro
02 - New Greed
03 - Change Sorrow into Rage
04 - Watching the Sky
05 - Forever
06 - Outro
07 - From My Mind (Demo)
08 - Never Allow (Demo)
09 - Remaining (Demo) |
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Review |
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Brutal.
Never has there been a more appropriate word for this release. Final Countdown Five EP presents an aural assault for the listener, a full on rush of energy from beginning to end. Quite an amazing feat for a band's first professional recording.
After the ambient introduction by the appropriately titled "Intro," the band goes full force with "New Greed." Distributed widely across the internet, this is the track that would expose FC FiVE's sound to new listeners. It really does present a good idea of what the band is about: guitar sounds that juxtapose melodic passages with the more typical hardcore "chugga chugga" buzzsaw riffs, hoarsely yelled vocals accompanied by further hoarsely yelled backup vocals and anthemic shouts, and straightforward, yet precisely fast drum beats. Vocalist Tomy's English yells and screams which when calmed down delineate into a nearly spoken word format, can be called anything but singing. But don't mistake that as an inability to vocalize. There is much passion and energy to be found in those howls, possibly even a hint of melody. The rest of the band, whose duty besides responding to Tomy's yells with their own, seems to be of a much more tuneful nature. Guitarist Hiroto's riffs can be both sublimely musical and twistedly overdriven. Bassist Kosuke and drummer Kimura lay a solid rhythmic foundation and control the pacing. The band's opus has to be the astounding "Forever," which switches off between speedy buzzsaw verses and slower melodic choruses. The song reaches its climax with a bullhorn sounding spoken word-like bridge by Tomy leading into the chorus one more time, followed by intensely yelled call and response.
If ever there were a flaw with the EP, besides the contrived "It's too short!" remarks, it's in the mixing. Tomy's vocals, though a prominent part of the band, could have been lowered a tad so he blended better with the instruments. And though it varies depending on the song, it seems that the vocals and guitars drown out the rhythm section. Kosuke's bass can barely be heard except in "Watching the Sky," where it finally gets time to itself. Typically the bass isn't heard much in hardcore music anyway, instead meant to blend with the guitars and balance them out, so it may be a moot point. What's really a shame is that the drums are so suppressed. Though audible, if brought more to the forefront Kimura's drums would have definitely made the songs hit harder than they already do.
Included as an extra in the re-issue version of the EP are songs from the band's first demo. Though not bad by any means, they really show that at the time FC FiVE was still green and trying to find their own sound. The stereotypical "YEEEEAAAAAHHH!" intro yell, done one too many times in these songs, has been found in hardcore and metal CDs since at least the 80s. The song "Remaining" shows the most promise�a clear indicator of where the band would end up. Clocking in at about four and a half minutes�epic length for this band�it inconspicuously begins with a soft guitar melody, then deftly weaves between even paced and speedy passages. Tomy even manages to throw in some spoken word as the song dies down to a close. Despite one of those aforementioned "YEAAAAAAH!" intros it's definitely the stand-out track amongst the extra songs.
Final Countdown Five EP is a great debut from a band that shows much promise. Readily available in indie music stores, it's a must-have for fans of hardcore or those who have been wondering what "good" hardcore sounds like. However, a warning for those looking for soothing melodies, beautifully rendered vocals, or even songs over three minutes: this is anything but that. |
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