Five Finger Death Punch is back with a new album!
Created in 2005 in the United States by Zoltán Báthory (guitar, ex-U.P.O.), the band also includes Ivan Moody (vocals, ex-Motograter), Chris Kael (bass), Charlie Engen (drums) and Andy James (guitar, ex-Sacred Mother Tongue, ex-Fields of the Nephilim) for the release of AfterLife, their ninth album.
The album starts with Welcome To The Circus, a catchy track as the band knows how to do for years, mixing effective riffs, vivid drums and a recognizable voice which offers catchy choruses. The band continues with AfterLife, another already unveiled track which reveals more melancholic influences without forgetting intensity and the solid groove before Times Like These, a sweet ballad. The quietude will be quickly broken by the energetic Roll Dem Bones which personally reminds me of the band’s first releases and which places solid riffs under more aggressive vocal parts. The heavy break gives way to a solo before the last chorus, then Pick Up Behind You goes back to those softer sounds which let vocals take the main role. Judgment Day starts with unusual and modern Trap elements to offer a touch of novelty that may surprise, but IOU will return to more aggressive riffs while letting the band offer soft pre-choruses to contrast with the catchy rhythmic. Quietness resurfaces with Thanks For Asking and its clean tones which join a soothing voice before finally revealing a slight saturation, then Blood And Tar mixes the two universes by offering energetic riffs with softer vocal parts. The composition remains accessible, but it quickly gives way to All I Know, the longest track, which offers a soft and heady atmosphere while letting the vocalist reveal his mastery. The raw energy resurfaces with Gold Gutter and its catchy rhythmic which comes back to the band’s style basics as well as a thick break, then The End comes to close the album with simple riffs, letting once again the vocalist guide us in this pessimistic rhythmic before a heavy finale.
Five Finger Death Punch‘s popularity keeps growing, and the band continues to feed us regularly with efficient compositions. AfterLife is part of this continuity, which draws from the quintet’s various influences to offer a handful of additional tracks which will easily find their place in the setlists.
70/100