Fightstar

Grand Unification

Written by: TL on 03/04/2006 09:59:47

When singles from the pop rock band "Busted" stopped coming we all remember how good a thing that was, right? Well get ready for a bonus.

The first member to step out of Busted was Charlie Simpson, and his reason for doing so was to spend more time with his friends in the side project Fightstar. With Fightstar, Simpson and friends wanted to play heavier and more serious music, and now they’re ready to release their first full-length album called “Grand Unification”

"Grand Unification" is a concept album, and according to interviews with Simpson, it tells the futuristic story of how the world self-destructs because of all its’ problems, and is then reborn with a clean slate for the new and innocent generation to rebuild. The album does a really good job of creating an epic feeling, and it is filled with momentum-gathering passages leading up to huge explosive climaxes (Climaxes that will wet the pants of any crowd urging for sing-alongs). Take, for instance, the song “Paint Your Target”. It starts out with a couple of very light guitars before exploding into screaming only to return to yet another quiet period, before finally rising to what is probably the most catchy chorus on the album.

Fightstar is an emo/post hardcore band, which is clear from the way they follow the good old quiet/loud up-and-down recipe for creating songs, one minute sounding like singing a bitter ballad, the next descending into powerful hardcore screaming backed by huge walls of guitars. What separates them from the overabdundance of bands in this genre is that they seem to have a lot more to offer than the usual “slit the wrists of my girlfriend” routine. Where most other emo-bands have a tendency of having vocals that sound a bit ’put-on’, I think Charlie does an amazing job making the songs sound passionate without making them sound pretentious, and he sings equally well wether he sings, whispers, shouts or screams. Just check out “Sleep Well Tonight” where he really throws his voice around.

Grand Unification has a HUGE sound, and is (like most good rock) best played LOUD. The music on the record is nice and heavy but still seems to soar somewhere above the clouds. I think it’s hard to pick out songs from the album since they are all alike and yet different. They all stand out, and yet they unite (pun intended) to form the very complete and epic experience that is this album. The sound is, in my mind at least, most resemblant of 30 Seconds To Mars, but can also be compared to as different names like Funeral For A Friend and Deftones.

I must admit to have really fallen in love with this album. It’s huge, catchy and it hits my emo-hardcore-epic taste right in the gut. I can listen to it over and over and still when it ends I’ll have a feeling like I’ve just seen Braveheart for the first time or something. Charlie redeems himself of his early day sins with Busted, and creates an album that will be played again and again on my stereo. Get this album. I promise you won’t regret it.

9

Download: Mono, Paint Your Target, Sleep Well Tonight
For the fans of: 30 Seconds to Mars, Funeral For A Friend, Deftones
Listen: fightstarmusic.com

Release date 13.03.2006
Island Records

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