Fortune Favours The Brave

Through The Bullets And The Bloodstains

Written by: PP on 18/05/2011 06:04:53

Fortune Favours The Brave are a brand new metalcore unit from Essex, UK, whose debut album "Through The Bullets And The Bloodstains" is being marketed as a product of its influences. Seminal and infamous influences, I might add, considering the list starts with Sikth and Darkest Hour, and ends in Killswitch Engage. None of the sounds from these three bands dominate in FFTB's interpretation rather than act as pieces in what is best described as lead-driven metalcore, as you might imagine from the previous sentence.

On paper, that's an excellent idea. The problem is that FFTB have recorded their debut far too early, which shows in the complete lack of experience in how to record a great sounding album as well as in failures to execute their raw instrumental talent successfully in a studio environment.

Lets start with the vocals. Though occasionally providing lots of variety from deep, deathcore-ish growls to hardcore shouts and standard metalcore screams, most of the time they are mediocre. Then you have the guitars, which are extraordinary in places, and impressive elsewhere. The band relies heavily on a Gothenburg inspired twin guitar dueling approach, which is good, but they lack the required tightness to give a similarly strong and gripping dynamic as Darkest Hour does on, say, "Undoing Ruin". Finally, the production is questionable at best, shoddy at worst, amplifying all these problems where it should be making up for them.

Despite all these shortcomings, though, it's difficult to deny the potential here. "All Lives Are Born Free" is sickeningly catchy in its chorus, and offers a ton of different and unique sections instead of just repeating the same formula (see: rest of metalcore bands in the UK). The fretwork is occasionally breathtaking and you can tell there are some really strong melodies lurking just behind the looseness and bad production. The only thing holding this band back at the moment is poor execution.

Download: All Lives Are Born Free, Call Of Duty
For the fans of: older Darkest Hour, Sikth
Listen: Myspace

Release date 25.03.2011
Transcend Music

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