In Fear And Faith

In Fear And Faith

Written by: PP on 01/11/2012 22:17:21

In Fear And Faith specialize in dramatic, theatrical form of post-hardcore that takes its cues from Chiodos and Saosin mostly, while throwing in a few metalcore influences as well for good measure. They've been constantly touted as one of the very best of the 'new' group of scene bands from the same wave that brought us Asking Alexandria and other controversial acts, and as such older fans such as myself have always stigmatized them by association, perhaps unfairly so. Yet they've consistently released solid records in the genre, arguably even better ones than their inspirations (at least based on recent records). Their third, self-titled album is yet another example that post-hardcore is alive and well in 2012. You just have to sort through all the saturated genericore in order to find the quality acts within the genre.

Since their previous album "Imperial" in 2010, they've dropped screamer Cody Anderson from the mix, and clean singer Scott Barnes has fully taken over, establishing himself as one of the vocalists to look out for in post-hardcore. His cleans are pitch-perfect and continue following Anthony Green's inspiration of slightly high pitch and extremely emo delivery, but he does so with class and fits perfectly in the ambitious soundscapes, where classical piano, electronic effects, violins and other orchestral elements provide a different look into post-hardcore. His screams are thick and satisfying, and provide the harsh part of the traditional clean/scream dynamic which "In Fear And Faith" bases its existence on almost completely.

Combined with the ambitious soundscapes, it almost makes you forget the anonymous guitars, which typically follow a very standardize post-hardcore formula, whether in the form of compressed chug-chug simplicities or simple open-ended stuff that seems to only be there to give the record its heavy sound. Almost. The guitars are in fact the album's only stumbling point, as it is otherwise technically and especially production-wise impressive all-around. It's arguably their best work to date, unless you think that they've expanded their sound too much and it's become too 'grand' and 'colossal', which is something I've never been particularly fond of for any band really. Here it works, though, and any post-hardcore fan would be stupid not to take a look.

Download: A Creeping Dose, It All Comes Out, Look What You Made Me Do
For the fans of: Chiodos, Saosin, The Word Alive, Dream On Dreamer, Blessthefall
Listen: Facebook

Release date 16.10.2012
Rise Records

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