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What is going on in Denver, Colorado that is causing the mile
high city to give birth to a prolific amount of screamo/metal
bands emerging from the city's picturesque vistas and snowcap
mountains? Fear Before The March Of Flames, who formed
in the Denver area in 2002, is one of the latest additions to
the class of screamo/metal cobblers like Caustic Soul
and Murder In Memphis. Bandmates David Marion
(vocalist), Adam Fisher (guitarist/vocalist), Michael
Madruga (bassist), Zach "Bink" Hutchings
(guitarist), Billy Johnson (guitarist/keyboardist) and
Clayton "Goose" Holyoak (drummer) have released
their third album The Always Open Mouth, following their
debut outing Odd How People Shake from 2003, and 2004's
Art Damage. Their current release, produced by Bobby
Darling, dives into screamo/metal fonts with the same ferocity
as their debut, but add variables of Goth rock, some hard knocks
punk and industrial strength guitar crunches.
Fear Before The March Of Flames, who owes their name to a headline
they saw in one of their hometown's major newspapers (Denver Post
or Rocky Mountain News) describing a 2002 Colorado brushfire,
converge a diversity of solubles on their album with metal tinged
flusters reminiscent of These Arms Are Snakes, Goth-induced
tussles akin to Kittie, and punk jolts reflective of Strike
Anywhere. The album begins with a prelude of tender streaming
guitar and keyboard notes pleated by light drum strikes on "Absolute
Future." It's the calm before the storm as the album plunges
into the hard hitting screamo vocals and abrasive intervals of
"Drowning The Old Hag." The band has a knack for colloquial-phrased
titles like "Old Hag," "As A Result Of Signals
Being Crossed," "A Brief Tutorial In Bachanalia,"
"Complete And Utter Confusion," and "High As A
Horse."
"Taking Cassandra To The End Of The World Party" is
the most cinematic tune on the album with amplified guitar shards,
engorged sound waves enveloping the vocals, and haunting Gothic
casts shadowing the verses. "Ten Seconds In Los Angeles"
has alternate vocal shapes - from howling out to hollowing in
with a Henry Rollins-jagged pinch. The layers of instrument
parts on "The Waiting Makes Me Curious" creates monolithic
walls of sound waves bombarded by rams of struggling vocals. "High
As A Horse" delivers narrative vocals that dip in and out
of the metal grinds and theatrical scores. The punk influences
on the song enhance the metalcore movements, the echoing vocals
and the cavernous guitar tones. The music is so intense it feels
like it is coming out of the 10th level of Hell.
The industrial rock drones on "Dog Sized Bird" have
reflections of Between The Buried And Me and Lamb Of
God. Fear Before The Marching Of Flames movements recede and
thrash through their sections like on the number "My (F*@king)
Deer Hunter." The bold metal nodes withdraw during the docile
bass and keyboard sequences creating a soft spread pervaded by
thrashing vocal and instrument segments. The album concludes with
Goth-shaded instrument grazes and throaty screamo vocals on "A
Gift For Fiction" and "Absolute Past."
Fear Before The March Of Flames is presently on tour with Norma
Jean and Between The Buried And Me. Their album keeps in the
metalcore hemisphere but they show strength in doing theatrical
pieces on par with Rob Zombie and Cradle Of Filth.
Their metal has a companionship with theatrics, at least on this
album.
-Susan Frances
Track Listing:
1. Absolute Future
2. Drowning The Old Hag
3. Mouth
4. Taking Cassandra To The End Of The World Party
5. Ten Seconds In Los Angeles
6. The Waiting Makes Me Curious
7. High As A Horse
8. Dog Sized Bird
9. Complete And Utter Confusion
10. As A Result Of Signals Being Crossed
11. My (F*@king) Deer Hunter
12. Lycanthropy
13. A Brief Tutorial In Bachanalia (Cigarettes As Currency)
14. A Gift For Fiction
15. Absolute Past
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Fear
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