five finger death punch got your six review

The sales figures and the chart positions speak for themselves. Founded in 2005, the guys don't have to hide behind the greats of the genre. By these parameters, Got Your Six not only delivers - it even does it right on time.The metal band Five Finger Death Punch from the USA haven't had too many years of band history.

And the songs always remain, more or less, the same. Since The Way of the Fist, a new Five Finger Death Punch album has appeared, like clockwork, every two years - except when the band released two in 2013. Which, in a music era short on attention span and long on choice, counts for a lot. Given the band’s quirky name and colorful visuals - including the self-deprecating video for single “Jekyll and Hyde,” in which shaven-headed and prodigiously bearded bassist Chris Kael is seen knitting a pair of pink baby socks - the music itself is deflated by its own extreme self-seriousness.īut if Five Finger Death Punch is less vigorous creatively than many of its peers and predecessors, it also is more consistent. On the downside, Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody’s mostly clipped delivery, which ping-pongs between aggressive and aggrieved, can get tiresome, and lyrics too often lean heavily on cliche (“I’m like a monster in a cage/Trapped inside a maze”). More challenging modern-metal outfits like Mastodon or even Lamb of God might receive greater critical love than Five Finger Death Punch, but lack the accessibility to achieve the same success (although Mastodon is starting to come close). These are hard-won achievements, particularly in a genre where the biggest live draws remain elders like Metallica and Black Sabbath, and two of the most anticipated fall releases come from Iron Maiden and Slayer - bands that, if you combine their active years, easily qualify for a senior citizen discount at Denny’s. That might explain why Five Finger Death Punch, despite a certain sonic facelessness, is among the best-selling acts in heavy music today, as well as one of the few 21st-century-bred metal bands that can carry an arena tour (along with Chicago’s Disturbed, a similarly styled outfit whose new Immortalized also features a Churko production credit). The album is about sheer utilitarian power, perfect for used-car radios and large stages, where melodic intricacies and sly turns of phrase often get lost in the mix anyway.

The production of groove-metal go-to Kevin Churko is overwhelmingly thick and punchy: Riffs are heavily syncopated and sharply cut, lead guitarist Jason Hook’s solos are suitably shreddy, the rhythm section is tightly wrought and propulsive, and choruses are massive. But whereas that band’s sound was marked by Dimebag Darrell’s guitar weirdness and singer Phil Anselmo’s menacing volatility, with Five Finger Death Punch, the groove is more than just a foundation it constitutes the entire edifice - which isn’t a terrible thing.įor starters, Got Your Six, like the albums that preceded it, sounds positively great. Five Finger Death Punch’s beefy, bottom-heavy sound is exceptionally lean and militaristic in terms of rhythmic thrust, it recalls the riff-as-power-tool aesthetic of groove-metal forebear Pantera. The quintet’s sixth album is titled Got Your Six, an indicator of just how straightforward the band’s approach can be.

Five finger death punch got your six review