Album review: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – A Decade Of Destruction

Eleven Seven Music [Release date 01.12.17]

It has been quite a tenth anniversary year for Five Finger Death Punch. It did appear at one point that the whole FFDP world may come crashing down and the future of the band was in question. However as the old saying goes ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ and the band once again thankfully came out the other side very much firing on all cylinders and with a point to prove.

This album has been a while in the making due to legal issues with record labels but it has finally surfaced and is well worth the wait. Fans will have most of the tracks included on the record already in their collection ( I know I do) but the band have added a couple of new tracks as well to entice you to part with your hard earned cash.

Opener ‘Trouble’ is a very apt song after the recent tribulations faced by frontman Ivan Moody. This song finds Ivan fighting fit and ready to rumble with his lyrical delivery detonating like a grenade in a locked room. Full on, heavy riffs and a killer chorus are the order of the day and you will be singing along by the second listen, top stuff.

The other new track is a cover of The Offspring song ‘Gone Away’ which is slightly slower than the original and with Moody’s vocal the song takes on a completely different character. Another excellent reworking by the band. Following the two newbies we are then in familiar territory starting with ‘Lift Me Up’ featuring the talents of Mr Rob Halford on vocals.

The rest of the album contains a good mix of FFDP classics including an explosive ‘Under and Over’ and the band’s epic cover of ‘Bad Company’. As you would expect from a FFDP best of retrospective all tracks are top notch and this album would be an excellent starting point for anyone looking for an introduction to one of the best bands to emerge in the last 10 years.

If I had to make a criticism of the package it would be that the songs chosen for the album are mostly from the softer side of the band’s repertoire but I am splitting hairs here. Five Finger Death Punch are one of the few bands keeping the spirit of heavy metal alive and kicking and hopefully the next ten years will be just as incendiary. Light the touch paper and stand well back…

*****

Review by Dave Wilson

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ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)