Hailing from Worcester, MA, Four Year Strong are back with their major label debut, Enemy of the World. Their prior two releases, It's Our Time and Rise or Die Trying, were both released on indie labels and slowly started to build a grassroots following. With this release, Four Year Strong prove that they are a band to be reckoned with and take no prisoners with a powerful and gritty album.
The album starts off with "It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now", a title that was taken from an Alternative Press article about the band. The track introduces the listening audience to the phenomenal lead vocals of Dan O'Connor, who equally shares vocal and guitar duties with Alex Day, and blast through an opening salvo of guitars, drums, and bass with furious and unbridled power. "Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)" is my favorite song off the album, a loud and melodic number that seeks to blow out your ears with perfectly syncopated guitars and blasting vocals that come along at you at just the right level, but not too much which will keep you craving for more. "Nineteen With Neck Tatz" is a melodic and heavy number that continues to show the amazing vocal power of Dan and Alan and the amazing musicianship of everyone involved to create a superb track. "Find My Way Back" is a powerful and stand out anthem that hits you at various angles to give you a taste of different rhythms at various tempos to show the amazing diversity that Four Year Strong is capable of showcasing to the audience.
As we enter the album's second half, we hear "What The Hell Is A Gigawatt?", a furious and drum-pounding tune that shows off Jake Massucco's amazing drum skills on a very complex and impressive tune. "One Step At A Time" is a melodic and mid-tempo number that gives the listener something different on an extremely rich album so far. "This Body Pays The Bill$" is a blasting tune that reaches out and grabs you from the first note with an assortment of guitars and drums to gnaw at you with vicious tenacity. "Paul Revere's Midnight Ride" is perhaps the most powerful song on the album with its guitars charging out the gate from the beginning, but finds a way to inject some melody into the chorus, which provides for an extremely enjoyable listen. The album's title track closes out the disc with a humongous crapload of guitars, bass, and drums thrown at you that sums up what the album is all about, raw and intense metalcore at its finest with melodies that hook and reel you in and immediately captivate you. There aren't alot of metalcore bands that can pull this off, but Four Year Strong do a pretty good job of making this work.
In retrospect, an amazing and intense album from Four Year Strong, who have succeeded in making a metalcore album that is appealing enough to draw you in with its insatiable melodies, but still maintains the metal sensibility that got them where they are today. Definitely recommended!
Album Score: 4/5
Track Listing:
- It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now
- On A Saturday
- Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)
- Nineteen With Neck Tatz
- Find My Way Back
- What the Hell Is A Gigawatt?
- One Step At A Time
- This Body Pays the Bill$
- Paul Revere's Midnight Ride
- Flannel is the Color of My Energy
- Enemy of the World
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