I remember when Pantera was it. Pantera had attitude, a big middle finger at the world, and their songs reflected it. After Reinventing The Steel<\/i>, Pantera dissolved with the members moving on to form other bands until the death of Dimebag Darrell. Since Pantera\u2019s demise, few bands have risen up as a potential replacement. The search has been on for a band to offer hostility, outstanding musicianship, and enough smarts to tour relentlessly to bring their music to the people.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s answer for Pantera is Five Finger Death Punch. They burst into my ears a few years back with the song \u201cStranger Than Fiction\u201d on my local rock station. It was a welcome change from hearing Pearl Jam\u2019s \u201cJeremy\u201d or Soundgarden\u2019s \u201cBlack Hole Sun.\u201d I connected with the heartfelt delivery of the lyrics and the music behind the lyrics was interesting. Based upon that single, I wound up with a copy of The Way Of The Fist<\/i>. Rarely does a week go by where I do not spin this release.<\/p>\n
It all comes down to second impressions. The opening track, no matter how many times I\u2019ve listened to it, takes me by the ears each time and drags me through a field of barbed wire. Vocalist Ivan Moody starts out the release with repeating the word \u201cHate\u201d four times before he says, simply, \u201cBring it.\u201d Immediately after that, the music kicks in.<\/p>\n
And this music is not boring at all. The musical talent from guitarists Zoltan Bathory and Jason Hook is immediate. Moody sings, \u201cYou don\u2019t understand me \/ and you probably never will\u201d to open the song. During the chorus, he sings, \u201cEvery thing I touch turns to ashes \/ Slips right through my hand.\u201d There is a sense of despair and hatred. And it carries on to \u201cThe Way of the Fist,\u201d a fiery vulgar tirade. Multiple times Moody is as confrontational as Pantera\u2019s Phil Anselmo ever could be. Moody is seriously peeved at the world. \u201cYou might win one battle \/ but know this \/ I\u2019ll win the fucking war.\u201d Then it carries into \u201cSalvation\u201d with more hostility. Taking on his faith life, Moody, sings, \u201cDisgusted by your weakness \/ you have no right to live \/ \u2026 \/ You\u2019re like a puppet on a string \/ You don\u2019t get it.\u201d This song toggles between a clean guitar tone and one that can only be described as a \u201cdirty\u201d guitar tone. Moody\u2019s vocals change to accommodate the change in the guitar tone. <\/p>\n
Without making too sweeping of a generalization, the rest of the CD continues in the same vein. \u201cThe Bleeding,\u201d one of the other songs from this release that made it onto the local rock station, is as close to a ballad as the band can get. \u201cCan\u2019t Heal You\u201d confronts the inability to help someone you care about when he sings. \u201cYou are the one who made the decision \/ stuck in a prison, shattered and broken \/ I am the one who, expected to heal you, save you from drowning in your endless nightmare\u201d with a sense of regret.<\/p>\n
This release comes in different variations. The re-released version that came out in 2008 includes \u201cStranger than Fiction,\u201d \u201cNever Enough,\u201d and an acoustic version of \u201cThe Bleeding.\u201d That is the version to pick up. \u201cNever Enough\u201d could have easily been incorporated into the early part of the release \u2013 do not consider than B-sides or anything like that. The acoustic version of \u201cThe Bleeding\u201d is as gut-wrenching as the all-out electric version.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, Five Finger Death Punch is the total package. The lyrics are confrontational, the music is constructed in a way that you can pump your fist in the air, the vocals toggle between shouts and actual singing, and the energy from the band is contagious. If you look at yourself in the mirror and think, \u201cI really should go for a walk and do something about this spare tire that is growing around my waist,\u201d then I strongly recommend putting The Way Of The Fist <\/i>on your portable music device and strapping on your shoes. Try to keep a cadence with the tempos of these songs and that fat tire will shrink. Of course, check with your doctor and all that first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8761],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-42469","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-five-finger-death-punch","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42469"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}