Fall City Fall
Victus
Nathan Zorn - Vocals
Keenan Pylychaty - Vocals
Jordon Storey - Guitar
Nathan Pope - Drums
Andre Urquidi - Bass
OH CANADA! That’s right we
are going north for this next review. Calgary’s Fall City Fall began in 2008 as a small hardcore project. With duel
vocals and the normal musical set behind them there is surely a whirlwind of sound. The
band released their first EP in 2010, and then followed it up with a second called Dead
Saints. After numerous tour dates and shows the band, with label in hand, is ready to unleash their debut full length
album. The new release features 11 tracks and gets going with “St. James.” The offering begins with a simple guitar
that grabs your attention. They then add in some drums as the song progresses. The vocals then enter with a raw scratchy sound
that just carries on for the back half of the song. There really isn't much of a point to this track except to get this started
slightly and to lead into the next track. “Dissentipede” gets going a bit faster than the last. The track seems
to be controlled chaos. There is so much going on during the track, that once you gage what the hell is going on you can actually
enjoy the song. The guitars rip off some killer sounds while the drums lay down heart piercing strikes. The vocals go completely
nuts rushing through lines like a junkie. “Anxiety Attack” is just that. The track rushes about once again with
awesome sound guitars that are on the heels of the vocals that also are going hog wild. The drums try to keep up with fast
viper striking hits. This track is more controlled chaos. Some of the screams sound a bit forces while others are smooth.
There are parts that sound really solid while others needed to be re-worked a bit more. It’s a middle of the pack track.
“Bitter to the End” wastes no time in getting nasty. The vocals enter right off the bat and rip line after line
off. The track seems a bit too all over the place and this time, it’s not a good thing. There are entire too many things
going on in this one and it’s hard to comprehend. “Lovebirds” thrashes around again and unless you are in
a foul mood and want to rip shit up I don't think that you will be pulling this tune up. I really couldn’t catch what
was being said and to me that’s important. If you are just looking to jam out and could care less than this track should
be on the top of your list. “Many Masters” kicks off really nicely then the vocals enter and clog it up slightly.
They just seem out of sync with the music. Separately I think each would excel and there are moments out there that suggest
that, however, the bulk of this track are not those moments. It’s one of the better tunes, but it’s just not quite
there. “Many Lives” is just an instrumental which actually doesn’t sound half bad. It shows just what the
band has to offer. “Shallow Believer” gets the album back to having vocals. It rolls along with multiple vocals
spinning around while the guitars and drums slam. There are points where the track doesn’t seem bad, but like other
tracks there are places where is doesn’t sound good too. “Dead Saints” is a short minute plus track that
will get your heart racing. It will light up a crowd quicker than a shooting star dying out. “Taken,” the longest
tune on the album, begins slowly with some sweet simple tunes. The vocals then come in with a low growling vocal (that has
to hurt), but sounds decent. The slower vocals seem to work better than the fast ones. However, a 4-plus minute of the same
things without any speed variation doesn’t sound very good. I’m not sure those hardcore fans will even be able
to get into the tune. There really isn't much there musically or vocally. “Victus” wraps up the album with some
solid beats. The groove behind the vocals is solid and something that I could get into if they would lighten up the vocals
a bit. However, with that said, lyrically there are numerous sets of people that will get into the song. Overall this album,
unless you are into this style, isn't going to be for you. The hardcore style that the album offers up takes a special breed.
The vocals are extremely raw sounding and are often hard to understand. Musically most of the tracks are good, but you have
to be able to listen past the vocals. Many of the songs sound too similar. They really don't change much except the lyrics.
I think some more growing is needed for these guys. Better transitions and more variety to the songs and album will greatly
improve the next release.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Tracks to Watch:
Anxiety Attack and Dead Saints
Track List:
1.
St. James
2.
Dissentipede
3.
Anxiety Attack
4.
Bitter to the End
5.
Lovebirds
6.
Many Masters
7.
Shallow Believer
8.
Dead Saints
9.
Taken
10. Victus
Website (s): www.facebook.com/fallcityfall
