Reviewed - 05/19/04

The Great Collapse
[Life Force Records]

And here we go.

Lately, hardcore has developed into something that I'm just not proud to say I'm a fan of. Hardcore got me into metal in the first place, but modern hardcore is just a totally different genre than the brutal, creative stuff I cut my teeth on. This obsession with trying to copy melodic death metal really bugs me. The problem so many American hardcore bands have when they try to do melodic death metal is that it comes across as shallow and overly simplified. They emulate the sounds, recite the clichés, and succeed only in watering down a formula that really didn't need the help. Melodic death was already becoming a parody of itself before the hardcore bands decided to jump on that trend and beat it into the ground. The explosion of melodic death in the hardcore mainstream was the equivalent of beating the grave of a dead horse. A few bands (like God Forbid, for instance) found their own path with those influences and grew into killer metal bands (real metal bands) while so many others continue to languish in uninspired territory - at least, until they see a different, played-out metal trend to latch onto. (Do I sound jaded? A reviewer? Jaded? Nah.) What simply baffles me about all of this is how so many Europeans seem to love America's watered down take on melodic death. If you still want melodic death, wouldn't you at least rather have the real thing? I don't get it.

And that brings us to Fear My Thoughts who are a European band that sounds like an American band trying to sound like a European band. (Does your head hurt yet?) My reaction to that idea is very similar to how I responded when a friend of mine told me that he likes "girls who look like boys who look like girls". I was just like, "Wouldn't it save time to just like girls?" I was clearly confused and it caused migraines to think about, though it began to make more sense over time. While I still can't relate to his position on the feminine/masculine/androgynous equation, I did finally see that the distinction was possible and I accepted his lifestyle choice. (I also quit asking him for advice on women and I completely ignore the fact that he wears women's clothes that look like men's clothes because I just don't have enough aspirin.) In direct correlation, I'm still in the "headache" phase with this band and their Euro/American androgyny. I guess I'm just surprised that this release still feels so American even with all these European influences all over it. How can that be? Europeans doing European music should sound… ya know… TOTALLY EUROPEAN! God help me, but I think I'm losing it.

All right, I'm overreacting a little. I had some time to cool down and I think I'll be OK.

I'm just in shock at how American this feels. I just wasn't expecting that. But, I've come to grips with the reality of FMT's lifestyle choice. The possibility does in fact exist that a band could be European and sound like an American band that sounds European. Why not? Actually, it's a hell of a lot less watered-down than the average US hardcore band, so I suppose that's how it works. A few of these songs show almost no hardcore influences at all. Now, it's definitely there, it's just that sometimes they really bury it while other times it's way more obvious. In the places where they hide the red headed stepchild in the basement, they kick some serious ass. For example, the title song sounds a lot like something Amon Amarth would do. Overall, they most strongly remind me of God Forbid if they had embraced their early hardcore leanings instead of evolving metallically. And yes, there are some breakdowns, but they are few and not overdone. My only major complaint would be how the drumming occasionally goes from totally kicking ass (read: metal) to being bouncy and goofy (read: hardcore) with no warning whatsoever. But aside from that, I have to admit that it all works pretty well since the metal seems to outweigh the hardcore.

The question really is, do you like when they get hardcore in your metal? If in your mind, those two genres go together like peanut butter and chocolate, then Fear My Thoughts will be a nice, delicious snack for you. If you find those two elements as appealing as chocolate covered halibut, then you might want to steer clear of this one. But regardless of which side of the fence you fall on, don't tell me about your confusing fetishes. I have enough of my own to deal with.