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FADES

FADES

Review by Gary Hill

Overall, I like this act a lot. They have a great melodic vocal concept with some hard rocking sounds. There is quite a range contained within this, too. If you had to give it a handy title, you could say “melodic hard rock set in the general alternative rock zone.” Still, that’s only so accurate. Honestly, the easiest way is just to give it a try. You’ll probably find plenty to like here.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Breaking through the Walls

They fire out with a killer punk rock turned alternative vibe. The vocals are melodic, but also powerful. The hook is classic. This is a great song. It’s no wonder they chose it as the lead off song and first single. It has a bit of a glam rock vibe to it, really.

I’ve Been Away Too Long
Hard rock with an edge of classic old school heavy metal drive this thing. It’s another smoking hot song. It’s both modern and classic. It’s accessible and meaty. It’s great stuff, really. The melodic dropped back section is almost prog rock like.
Before My Eyes
This opens with an acoustic guitar based section that’s quite ballad-like. After the first verse, though, it powers out into some smoking hot jamming that’s really metal in nature. It reminds me a bit of Queensryche. They drop it back down for the next set of vocals, but bursts of harder edged stuff punctuate it. The bass drives it, too. They bring a more permanent metallic edge after a bit, and the next vocals are over the top of that.
The Killing Floor
The bass leads out with a cool groove. The vocals come in over the top of that (with drums as the only accompaniment). After the first set of vocals some guitar rises up to deliver some dramatic sound. It drops away before the next vocals, though. They power out en-masse for a section after that vocal movement. As it works back down, though, the guitar remains. This is a cool alternative rock based tune. It’s catchy, but not really as strong as what came before it.
Dog on a Leash
This killer song feels to me a like a cross between the modern, proggy, hard edged rock of King’s X with a bit of the power-pop stylings of Cheap Trick. It’s hard edged, complex and meaty. It’s also just plain cool. It might be my favorite piece of the whole disc.
Everybody Knows
Melodic and complex, this is very much like modern progressive rock. There are things here that call to mind fusion. Yet, it also gets into some harder edged alternative rock territory later, too. While this song is the most original thing here, and the most ambitious, it’s not really the most compelling. It’s also a bit low-key for a closer. For that reason, I think maybe a different song should have been in this slot.
  
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