Now that title mouthful is out of the way, the awesome Fate’s Hollow released their debut album TODAY. The Manchester alt-prog band have been gathering a lot of steam this year with the release of their singles, so to finally have them combined into a full release (and us getting another six tracks on top of that) is massively exciting! Let’s dive right in!
After the spacey intro track builds the band’s sound up and sets the tone for the album perfectly, we’re treated to an excellent proggy track in ‘The King and the Killer’. It’s very Coheed and Cambria in the best possible way; heavy riffs but light, catchy vocals and plenty of technical playing. Having said that, it also gives me pretty strong Alien Ant Farm vibes, which also isn’t at all a bad thing. The delivery and melody of the vocals, be it verse or chorus, is captivating and so catchy. The songs are a fitting opening one-two punch to the album on, and the latter easily made it onto our playlist!
To my shock, the following track, ‘Child of Fortune’, goes almost full pop-punk. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some Coheed to it, and AAF always had an air of pop-punk to their music too, so it’s still fairly similar and fitting. But yeah, I wasn’t expecting a full track of punky riffing and almost emo lyrics. After the initial surprise though, it is a damn good song, and yet again infectiously catchy in the chorus; an excellent radio track and single. It’s yet another big highlight of the album, easily!
‘Evil Things’ makes things a bit heavier again right from the offset, the riffing almost giving off City of Evil vibes a bit. And opening on the emotional-filled vocals straight off the bat was a fantastic idea. The prog vibes are back with this track too, it seamlessly transitioning between the angrier distorted sections and more beautiful clean stuff. The contrast and build between the two is spectacular. Heck, the whole minute in the middle of instrumentation was phenomenal, and a true testament to the band’s skill in terms of playing and songwriting. Yet another excellent song!
The riff to open single ‘Lost Stars’ is amazing. Listening again, it’s easy to see why this was the song that got me into the band when I first heard it. Between the incredible guitaring and the powerful, awesome vocals and melody, I love it from start to finish. Also, the lyrics here are fantastic, the best on the album, in my opinion. And all the little extra bits in the great mix, namely the synth and stuff in the back… *chef’s kiss*. It’s an absolutely incredible song, and the first you should check out if you are reading this before listening to the album. It highlights everything the band do so well, and I’m honestly a little obsessed with it! Playlisted!
Tracks like ‘The Turning Knife’, ‘Forever’ and other single ‘The Sum (Mother)’ are all similar to the previous tracks mentioned, and that certainly isn’t a bad thing. All three are all incredible songs, with ‘Forever’ being another particularly massive highlight of the album. However, with how similar they are, I just didn’t want to repeat myself over and over and come across as even more of a fangirl than I already am! They fit the tone of the album perfectly, and all flow amazingly together.
The closing track of the album, ‘The Dancers in the Dark’, is a beautiful, simple acoustic ballad, and rounds out the collection perfectly. It somehow carries the weight and dramaticness of the rest of the album perfectly while only being mainly a simple guitar riff and the vocals. The harmonies are incredible, and the subtle piano and other quiet instrumentation add so much to the sound. The tone fits the lyrics perfectly and, while I’m typically not a fan of closing an album on the slower song, this was perfect. Another huge highlight of an album full of them!
Overall: This is a truly incredible release. The band have crafted an amazing, cohesive collection of songs, it flowing perfectly and it going by in a flash. Every song is amazing, and each and everyone involved should be proud, and are hugely talented. It’s left me immediately wanting more from them, and hopefully Part 2 is on the way sooner rather than later!
The Score: 9/10