Fear Before the March of Flames Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Fear Before the March of Flames began as a mix of screamo and angular hardcore punk in the vein of Botch and early Cave In. Over time, the Colorado band's sound diversified. Melodic vocals, electronics, and acoustic guitars entered the stew, which boiled over in 2006 on the delightfully sprawling The Always Open Mouth. Afterwards, the band changed direction, dropping its corrosive elements, embracing its dark side, and correspondingly shortening its name to Fear Before. Now Fear Before are a modern emo band, with vocals that are competent but not unlike Faith No More's Mike Patton; some inflections also mirror those of Bane's Aaron Bedard. Although the samey songs tend to blend together as Fear Before aim toward the quirky darkness of Faith No More's Angel Dust, the band's technical prowess is high. "I'm Fine Today" swims in eerie jangles, and "Tycho" floats on dreamy vocal harmonies. ~ Cosmo Lee, All Music Guide
'Always Open Mouth'
Release Date 9/19/2006
Tracks 15
Label Equal Vision
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
This young four-piece from a suburb of Denver has a compelling knack for song titles -- "Go Wash Your Mouth, I Don't Know Where It's Been," "The 20th Century Was Entirely Mine" -- and they get massive points for trying to blend the sort of indie pop delicacy exemplified by the Shins with the intensity of screamo (that cutesy-named combination of emo theatricality and metal-tinged hardcore pummeling) mainstays like Converge. The combination doesn't always work, however: the pummeling passages often mesh awkwardly with the prettier interludes, as on "The Lisbon Girls Oh the Lisbon Girls," which almost sounds like two different songs being played at the same time. There's also a mildly unsettling tinge of adolescent misogyny to songs like "Girl's Got a Face Like Murder" and "On the Bright Side, She Could Choke," and the aimless, ten-minute piano noodling that ends the record is the sort of affectation that should have been excised before the final master was compiled. Fear Before the March of Flames have both potential and an excellent band name, but their debut album suggests they have a way to go yet. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
