FR8 die in a dead genre
It's upsetting to think that if a couple of drunken fools pick up some guitars and jack the speakers right up, then scream about dying, they count as metal these days. Even the sweeping Nu-Metal phase had more musical complexity and originality in it than some of the god awful creations of the last few years. Infact it's so poisoned by "just noise" that the metalcore genre relies on bands like FR8 to pull it along.
FR8 are trying where others are failing, pushing against the walls and generally doing what nobody else has tried yet, and some of it is excellent. There's a strong introductory melody in "Pill" that holds the piece together, yet unfortunately there's still nothing here to make the album worth picking up, and yet there's evidence that it's not really the band's fault they won't be headlining festivals in years to come off the back of this album. The effort is there and if you absolutely love your Stampin' Ground you might be able to get some enjoyment out of this, but the solid stream of rubbish the Metalcore genre has thrown at us has tainted any view, and trying to listen to FR8 with an unbiased opinion will still end in you thinking "God, where's my In Flames CD?"
So, it's a brave effort from FR8 and if you enjoy Metalcore I'm sure these guys are pretty hot as far as that goes. However, if you enjoy metal to be unique or powerfully solid, look elsewhere.