On the 1st day of chrimbo Bedlam gave to you!!!! Five Fingers and a Death Punch!

Ok so it’s Christmas time and I’ve been roped into this “twelve reviews of Christmas” by our very own Steve Dempsey. I would probably be miffed as I am moving house tomorrow morning however it means I get my hands on the 2^nd part of FFDP’s “The Wrong Side Of Heaven & The Righteous Side Of Hell” series.

The first track “Here To Die” lacks the impact of the opening track of the predecessor, whilst it’s still a solid FFDP track I personally feel that another significant collaboration would have set them off to a good start.

Track two is something a little different “Weight Beneath My Skin” most noticeable thing for me at first is the almost funky drum beat! (it’s everywhere  save the chorus breakdown) this makes me almost want to dance as opposed to bang my head violently back and forth, lots of swearing in this track so if you are (apologies for the Americanism) gifting this to anyone of an impressionable age this Yule then I would strongly suggest you reconsider unless you wish them to be cursing like a drunk Irishman by the Queens speech, all in all a good track with the usual FFDP staples over the top of that funky drum beat.

Now when I saw the title of the next track I actually had a bit of panic attack as it meant I had to research something as this track is called “Wrecking Ball” and I needed to establish if this was in fact a cover (they do that you know) of Myley “Train Wreck” Cyrus’s song of the same name and this involved listening to that putrefied gush that is “popular” “music” on the internet and having determined it’s not the same song I can quite honestly say it’s the best song I have heard in the last five minutes.

Next follows one of the ballads of the album, but if I wrote about that I’d be going track by track all the way through the album and I don’t do that (seriously why would you want me too? Don’t you want any surprises for Christmas? Which is entirely the reason I have completely avoided Hell’s “Curse & Chapter” subtle hint for anyone reading *winks*)

I think this album features a new thing for FFDP as I am not aware of any instrumentals on any previous albums (I might be wrong) although incredibly short (1.42) “The Agony of Regret” sets the mood nicely for the next ballad on the album “Cold” which is a brilliant example of FFDP’s talent for delivering a great ballad that is still heavy at the same time, a great track in fact my favorite so far (yes I am writing as I have my first listen, it’s how I do this as I don’t like to allow multiple listens to cloud me up, I like the whole first impression thing).

“Let This Go” is straight back to the double pedal, catchy riff, dual vocal, technical solo, aggressive FFDP song that we all know (and some of us love, I won’t say all as some of you may hate FFDP).

Now I have reached a quandary as I have just noticed a possible cover on the album (they do that you know) and I really want to listen to it as it was one of my favorite songs growing up (my parents were in a covers band and used to play this song a lot) so do I skip forward or do I wait? Well it’s Christmas so I am going to wait (damn you moral compass).

Track eleven (the one before the possible cover) “A Day In My Life” I love the intro to this track and I can’t wait to hear it at volume (yes this is album is going in the car tomorrow) the rhythm of the intro is maintained throughout the track with carefully added breaks and drum fills, a delicious solo is the icing on this (Christmas) cake.

And we are where I want to be, the last track not because I’ve not enjoyed listening to this album but because since I noticed “House Of The Rising Sun” on the track listening I knew it was a cover (they do that you know) and I was incredibly eager to hear what they had done to this classic song and as a fan of the original (and my parents adaptation, which was itself a faster slightly heavier version – wait, hold up a second! You don’t think FFDP pinched the idea from my good ole mum and dad? Nah!) Apart from the quite obvious change of “New Orleans” to “Sin City” (not quite sure it scans well in the song but it doesn’t sound terrible) I like what they have done with it, a calm whistling intro to the vocal which brings a slow paced boot spur to the fold before the drums and guitars kick in, yeah I like it! Nice work chaps!

So on the whole is Vol. II a worthy second part? Well on that I am not entirely sure however I will say if I had not heard Vol. I and I was presented with Vol. II I would conclude that it’s a well put together, well thought out, well produced offering that would please most FFDP’s fan base and maybe grab them a few new ones along the way It’s no Partridge in a Pear tree as the lack of collaborations on this volume (not one) seems a little strange to me especially as Vol. I had a three (I think) but on the whole yes it is a good album and I will be listening to it and incorporating tracks into my DJ sets in the future.

Final Score – a solid 7.5 out of 10.

Anyone know if there’s gonna be a Volume III?

Ps. FFDP are doing a headline tour of Europe in the new year – see ya there!

PPs. I just realised I got through this whole review without swearing..

Happy Fucking Christmas Fuckers!