Five Finger Death Punch

And Justice For None

Written by: PP on 25/11/2018 22:12:01

No strangers to controversy, knucklehead metallers Five Finger Death Punch have selected a play on Metallica's classic "...And Justice For All" as the title of their seventh album, "And Justice For None". It's a move plagued by the same arrogance as we've grown to love and hate the band for, partially because it's such a convincing hard rock experience in a live environment but also because the recorded output should have most serious music fans cringe at its overt simplicity and direct appeal to the mainstream masses. But you've gotta give it to Ivan Moody & co: they do know how to write a power ballad and how to woo arena-sized crowds with their muscular metal full of anthemic, sing-along choruses that you'll remember from first listen.

Keeping all that in mind, it should surprise no-one that "And Justice For None" is every bit as formulaic as its predecessors. It's riddled with clichés like "I don't look for trouble... trouble looks for me" on album opener "Trouble" and other horrifically bad lyrics, but they are delivered with infectiously catchy melodies that make them difficult to resist even for a seasoned music critic. So basically, it's more of the same, right down to the ballads like the larger-than-life acoustic piece "I Refuse" and the groove metal of "Fire In The Hole", which also carries hints of Slipknot in its bombastic, break-everything type of an expression during the verses. The chorus, of course, is another high-pitch clean mammoth by Moody who demonstrates his great pipes in a constantly confrontational, macho fashion. But hey, it works, despite owning a negative intellectual value overall.

And so that's how we cruise through most of "And Justice For None". Huge anthemic bangers backed by crunchy riffs and the tough-guy, Republican attitude oozed by Moody throughout, contrasted by the casual lighters-in-air ballads that still manage to pack a powerful punch during the choruses. Heads will bang, pits will mosh, and journalists will shake their heads over how many people are attracted to Moody's knucklehead metal despite its blatant flaws and numbingly stupid lyrical content. Yet they will keep packing arenas and "And Justice For None" contains enough great sing-alongs for the band to continue growing their fan base of Big Fucking American Metal even further.

7

Download: Top Of The World, It Doesn't Matter, Trouble
For the fans of: Disturbed, Stone Sour, All That Remains, Slipknot, Pantera
Listen: Facebook

Release date 18.05.2018
Prospect Park / Eleven Seven

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