Saved by the bell! The debut album of FR8 was OK for my ears but definitely nothing special. Then, out of the blue the last track forced me to push the repeat button over and over again. How the heck did they come up with such a tune? Funny how things work sometimes, right?
FR8 is an English band and In Cold Blood is their debut album. As far as I can understand the songs included here are actually polished pre-existing themes from a series of demos or whatever. This is actually a mini album since it lasts only around 27 minutes (like a song of Dream Theater, right?). A lot of band names are mentioned as influences in the bio of the band but how close are all these to the music of  FR8?
Well, what I heard several times from the speaker is a metalcore band with many Fear Factory bombastic riffs, hardcore vocals and a production from hell (well it is actually done by Dan Turner, also responsible for sonic visions of acts like Cradle of Filth, Anathema and others) but nothing more. Honestly people, some kids might fall in love with this one but for me it's just yesterday's news. This was pretty much my opinion until the last song, Into The Black exploded through the speakers. What do we have here? Oh yeah, Swedish-like Death Metal, quite faster than anything else on the CD and some clean vocals; a lot of Soilwork touches if you ask me.
According to the band they have just started exploring their sound and I have no objection to that. If the new songs are close to the last track of their debut work then they definitely have a future lying ahead of them. But if they stick to the metalcore attitude of the first six songs then I don't see the reason why I should listen to their next work.