Rough Edge: F5 CD Reviews

"The Reckoning" (OarFin; 2008)

Reviewed by Metal Mark

F5 includes former Megadeth members Dave Ellefson and Jimmy DeGrasso. The inclusion of those two brought certain expectations, at least on my part. My hopes were that "The Reckoning" would be both heavy and diverse, but also be well done technically. Did they fulfill all those expectations? Unfortunately, the answer is that they did not, at least not to my complete satisfaction.

The overall sound of F5 combines modern metal, thrash and progressive metal elements. There were some parts that reminded me of mid-1990s Megadeth, only more complex, and some moments that actually reminded me of Dream Theater. Okay, so F5 is fairly diverse and this is perhaps the strongest aspect about this band but I am not sure all the pieces fit completely when they attempted blending multiples styles in a song. The styles were strong by themselves, however, and most of the songs flow along well enough.

The album was not as heavy as I hoped and that is my biggest complaint. The production is low and that steals some of the CD's edge plus the band seems too hesitant to break out of their shell despite having many opportunities to do so. The melodies are mostly solid and that helps, but the hooks are often either drab or just lacking sharpness.

I really liked the vocals as the range was wide and consistent throughout.

There is no doubt about the potential playing ability of this band and there are some fine moments on the album. While it is above average, I still could not shake the impression that the musicians held back much more than they needed to. I also got a sense that they tried adding some modern metal sounds and they did not sound very comfortable on these parts. The result of those parts gave a few songs an uneven feel.

"The Reckoning" is good, but not what I hoped for and I certainly believe that this band is capable of doing something far better.

For more information, check out http://www.f5theband.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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