Certainly worth a listen.
Hailing from New Jersey, Fool's Faith originally started off in the mid nineties as Aftermath and released a solid album on Escape Records in 2003 (‘Natural Destruction’) which included elements of Skid Row, White Lion and Warrant. Due to various reasons they split with Escape in 2005 and later that year re-emerged under their new monicker. The band replaced guitarist Bill Dinapoli with John Gallicano and released the well received ‘Undone’ in 2007.
Fools Faith are now back with ‘Sinister F’. Their direction has changed somewhat – this album delivers an eclectic mixture of hard and melodic rock and even throws in a touch of the progressive. Opener ‘Across the Sky’ starts off quietly and then the guitars come crashing in, the melody reminds me somewhat of Iron Maiden. Vocalist Joey Dia tends to lack a variety in his tone and in places sounds a little flat. ‘Break Me’ sounds a little like Priest and again Maiden. The title track ‘Sinister F’ is a little repetitive with it's riff and fails to grab my attention. ‘Wait for Me’ is a catchy number and after a few plays begins to make an impression. ‘Possession’ starts off innoculously enough but builds into a catchy rocker. ‘Lies’ again has a Maidenesque melody in places.
However, for me it is the slower numbers which carry the album. ‘Change of Direction’ is a brooding number that sounds akin to Metallica's ‘Nothing Else Matters’ and features a couple of great solos from Gallicano. ‘Ordinary Man’ begins with a lovely piano intro from Andy Kadin and again features some excellent guitar work as it builds into a classic sounding rocker and Marc Chandler gives his drums a good thumping on this track. ‘Won't Be Home (Tonight)’ is the final slower song and reminds me in parts of both Dream Theater and Savatage. It features a memorable bass line from Kadin (busy man) and Dia's vocal delivery is much better on this track and there are some nice backing vocals and harmonies. The track ends with another melodic solo from Gallicano.
All in all ‘Sinister F’ certainly worth a listen – it has some very good tunes and is definitely a grower. The band plays very cohesively and are clearly influenced by the New Jersey sound of the late 80's and the early days of Dream Theater amongst others. What they need to do now is find out which musical direction they enjoy the most and perfect their art.
Az Chaudhry
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