December 1st 2017 marks the return of Las Vegas groove metal outfit 5FDP, and their forthcoming greatest hits release as we see them bounce back after winning their lawsuit against Prospect Park records earlier this year. It will be the first of two releases, with new material soon to be announced at some time in the New Year. It is everything you would expect from a greatest hits album, really. Well executed, a good balance of classic singles from each album and leaves nothing out that as a fan you would want to hear throughout its entire sixteen track running list.
We begin with the band’s latest number one single, “Trouble”, which feels like a veritable punch in the face from the onset and is a fantastic opening track to set the listener up for what the rest of the album has to offer. It’s a track which instantaneously grabs you by the balls with its unashamedly aggressive riffs and deafening double bass pedal work, yet still manages to be melodic and uplifting when the chorus kicks in. It feels a little too short at only 3:12 but by then its mark has been made and leaves you craving an extra thirty seconds of mosh pit worthy riffage.
Interestingly, they have elected to go with a slightly more melancholic choice for the second track to give the fans time to catch their breath before we dive back in. “Gone Away” may be slightly slower in tempo but certainly does not leave any less of an impact. Ivan Moody’s vocals have taken a more emotional turn for this one:
“And it feels like heaven is so far away”.
You can just feel the inner fifteen year old kid inside you getting out their lighter and slow headbang while shouting, “It’s not a phase, Mum, you just don’t understand”. Some of the most memorable moments on this album include guest vocals on “Lift Me Up” from the almighty legend himself, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, the classic “Bad Company” and “Wash It All Away” reminiscent of Saturday nights on the first floor of Glasgow’s Cathouse, and an unusual curveball: a cover of The Animals “House of the Rising Sun” done the Five Finger way. Not something you would expect from a band of this variety but strangely, it works.
Overall, A Decade of Destruction does not hold back. It has a healthy balance of highs and lows and no shortage of melodic, anthemic choruses, snarling, bass-heavy guitars and keeps the party going from start to finish. Ten years’ worth of 5FDP perfectly summarised in sixteen tracks, and to borrow an old cliché, it does exactly was it says on the tin. You’re going to need an aspirin for those neck muscles: that’s going to hurt in the morning, son.
Five Finger Death Punch are currently on tour across Europe. For tickets and more information, check out their website, Facebook and Twitter pages.
A Decade of Destruction is out on December 1st
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