Fear My Thoughts - Isolation

Sometimes established musicians do not fear the risk of venturing themselves into new musical territories in order to satisfy their whims and desires when it comes to musical creation. Most of them aware that they could face the risk of hearing voices of protest and disapproval against such bold attitude. It happened recently with Cryptopsy’s latest work, where to the eyes of many fans the band has committed a sin proportional to the one Judas is guilty of.
Another band that has stirred up some controversy, although on a smaller scale is Germany’s Fear My Thoughts who have staked a change of sonority on their sixth full-length album “Isolation”. As expected there’re already some negative reactions flowing around, some even accusing the band of selling out and turning their backs to their origins, which were once rooted in the more melodic strains of Death-Metal.
It is true that “Isolation” cannot be classified of Death-Metal, it’s much more diverse than that, but what is certain is that it’s NOT Emo like Jimmy Eat World, it’s NOT Rock like Faith No More and it’s definitely NOT Nu-Metal like Linkin Park as someone already tried to suggest. The task of writing what “Isolation” doesn’t sound like it’s immeasurably easier than the arduous work of pointing out where exactly the album fits in musically, since it covers many areas and curves in many turns.
If in “The Blind Walk Over The Edge” and “Bound And Weakened” their approach to an accessible and melodic Prog-Rock is totally and unquestionably assumed with new vocalist Martin Fischer carrying out a really memorable delivery, in “The Hunted” and “Pitch Black” the band opts for a more aggressive posture that displays some similarities to the sonority explored on previous record “Vulcanus”. Only the talented singer detours on some occasions to a mellower and emotional path and dissipates such parallelisms.
The tendency would be to blame the new guy as the major responsible for the change and Martin has been the target of some criticisms truly unsubstantiated and unfair since he reveals himself as an extraordinary vocalist capable of delivering very diverse and interesting vocalizations that fit like a glove in the renewed sonority of Fear My Thoughts, which can be entirely identifiable as their own and discloses various styles and moods without ever sounding forced or mechanical.
However if you urge for some references perhaps if you could pick Poisonblack, Mercenary, Katatonia, In Flames and Isis and place them all in a room for an exchange of ideas and some jam sessions the result wouldn’t be too far removed from the Fear My Thoughts of today.
Leave all preconceptions and elitisms behind you and enjoy “Isolation” for what it really is. An interesting, captivating and innovative work that circles around Metal, Rock and Prog that simply grows on you with each consecutive listening. (7/10)

Band info: www.fearmythoughts.com
Label info: www.centurymedia.com