Album Review: Farewell To Freeway - Filthy Habits

Does the world need another metalcore band? Guelph, Ontario’s Farewell To Freeway believes it does and have set about putting forward their case on their third-full length for Victory Records, ‘Filthy Habits’. Though, ‘Filthy Habits’ has a number of golden moments, after a few listens the case is far from conclusive. There’s everything you would expect from your standard metalcore release here; chugging guitars, guttural vocals and even the current flavour of the scene, synths. Though there is nothing that is particularly revolutionary on offer, what’s done is done well.

The comically titled, ‘Liquor? I Don’t Even Know ‘Er’, opens the album in furious fashion, with the band sounding like a less-technical Norma Jean. The track is brimming with brutality, a trait that is maintained throughout the album, and something the band do well. The heaviness of tracks like ‘Spare Parts’, ‘Afterlife Lottery’ and ‘Rico’s Roughnecks’ is superbly executed. The drums pummel, the guitars shred and the clean vocals are sparse, each track expertly crafted for the live setting. As good as these tracks are, Farewell To Freeway really shine on a triplet of songs towards the beginning of the record.

Starting with the Underoath-esque ‘Usurper’, Farewell To Freeway use duelling screams and guitars to great effect, with a crucially timed tempo shift midway, sounding like the soundtrack to a deep space movie. On ‘Usurper’, unlike on a number of other tracks, the clean vocals are perfectly timed for maximum effect, rather than seeming ill-timed and unnecessary. The underlying guitar rhythm on ‘Inside Influence’ is very simple, but once again works well contrasted by lead solos. It is also one of the few tracks on this album, where you can hear synth-player Michele Walter earning her money. ‘Inside Influence’ ends with a brilliant drum breakdown, which gears up perfectly for the album’s best track, ‘Top Gun’. Starting off in a familiar, brutal manner, its not long before the clever use of gang vocals and some awesome guitar interplay transform the song into one of epic proportions. The guitar work on ‘Top Gun’ really is something special.

‘Filthy Habits’ is yet another example of a band doing something that, although not entirely original, is both entertaining and praiseworthy. Don’t expect Farewell To Freeway to win awards for pioneering, but do fully expect them to fulfil your metalcore cravings.

4/5

‘Filthy Habits’ by Farewell To Freeway is available now through Victory Records

Farewell To Freeway on MySpace, Facebook and Purevolume.

Dan Issitt