ATP! Album Review: Funeral For A Friend - Conduit

Hands up if you’ve written off Funeral for a Friend. I’ll admit I’ve had my doubts over the past few years. As members drifted off one by one, it appeared that the band had lost the stomach for it. This could not be further from the truth.

"Conduit" sees a shift back to the band’s earlier style, largely ignoring the middle-of-the-road plod that was "Tales Don’t Tell Themselves" and settling on the heavier end of their personal spectrum. The result is a group that sound completely revitalised. The introduction of some new faces has clearly stirred the ranks: this is the most urgent FFAF release since "Hours"… maybe, whisper it, since "Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation".

Remarkably, for a band renowned for their expansive post-hardcore, only two out of 11 tracks on this release last more than three minutes. There’s years of pent-up aggression released in a very short space of time, channelled and focussed to devastating effect.

When Matt Davies-Kreye screams “they fucking gave up on us the moment we turned our backs” it’s like he’s addressing each and every single doubter in turn, such is the defiance in his voice. While the album is thematically very varied, an area that Davies-Kreye returns to on more than one occasion is battling through adversity. There it is on ‘Spine’, there it is on ‘Nails’, then again on ‘Travelled’ and ‘Gray’. It isn’t contrived in that ‘it’s us against the world!’ bullshit way, but FFAF make it very clear that things haven’t been easy lately.

New drummer Pat Lundy was recruited from metal band Rise to Remain, and his influence is keenly felt here. Several of the riffs found on "Conduit" would be more at home on a metal core release in terms of their impact.

Gavin Burrough’s move to guitar from bass has led to the largest distinction between rhythm and lead guitar on a FFAF release to date. This has a dual effect on the band’s sound. It is much thicker due to the constant presence of a grittier rhythm section, but also frees Kris Coombs-Roberts to explore his fretboard to levels we’ve not heard since "Casually Dressed…" The intro to ‘Death Comes To Us All’ perfectly demonstrates this, lead guitar sweeping over chugging, precise rhythm. It means the songs retain their impact without ever becoming boring.


Those worried about the departure of Ryan Richards and what it meant for the bands aggressive vocals can breathe a sigh of relief. Davies-Kreye has delivered the heaviest vocal performance of his career, without sacrificing any of the trademark FFAF melody. Even better is that he’s reigned in vocal melodies that tended to meander too far over the past few albums, losing the hook in the process. If not back from the dead, then Funeral for a Friend are certainly back from the brink.

"Conduit" is the album they needed to make - a short, sharp slap to the faces of those that had started to forget about them. It’s a current, youthful album that just might contain the energy to propel the band back to the forefront of the UK alternative music scene.

4/5

James Tremain

"Conduit" is released on February 5th through The End Records.