For the Fallen Dreams - Relentless (2009)^{Release ID: 31113}

Having not started listening to For the Fallen Dreams until last year, I knew I couldn't miss out on the incredible music this band creates. They've already proven their achieved potential in their debut Changes. It was clear from that album that they still had a lot of strength and talent, proven in their continuation of perfection, Relentless!

As awesome as Changes is, shortly after its release there was a change of vocalists. Chad Ruhlig stepped away from the mic for 5 years, and during then, Dylan Richter took over. You might not notice that immediately from the growls, until you hear something that wasn't used in their debut, clean singing. The heavier fans might be turned away, but for me, they give this album a better melodic edge.

"The Call Out" is a soft intro to invite you into another metalcore journey. Abstract guitar segues into "Perceptions", filled with heavy aggression. The heaviness would then fade down to let the melody shine. With that interesting blend in the drums, guitars, and vocals, you can definitely hear what other bands have like Parkway Drive, Misery Signals, and even Emmure in the breakdowns. "A Plethora of" has more of the clean vocals, in nice contrast to the heaviness. Same thing with "Nightmares", but the chorus has someone else doing the cleans, that someone being A Day to Remember vocalist Jeremy McKinnon. I was already a fan of that band and his guest appearance in an August Burns Red song, so that's a great treat. Both Jeremy and Dylan's clean vocals help make the album's sound more complete there.

"December Everyday" is another interesting track. The intro sounds close to Misery Signals and gets you hooked up, then the music continues to evolve from there. The vocals fit well in unpredictable variation, despite mostly being brutal growls throughout that song. It even leads to an atmospheric solo. "Defiance" continues the focus on brutal growling. "Smoke Signals" continues the perfect blend of heaviness and melody in the riffing. "In Sincerity" can be considered a polar opposite to the previous 3 tracks, having just clean vocals and melodic harmonies in the instrumentation. A sweet mind-blowing highlight!

"Before I Regret" has catchy heavy riffing. The drumming technique has more to do with As I Lay Dying than Between the Buried and Me, filling with interesting groove without going all-out technical. "Two Twenty Two" has a brutal intro closer in common to The Acacia Strain. The riffing builds up and breaks down in a h*ll of a monstrous breakdown. "Resurface the End" rolls with gigantic punches. "The Pain Loss" ends things with nice clean passages.

All in all, Relentless is another masterpiece by this incredible band. It actually isn't entirely perfect because it lacks a small part of the charm of Changes, so the percentage rating is a little over 95%. Nonetheless, if you're a metalcore fan like I am, this is something to love at first listen!

Favorites: "Perceptions", "Nightmares", "December Everyday", "Smoke Signals", "In Sincerity", "Two Twenty Two"