Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for For the Fallen Dreams - Back Burner (2011)
Founding drummer Andrew Tkaczyk had been in For the Fallen Dreams throughout the first 8 years of the band's activity. He left the band in early 2011 shortly before the recording of this album Back Burner and joined The Ghost Inside. When Chad Ruhlig returned a couple years later, so would Tkaczyk, albeit in the songwriting department. Another couple years later, Tkaczyk lost his leg in a tour bus crash involving The Ghost Inside, but he's still going strong in his current band.
Despite Tkaczyk's departure from For the Fallen Dreams, the band still have plenty in store in Back Burner! You can't ignore the pounding anthems they've made in this 2011 album to make you join in on the ride.
"Say What You Will" kicks things off with more of the band's heavy metalcore/hardcore determination. The production by Tom Denney, former founding guitarist of A Day to Remember, strikes with gigantic depths. It has helped with the band's much-needed epic tone. "Deep Down Inside" keeps up the idea of spicing up the mundane verse-chorus structure with destructive breakdowns. You'll certainly be hooked by "Complicate the Situation" with your veins pumped up. The live crowd will certainly be fueled up by the riffing, anthemic chorus, and a brutal breakdown to shake the arena. "Only Unopened Arms" shows the band's evolved writing that they put out with all their heart, without having to resort to the usual crushing metal breakdown.
"My Anthem-Like Symphony" continues the idea of adding in an anthemic chorus and heavy breakdown. Crying out for hardcore speed is "The Big Empty" in which the chorus is quite catchy, yet the lyrics are a bit less mature. "Bottom Feeders" is the most unexpected track of the album. It's a soft ballad to act as an intermission for the album. It's actually a good song worth a few listens. "Don't Give Up, Don't Give In" blends fast beats with melody similarly to The Ghost Inside, and it's a massive anthem to burn things up around here. They'll never give up or in!
"The Human Collective" has some solid modern metalcore a bit like Bring Me the Horizon at that time. Ditto with "Let Go" that is basically one of Asking Alexandria's breakdowns at that time turned into a full song. "Yellow" welcomes in the mainstream melodic metalcore of early Atreyu, enhanced by the cleans of Lower Than Atlantis' Mike Duce, while staying in the heavy realm. "Fist Fight" ends the album as a heavy mosh-monster. Let the bodies hit the f***ing floor!
In just less than a year, I'm already a big fan of For the Fallen Dreams. Though in Back Burner, it seems like they're losing a bit of the originality of Changes. Despite that, their amazing blend of heaviness and melody continues. With massive hooks, riffs, and breakdowns, this album might just convert you fully to the metalcore lifestyle!
Favorites: "Say What You Will", "Complicate the Situation", "My Anthem-Like Symphony", "Don't Give Up, Don't Give In", "Yellow", "Fist Fight"