Fear Not release debut single today!

https://wordpress.com/post/billroxx.wordpress.com/621

Looking forward to this one! It's a bit different than what I was expecting but still good. The vocals are different (they have a new singer but Larry is still there on guitar and backing vox).

Sounds like Brand New Sin, nothing like Fear Not.

Yeah, if you didn't tell me that was Fear Not, I wouldn't have known.

Meh. I'll pass.

I like it... It reminds me of "Blue On Black" by KWS.

Man, this is the toughest opinion I've ever had to formulate.

I mean, you gotta hand it to these guys. 25/26 years since their last album dropped, maybe a few gigs in '94 and possibly Cornerstone, never to reunite until now (although from what I understand there was a small gig planned a few years back, can't tell if it ever happened)? That's crazy, given their age now and all. Plus I'm curious how they made this happen with everyone in different parts of the states. I'm just impressed they made it happen. Makes me think, "it's a good time to be alive," right?

Yet I have low expectations for this album, and--seriously, it's really painful getting this out--that track is just not very good, even after several listens.

PROS:
-Gary's drums still have that BIG sound
-Smokin' lead, sounds like Chris but could be Larry
-A truly HEAVY mid-section

CONS:
-Does not sound like Fear Not--or Love Life, for that matter. Hell, or like Red Sea or LNJ or Robert Sweet--I guess I could go on.
-Is generic, bland, radio-ready
-Really WTF lyrics for the band, even promoting physical violence at one point amid all the overly familiar self-motivation vibes we get from these kind of songs
-Yes, I have to say it--the new vocalist. He's not bad per se, actually quite good, yet changes the entire character of Fear Not from a fresh and original take on 90's L.A. hard rock to something southern and sludgy.

[BTW this song is in drop C; I'm okay with them dropping the guitars since a good portion of the songs on the S/T were drop D, but this is a little too low for me)

HOWEVER.

I prefer to look at this album in a positive light: a phenomenon, if you will. 26 years is a hell of a long time to be inactive in the scene. Yeah, Mike Howe was gone about that long from Metal Church, but Kurdt kept going strong, even with side projects. Here the only active member has been Chris, in the country circuit, no less. Rod and Larry have only been playing at their churches this whole time (not sure about Gary). So to come together, on a new and indie label, even if it is just an EP, is all sorts of wow. Too bad the music doesn't have that same effect, but we'll see how the rest of the tracks pan out.

That was tough to write out, but I've been itching to. FN have always been my top Christian metal band. The debut helped me through a lot of hard times as a teenager, and even some days as an adult. I knew it was going to be hard to match up to that particular album, but in the end I'm just happy that they tried.

For what's it's worth, I don't think this is a bad song at all. It's actually a good tune, but it sounds nothing like the Fear Not from the 90s. And for what it's worth, the old Fear Not album is generic, radio-ready hard rock. There's nothing original about it, so why criticize this one for the same thing? Good music is good music, and most music is generic.

Never heard this band before but this isn't my thing. It sounds like Black Label Society musically and sorta vocally but then it doesn't. A for effort though.

Lurideath wrote:

Never heard this band before but this isn't my thing. It sounds like Black Label Society musically and sorta vocally but then it doesn't. A for effort though.

This is why people are confused.

Well that is MUCH different. I am hearing more of a rockish metal type similar to Skid Row in the older song. I really don't feel I missed anything then or now. LOL

That's what I wanted as there's not much of that being made these days.

Eyesore wrote:

For what's it's worth, I don't think this is a bad song at all. It's actually a good tune, but it sounds nothing like the Fear Not from the 90s. And for what it's worth, the old Fear Not album is generic, radio-ready hard rock. There's nothing original about it, so why criticize this one for the same thing? Good music is good music, and most music is generic.

Good point. I'm sure it's my personal connection to the album, but I've always felt it to be rather fresh and original for its time compared to their peers. At least more dynamic than the new song.

I also feel these two tracks elevate that first album to another level (first video is full album but queued up to Mr Compromise):

EDIT: so timestamps don't transfer over for YouTube content here or I'm blind as a Tiberian bat haha. Mr Compromise starts at 6:49.