As controversial a label as Victory Records has become, their roster and alumni is a formidable one that stacks up against near enough any of their rivals.
Feed Her to the Sharks are far from the biggest name to sign on, but that shouldn’t deter fans of metal and hardcore from taking a swim in this ocean of rapid-fire guitars and thrashing drums. After a solid debut they seemed to be treading water on sophomore release ‘Savage Seas’, and a particularly strong showing is necessary to lift the group up from the lower-tier position in the scene they’ve henceforth occupied. On the one hand, the muscular ‘Fortitude’ is their most consistent and impressive offering to date – on the other, it still lacks the spark necessary to definitely stamp their passport to the top.
The most important prerequisite in a scene as oversaturated as melodic metalcore is to stand out, and this is a group with a few tricks up their sleeve to help that along. First and foremost is lead vocalist Andrew Valderzam, whose throaty high-pitched shrieks have a unique rasp to them seemingly more suited to deathcore than anything else, and add edge to their music without stripping away all accessibility. Occasional lower-toned roars mix things up on occasion, but his trademark scream is a powerful weapon to deploy even as frequently as it is. In their use of electronics too, Feed Her to the Sharks show a deftness of hand on ‘Fortitude’ absent from the arsenal of many of their contemporaries; the melodically pitch-perfect transition between the piano that drips out of “Heart of Stone” and the subsequent tinkling intro to “Walking on Glass” the clearest example, but also showcased on “Chasing Glory”, which briefly recalls Chiodos’ “The Words Best ‘Best Friend’ Become Redefined” in a fleeting but attention-catching half-time sampled-percussion break.
These touches of spice sit well against the battering ram power the group draw on to impressive effect. Songs like “The World Is Yours” and the venomous “Terrorist” are memorable because there is so much energy coursing through them, carried more by sheer bloody-minded gusto than nuance. Highlights do make themselves obvious, particularly in the more traditional metal elements of “Fear of Failure”, but as a whole ‘Fortitude’ refuses to sit still long enough to lose the head of steam it builds up so quickly. If anything, this album’s greatest weakness is that its sheer ferocity is, across the course of its 45 minutes, exhausting. Genre clichés (single note breakdowns, melodramatic lyrics, acquired taste clean vocals) are present and correct, and even final longer track “Let Go” does little to differentiate itself from the rest of the material. In isolation every part of ‘Fortitude’ is very good within the parameters of its genre, but as an album it comes to become too much of a good thing.
Few bands will be able to stand toe to toe with Feed Her to the Sharks in terms of delivering high-octane, thrilling metalcore that has circle pit potential written all over it. At the same time, lack of noticeable differences in shade and tone as well as good-not-great calibre songwriting means they won’t be rivalling Parkway Drive, August Burns Red et al. this time around at least.
