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With The Reckoning F5 present their second album and expectations are still high. When former Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso started the band. Not everybody liked their debut, so this time they had to be more convincing.
The opener is called No Excuse, it kicks off heavily and with a lead part after a few seconds. Dale Steele's vocals lack a bit intensity... And the bass is too much up front in my opinion, pushes back the lead vocals a bit.... A solid, powerful metal tune, but is can't really hook you up... With I Am The Taker they get heavier. Drums and bass force them forward and sharp heavy riffs give it the edge. The vocals are catchy and even if the song needs a few spins to infiltrate your mind, it's what you might expect from F5. Next in line the title track The Reckoning! A thunderous rhythm and fat riffs combined with melody - and a cool solo. The best song so far. Fast drumming, a heavy groove and some thrashy riffs show another side of the fivesome with Rank And File. A bit more melodic, but with a heavy groove, they present Love Is Dead. Cool guitar solo! Another song which needs time to grow. For Through Hell they speed up again and add some aggressiveness, too. They slow down for the first part of the guitar solo which has an Oriental touch, but push the accelerator again and add some twin lead part before returning to the catchy chorus. Cool one! Wake Up surprise the listener with a short acoustic part, but then they go full force and guitarists John Davis and Steve Conley show their skills. Another fast one is Cause For Concern and it shows perhaps best the spectrum of F5 sounds... An unusual rhythm patter and a strange sounding guitar leads you into Control, but then the riffing takes over Control. Quite catchy... At Final Hour they add a new element to their sound - layered vocals. And they should have used them on some other tracks, too - in my opinion. Great guitar worl at this one. They push a little harder this time... More aggressive, fat bass riffs and suddenly a slow semi-acoustic part. Then they are back and the guitars are more up front... Remind me a bit of Megadeth...
F5 present a heavy, powerful metal album with straight forward songs, some show thrashy elements, but it's not a thrash metal album! There isn't a real ear catcher, but some great melodies which will get you after a few spins!
Check out: I Am The Taker, Control, Rank And File and Cause For Concern.
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