The almost-title track, "Wrong Side of Heaven," is an extremely successful ballad. For the most part, the guests are pretty much useless and serve little purpose in the grand scheme of things.ĭespite all of its problems, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell has some truly great moments on it. Rather than singing a full-on duet with Moody, she only appears halfway through the song to sing along in the background. "Anywhere But Here," a decent song in itself, does little to utilize guest vocalist Maria Brink. However, the other songs with guest vocalists are disappointing. Halford was a great choice for "Lift Me Up," as his powerful voice compliments the cheesy, angry lyrics and surprisingly catchy riff.
The first track on the album, "Lift Me Up" features the legendary Rob Halford as a guest vocalist and is the only instance in which the guest actually adds to the song. Sadly, however, the guest vocalists usually do little to enhance the songs.
Ivan Moody has always been the heart and soul of every FFDP song, and the idea of him stepping down for a change is more than welcome. The other major change on this album is the inclusion of guest vocalists. Also, the fact that the album is split into two separate parts is a new concept for FFDP and an interesting one at that. The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell is rather intriguing in that it has no clear meaning. The titles of their first three albums are obvious attempts to present their music as harcore. Simply by looking at the album's name, one can tell that FFDP are trying to be different. FFDP's fourth album, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Volume 1, attempts to mix things up a bit. The riffs are never very infectious, the drumming is solid but never too impressive, the guitar solos do little to add the song, and the bass hides in the background, hoping no one will see or hear him in any song. As for the rest of the band, they always take the backseat so that Moody can do his thing. The average FFDP song contains uninspired lyrics about hate and violence, with their vocalist, Ivan Moody, barking, growling, and shouting like he is about to wrestle a bear or rip your throat out. However, the majority of the songs are trite and predictable. Each album contains one or two ballads and a handful of songs that barfed up social commentary. The first three FFDP albums sounded almost the same, each following a remarkably similar formula. However, are their albums truly as terrible as they are made out to be? My answer: yes and no. I completely understand the hate that they get and I agree with a large part of it. Although I would not consider myself a huge fan of FFDP in any way, I will admit to genuinely enjoying the album War Is the Answer. If a FFDP song comes on the radio, I won't turn it off. Their existence doesn't offend me and their fanboys don't bother me. To most metal listeners, they are an abomination, the worst thing to happen to metal since Limp Bizkit, and they are the sole reason why fat people exist.
To their fans, they are the most badass, hardcore rockers to ever grace the stage. To outsiders, they are merely a substandard group that produces generic yet tolerable radio-friendly metal for teens. In truth, though, this is nothing you haven't heard from them already.įive Finger Death Punch are a band that means something different to everyone. Review Summary: Five Finger Death Punch's newest album will satisfy their fans, top every "best new rock music" chart, and earn them millions of dollars.