Like that chronic itching in your underpants after an awkward drunken encounter, the ‘metalcore isn’t metal’ argument just won’t go away. But as long as bands like Melbourne’s Feed Her To The Sharks keep emerging from the deep, hungry for blood, the future of this intermittently vibrant subgenre seems strong and secure for now. This is metalcore with plenty of bite…
“Our name comes from a passage in the first song we ever wrote,” says frontman Andy Vanderzalm. “We felt the name was aggressive and memorable, and it also had a very catchy, very Aussie feel. The rest is history!”
Raised on the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, FHTTS audibly draw from the likes of Unearth and Bleeding Through, but the one source of inspiration that comes screaming through in the Aussies’ streamlined bombardment is perhaps the most successful metalcore band of them all – Killswitch Engage./o:p
From the harsh-to-clean dual vocal lines to those chuggy-ass riffs (and even that signature guitar squeal thrown in), there’s something reassuringly familiar and yet thrillingly fresh about this young band’s interpretation of their heroes’ seminal sound.
“Killswitch have definitely played a crucial role in developing this band,” confirms Andy. “Our lead guitarist Marinos [Katsanevas] is a massive fan. He’s always playing their music in the tour van – not to mention the fact that he knows how to play all of their riffs on guitar!”
But don’t put this furious five-piece down as a cheap back-alley knockoff; Fortitude is full of flourishing originality and melodic severity with an enticing electronic element too. Trying to put his band’s sound into words, Andy shrewdly plumps for “adrenaline-pumping, brutal and cinematic!” which just about sums the whole thing up, but the Aussie punishers also seem to know exactly how to build an enduring career through their bloodthirsty, hardcore-tinged onslaught – and how to punch their weight amidst an overpopulated scene.
“We stand out because our songs are technical, but they’re accessible too,” Andy states. “It’s a formula that’s worked for us over the years. Our fans can listen to our songs over and over again because they have that depth.” And he’s not wrong; with an album as viciously infectious as Fortitude, this band will sink their razor-sharp teeth into you and refuse to let go.
FORTITUDE IS OUT NOW VIA VICTORY/o:p
