New Day Symptoms, the newest effort from Boston’s Final Gasp is a clusterfuck of awesome. If you’ve heard singles “The Apparition”, “No Hand To Lead” or “Burials Of Birth” already then you know where we’re coming from on the “awesome” front, right? As for the “clusterfuck”, FG somehow have a sound that is a weird mix of Post-Hardcore Quicksand and Helmet from the ’90’s but also Roadrunner Records’ brand of Hardcore in that era (Biohazard especially) with this ’80’s kind of Power Metal aesthetic but then also taps into that distinct ’90’s Boston sound that Stompbox and C60 mastered. And somehow it all works. Hence “clusterfuck”.
“Eternal Silence” is either ominous or uplifting beginning like something out of an Angelo Badalamenti Twin Peaks score before the guitars kick in thus completely changing the atmosphere with a leaning toward Machine Head-style (See also: Testament, Metallica, etc) epic Metal intros instead. From there “Look Away” takes the reins bringing a solid start and introducing Jake Murphy’s hybrid vocal approach that swaps out a soaring croon for a raspy growl in an instant while Peter Micanovic and Alex Consentino’s guitars crush. Kevin Ordway’s drumming and Sean Rose’s bass lay the foundation for “The Apparition” which swoops in next and captures all that genre-blending we mentioned earlier with “Gifted Shame” following and again utilizing FG’s rumbling rhythm section before kicking into high gear on a multi-faceted Metal maelstrom that brings to mind Municipal Waste at times.
“No Hand To Lead” is a steady bruiser built off lush vocal harmonies that even has airs of Bryan Adams’ “Run To You” in the guitar melody, “Prediction” is a fairly straightforward Rawker but still a banger when filtered through the Final Gasp genre blender and “Burials Of Birth” was already a rollicking good time when released as a single last month but works even more in the NDS context, coming in as an excited, ahem, gasp before the end truly begins. The end in question really starts as the title track rolls out of instrumental interlude “Fractures” with ease, bringing Murphy’s impassioned cries to the forefront bolstered by bouncing bass lines outta Rose with Ordway’s thunderous drums and Consentino and Micanovic’s saucy shreds. Then, in the great tradition of grand Metal album closers, “Pale Sun” crushes with a layered slow build of grooves and gargantuan riffs accompanying a haunting vocal delivery from Murphy.
New Day Symptoms drops on February 27th through Relapse Records and you can get yours pre-ordered and pre-saved in a variety of ways NOW by heading here! For more from Final Gasp, including all the info on their upcoming Winter tour that includes a release date eve show at Sonia with Sumerlands, Eternal Champion and Concilium (On 2.26, tix here) as well as a date at Roadrunner on May 30th when they throw down with Pig Destroyer, Napalm Death and Primitive Man in support of Acid Bath (Surprisingly, you can still get tix when you head here), head to the socials located here and here.