For The Fallen Dreams Changes

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Reviewed by: Josh H.   //   Published: 3/14/2008

When any genre or subgenre of music becomes popular, it isn't long before legions of bandwagon jumpers start coming out of the woodwork hoping to cash in on the success of the innovators that came before them. Such is the case with For The Fallen Dreams on their debut album, as the band's approach is so utterly faceless they could just as easily have titled the release Metalcore II: Attack of the Clones.

From the very get-go, For The Fallen Dreams lay bare their musical formula: verse, chorus/refrain, breakdown, repeat, with the occasional Misery Signals-esque "atmospheric" section thrown in. It's one thing to have influences, but the band is so painfully derivative that the album's very existence is rendered completely redundant. This has all been done before, and done much better by genre architects like Poison The Well and 7 Angels 7 Plagues. Tracks like "New Beginnings", "Last Dying Breath" and "Falling Down" are so typical they sound like the band wrote them in their sleep.

But For The Fallen Dreams' musical plagiarism isn't limited exclusively to metalcore as the band attempts to tackle nu metal on "Vengeance," ripping off Slipknot wholesale in the process with a track that sounds uncannily like a rough version of "(sic)". The song makes one wonder whether or not the members of For The Fallen Dreams aren't failed nu metallers who decided to trade their clown makeup in for camo shorts in an effort to try their hands at being "the next big thing." The band's knack for utilizing a drop-tuned guitar tone on songs like "Through The Looking Glass" that would have easily fit in on a Coal Chamber record doesn't do much towards disproving this theory.

By the end of the record it's quite apparent that For The Fallen Dreams don't have an original bone in their collective body, with the album coming off more like a laundry list of influences than a complete listening experience. The band might be extremely skilled at mimicry, but then again so is the local cover band playing at the Ramada Inn down the street.

Bottom Line: All in all, Changes is another in a long line of fifth-tier metalcore releases destined to get lost in the deluge of copycat bands currently flooding the scene. Definitely one to steer clear of.

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