Fozzy – “Do You Wanna Start A War”
Do You Wanna Start A War is the sixth album from metal outfit Fozzy and it’s laden with just the sort of gritty, unrelenting aggression one would expect from a band fronted by a WWE wrestler.
Chris Jericho’s pet project of 15 years is more than just an eponymous hobby however, and fans of the genre will likely be pumped by this latest high-powered release.
Exploding into play with the melodramatic backing of air-raid sirens, album title track Do You Wanna Start A War conjures dystopian battlefields and all round degradation, setting the anarchic tone here.
Bad Tattoo follows with a facetious, catchy chorus (“I can’t get rid of you, you’re like a bad tattoo”) set against machine-gun shredding and you can really see this one being belted out by the masses at a live show.
Lights Go Out starts to shake things up a little with an electronic beat counting in bouncing riffs that would challenge even the biggest naysayers not to bust a bit of a move.
https://soundcloud.com/centurymedia/fozzy-lights-go-out
This is nicely contrasted against the down-tempo Died With You, which appears to be a sentimental hard rock reflection on a love gone wrong.
Tonight is an unashamedly rosy stadium-rock anthem, with special guest Michael Starr from Steel Panther, lending his name to “doozie party(ies)” and “dance(ing) like Mick Jagger”.
Fozzy quickly save face over this reprieve of sunniness with Brides of Fire and One Crazed Anarchist, both blistering into play with growling vocals and more stayed, acidic, energy-laden metal.
The later part of the album continues in this vein. From the war cries of Unstoppable to the eerie apocalypse of Scarecrow, destruction and debasement are key and we even “dance with the dead” in No Good Way.
The unexpected twist in all this though is SOS, sounding strangely familiar from its first notes because, well, it is. This Abba cover is a surprise gem, respectably keeping the song’s idiosyncratic keyboard yet losing none of Fozzy’s grit. Clearly those early years of favouring cover songs can be channeled at any time for these guys.
At the end of the day, Do You Wanna Start A War is a bit of fun behind its tough exterior. It’s an entertaining mix of tracks that have been choreographed well against each other in the vein of true Jericho showmanship and if you’re into this sort of thing you’re bound to get a torrid kick out of it.
Purchase Do You Wanna Start A War on iTunes here.
When Kat’s not catching a gig you can find her pondering the meaning of life at her graphic design day job or taking long walks on the beach in fluffy pink moccasins.
- Band Of Skulls @ The Corner Hotel, 7th April ’15 - April 17, 2015
- Adalita @ The Gasometer, 4th March ’15 - March 10, 2015
- Melbourne Soundwave, 21st – 22nd February ’15 - March 3, 2015
