FuZZ FuZZ MaCHiNe
The Most
Casket 2009



This oddly monikered bunch hail from Italy however unlike many of their brethren they don't peddle metal steeped knee deep in Mozzarella. However in my book this is not really something to rejoice in, being a bona fide cheesehead myself, I like many Italian bands of the opposite ilk than FF Mach as I'll call them in this review.

These guys are a heavy modern band with cleanish vocals with a rough edge and music which borrows influences mainly from bands like Pantera, Machine Head and modern Metallica. Of course these bands are giants in comparison to FF Mach and this is a state of affairs that is unlikely to change with the release of this album.

However all is not lost by any means for FF Mach. These chaps do not disgrace themselves or the name of metal with this album. They deliver a perfectly acceptable slice of modern metal with some melody and a nifty line in melodic riffing. However there's just nothing special about the songwriting on offer. The production and playing is definitely on a par with many of today's modern bands and brings no shame on the band. The music has good crunch and settles on a decent groove on occasion which will keep you nodding to the riffs or beat. However the most important aspect which is memorable songwriting is not quite there in my eyes.

The vocals of frontman Alessandro are also a bit hit and miss. His accent tends to annoy on certain lines and the lack of lyrical dexterity also hinders the songs somewhat. Things start to sound a bit awkward and the flow of the songs is often handicapped by this lack of fluency.

I also found the album to be a bit too long for my tastes and since the songwriting was not exciting or enticing enough I found I was starting to zone the music out by the end. The early songs are definitely the better ones on offer with opener War being a decent heavy and melodic tune with nice stop start Pantera-esque guitar patterns. The band also tries to mix in the odd eclectic moment hence the Faith No More name drop in the promo sheet but this band has a long way to go to reach anywhere near the bands the promo sheets name checks.

This album has it's moments but overall it doesn't give me any goosebump moments and I'd much rather listen to an album that does. Still not a bad effort and something to work on for these guys given far more coherent and concise songs with bigger hooks.

© Pirage Forsi
Rating **1/2 (2.5/5.0)

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