No band did more for the UK post-hardcore scene in the mid-2000’s than Wales’ Funeral For a Friend. Around the time of 2003’s debut album Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation the genre was on the verge of spilling over, and Funeral For a Friend ensured it would break through into the mainstream. Over the years the band have proved their versatility with their ever changing sound, although their seemingly Glassjaw-esque list of personnel changes could factor into this, with guitarist Kris Coombs-Roberts the only surviving member from Funeral For a Friend’s inception back in 2001. The band continued the trend with Pat Lundy, the drummer from the last two albums announcing his departure prior to the release of Chapter And Verse, Funeral For a Friend’s 7th album.
The peaks and troughs in the band’s shifting musical style have seen them go from noisey, fringe-wielding upstarts to mellow brooders before their most recent albums received a timely injection of brutality and bite. Chapter And Verse doesn’t fuck around. Opening track “Stand by Me for the Millionth Time” sees vocalist Matthew Davies-Kreye at his absolute rawest and showcasing his trademark passionate delivery that fans of the band have been accustomed to. Since the departure of the band’s resident ‘screamer’ and Pat Lundy’s predecessor Ryan Richards in 2012, Davies-Kreye has took on screaming duties himself. This has resulted in his voice becoming more frayed around the edges, allowing him to really hit home with the anger portrayed in his lyrics.
Follow up track and lead single “You’ve Got a Bad Case of The Religions” continues the intensity. This has more of a verse-chorus-verse structure than the previous track and feels closer to the band’s style from 5th album Welcome Home Armageddon. Following this is the excellent ‘Pencil Pusher’ which could go hand in hand with the title track from previous album Conduit. It’s a crushing, no-nonsense reminder that the band are showing no signs of slowing up. Since Lundy’s departure the band have stated they are not currently interested in making a permanent replacement. They have temporarily called upon the drumming services of Goodtime Boys’ Casey McHale for the completion of the album’s recording and touring duties.
Chapter And Verse is also the first album since 2007’s Tales Don’t Tell Themselves to feature a change of producer, marking the departure of Romesh Dodangoda (Sylosis, Bullet For My Valentine, Verses) and the arrival of Lewis Johns. What Johns’ has achieved with this album and indeed a large number of other bands he’s worked with is the capture of Funeral For a Friend’s frantic, high-energy live prowess and successfully transcending it onto CD.
The track “1%” actually sounds like Funeral For a Friend’s early years, with it’s steady build up and softly sang bridge. The song closes with Davies-Kreye screaming himself stupid amidst a wall of driving guitars. “Modern Excuse For a Man” is the album’s high point and could potentially be a live setlist favourite. Clocking in at less than two minutes, it’s an absolute behemoth, relentlessly steamrolling the listener into submission.
One noticeable thing since the change of producer is the emphasis on a more guitar driven sound. With previous albums Kris Coombs-Roberts and fellow guitarist Gavin Burrough would regularly intertwine riffs however on Chapter And Verse both of them seem content to be closely-knit save for rare moments of a guitarist branching away with an intricate melody. I suspect this is the point though as Funeral For a Friend do seem to be straying towards hardcore punk territory with their recent releases.
“Donny,” is another explosive headbanger. The album follows on from previous album Conduit in the sense that very few songs reach the three minute mark. This is starkly contrasted by closing track “The Jade Tree Years Were My Best. Coming it at over eight minutes long, its the longest song ever released by the band, eclipsing the accolade’s previous holder, Tales Don’t Tell Themselves “The Sweetest Wave” by nearly two minutes. It’s actually two songs in one though separated by a short silence.
Overall, Chapter And Verse is the band’s heaviest release to date. It’s relentless furiosity borders on chaos at times, like the shackles have finally come off and the band’s inner rage has finally been unleashed. It sounds like the album they’ve been wanting to make for the last ten years. Funeral For a Friend have shown that even seven albums into a career you can still be a relevant band in an ever changing rock genre.
Rating: 4.5/5