Chasing the Grail

The setup for how Fozzy was formed sounds like a Spinal Tap-ish joke, and that was its original purpose. The first half of their existence was a cover band posing as a obscure made-up metal group from which almost all of the iconic metal songs we know were stolen by other, more famous bands. A lineup including wrestler Chris Jericho and the musicians from a rap metal band only makes things seem even more strange and ridiculous. Despite all these factors against them, Jericho proved he could belt out a hell of a tune and Rich Ward & Co. clearly know what they're doing, so it was inevitable that these talents would eventually move beyond the jokes and get serious. Their previous album All That Remains was pretty good but not an overall memorable affair. This album, however, is chock full of straight-up satisfying heavy metal goodness.

There's no slowing down this metal bullet train; save for Broken Soul and parts of their epic finale Wormwood, this album is one big serving of power with a capital P and a side of classic metal nostalgia. While the sound is distinctly modern American, their sensibilities and style are firmly rooted in the metal progenitors and old school titans like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

As far as HOW they sound, you ask? Well, Chris Jericho once again backs up his Pro Wrestling claim he's "the best in the world at what he does", as he can easily belt it out and carry the band's energy, sounding sort of like a Canadian Rob Halford. On the music side, it really is all three instrumentalists from rap metal joint Stuck Mojo, probably the only time anyone's ever mixed metal and hip-hop and made it listenable. Fortunately, their play style on Fozzy sounds pretty distinct, like playing classic metal in Drop C tuning. It's got lots of fun, energy, and badass power, so it definitely works for me. All these comparisons to other bands and styles might make it sound like they're hopelessly derivative, but putting all the elements together, they absolutely have their own carved-out sound and style, so that's nothing to be worried about. And the songs, while mostly POWER POWER POWER all the way through, have some variety of concept, from ballad to straightforward metal to their big, epic, apocalyptic, 14-minute long ending, capping off this raucous album with real flair.

Fozzy may not push the envelope, drive the genre forward, or really do anything to be innovative, but they don't need to, because they've got a distinct sound, lots of talent, a strong work ethic...and oh yeah...God damn do they know how to rock! I will shamelessly headbang to this one for a long time, and if you give it a listen, you might too.

Let’s face it – between being burdened with a name that brings to mind mental associations of stuffed toys more than heavy metal, having a singer who comes from the wrestling arena and having started out as a cover band, Fozzy face a kind of unjustified struggle to be taken seriously that most bands don’t have; Jericho’s a damn good singer on his own terms, but he could have pipes like Pavarotti and still be straddled with the “gimmick” tag by naysayers because of his previous career.

But on this release, Fozzy have broken from stigmas and stereotypes to deliver an album that easily tops their former original work, and elevates their status in the heavy metal pantheon. On top of their traditional metal framework, they’ve expanded their sound in several different directions.

First, the two ballads on this album mark the first time Fozzy has “gotten soft”: Broken Soul may not attempt to break from the mould too much, but its straightforward attempt at hard rock balladry instills such a sense of nostalgia in me (granted, reviewer nostalgia should hardly be counted as an objective system) that I can’t not enjoy it. Meanwhile, New Day’s Dawn shows the band attempting an interesting, but soothing falsetto chorus, and despite the occasional awkward lyric, it’s a good song.

At the same time, their sound has attained a heavier edge, which brings us to album highlight Pray For Blood. This song just kicks ass, with its borderline extreme tendencies, centered within a traditional metal framework for an absolutely punishing display of tastefully blasting drums, monstrous riffs and surprisingly convincing vocals. This is the kind of song that demands to be cranked up. God Pounds His Nails is also one of the album’s heavier numbers, and while good, it lacks the skull-crushing, yet acutely melodic assault of Pray For Blood.

The more typical Fozzy sound, of heavy metal with slight, unobtrusive influences from groove and hard rock, comes into play on most other tracks; opener Under Blackened Skies shows the band waving their banner hard and with a firm sense of balance between their various influences, while tracks like Watch Me Shine and Martyr No More show the band in similar form to their previous album.

But its album closer Wormwood that truly showcases Fozzy’s evolution as a musical unit. This almost fourteen-minute epic based on the Book of Revelation doesn’t merely dabble in me-too prog territory, as many bands approaching such a feat for the first time may be want to do; no, it is a full-blooded prog song at its core, allowing itself to build naturally, rising from a humble acoustic cut to a full-on attack of memorable guitarwork, powerful vocal arrangements, a Hammond organ somewhere in the first half and even one movement with decently-executed harsh vocals. None of it feels out of place, either; the band shows amazing fluency in the style despite this being their first cut over ten minutes. If you like Dream Theater’s songs of this size but aren’t a fan of their extended instrumental sections (of which there are none here), make it your duty to check this. As relative to the rest of the record, it’s one of the finest climactic songs I’ve ever heard; considering the mythology being invoked, I almost look at it as a more organically-arranged counterpart to Iced Earth’s Dante’s Inferno.

It took Fozzy three albums in which to find their grounding as a totally original group, and another one in which to put forth what I think is a truly great record, but they’ve finally done it. Pick up this surprise smash and support a band that’s really put their best foot forward.

Fozzy has always been one of those bands that I knew about but never really bothered to look into. The idea of a professional wrestler playing classic metal sounded like a shallow gimmick and the fact that the first two albums were largely comprised of cover songs made it even more gimmicky. However, the band seems to have become more legit in recent years and got my interest when I heard portions of it online and couldn't get them out of my head. In spite of the band's original intentions, this is a pretty solid slab of metal.

Musically, the album jumps between several different styles with each song featuring a distinctly unique sound. "Martyr No More" and "Let the Madness Begin" feature grooves that remind me of Black Label Society, borderline thrash shows up on "Pray for Blood" and "Paraskavekedatriaphobia (Friday the 13)," "God Pounds His Nails" makes strong use of some pounding hard rock, and a 14 minute epic appears in the form of "Wormwood." On the non-metal end, "New Day's Dawn" features an almost poppy hook and "Broken Soul" is a pretty laid back ballad. Fortunately the songwriting is strong and keeps the album from sounding too confused.

With the songs showing many different styles, the band itself shows a good degree of talent but does seem to lack a singular identity. All that really seems to stand out are the vocals of WWE superstar Chris Jericho. He can definitely carry a tune nicely but he does sound somewhat processed at times and shows a frightening resemblance to Ozzy Osbourne's vocal tone. It's understandable when you consider that the band was originally named Fozzy Osbourne but it reminds me of Zakk Wylde's infamous shift in vocal performance. It doesn't really stop me from enjoying the tunes but it does make me wonder...

I'd also like to give the band some props for the extensive notes that are included in the album booklet. I know it's not exactly something to add to the album's grade, but I absolutely love reading about how band members are inspired to write certain songs and how they feel about them. Makes me wish more bands would do that...

All in all, this is a pretty great album that is definitely worth checking out in spite of its flaws. It won't be bringing any dramatic changes to the metal scene but it has some awesome songs and is accessible to just about any kind of metal fan. Makes me wonder how the band's previous songs compare...

Pros:
1) Great stylistic variations
2) Accessible riffs and hooks
3) Solid songwriting

Cons:
1) Slightly overproduced
2) Somewhat lacking in identity
3) Jericho's resemblance to Ozzy is somewhat discomforting

My Current Favorites:
"Martyr No More," "Let the Madness Begin," "Play for Blood," "God Pounds His Nails," and "Paraskavekedatriaphobia (Friday the 13)"