In 2022, Five Finger Death Punch released their ninth studio album, AfterLife .
In this first version, the work features 12 tracks, while the deluxe version, released in 2024, has 16.
The contrasts present in the album are a major highlight. While there are heavier, screamed vocals, the melodic ones create a balanced atmosphere, making the tracks feel present and possessing an interesting quality. A song that perfectly exemplifies this is the opening track, "Welcome To The Circus," with its rhythmic drumming and addictive guitar riffs.
At the same time, there are some elements that are a little bothersome because they are generic, such as the synthesized drums in "AfterLife" or the introductions to "Times Like These" and "Judgement Day." The mix of metal with subtleties from other genres can be interesting, but at times it ends up sounding forced.
The ballads are the highlight of the record, especially when compared to songs like "Roll Dem Bones," the fourth track on the album, which follows a similar line to the others, making it seem like the same song over and over. This creates a feeling of weariness and sameness, with few variations and new elements.
Guitar riffs become a fundamental element in the idea of assembling the structure of the songs.
Returning to "Judgement Day," it vies for the title of weakest track on AfterLife ; the electronic elements and heavy vocals don't work, leading to the impression of something artificial and forced.
Another one that doesn't make much sense is "Thanks For Asking." Despite an interesting guitar riff, the instrumental doesn't mesh well, much less with the vocals, almost as if they only work if they're all separated.
As the album nears its end, "All I Know" reveals itself as a beautiful power ballad. It's potent, with prominent vocals, allowing one to feel all of Ivan Moody .
The last tracks on the album are acoustic versions of the already released “Judgement Day”, “The End”, and “Thanks For Asking”. Was this necessary? No, since, of those, the only one that's a good choice in its normal version is “The End”, while the others are just unnecessary bonus tracks.
AfterLife is inconsistent. It has some good moments, but also some bad ones, so there's no clear-cut compositional line. At the same time, some of the songs sound the same, creating a sense of repetitiveness.
The highlight of the record is the vocals, which navigate between heavy and melodic. Overall, the album seeks a kind of balance that it sometimes achieves and sometimes fails to achieve.
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