Five Finger Death Punch has been sweeping the hard rock world since their first release, Way Of The Fist, came out. Now, just over four years since then, the band releases their third studio album, American Capitalist, today. Does it have the same edge and ferocity as the previous two releases or does it fail to live up to expectations? Check after the jump for the answer!
The album kicks off with the title track, American Capitalist. Aggressive and fast tempo, this song sets the tone for the album by featuring chunky verse riffs and melodic choruses. The song feels a bit bassy, though this might be due to the nearly unending double bass drum onslaught that only lets up a bit during the guitar solo. The mixture of intensity and melody are prevalent throughout the album.

The production is in many ways fantastic. The drums sound thick and whoever tuned them did an impeccable job. Each tom has its own distinctive tone and can be easily separated from the others. The guitars are thick and meaty, although for some strange reason they sound thin and less intimidating on the final track, 100 Ways To Hate. Ivan’s vocals are constantly at the front of the mix but never enough so as to make him sound like he is apart from the band. The only real problem I had with the album was that while listening to it through my monitors and headphones I felt that it was a bit bassy throughout.

One of my favorites was the third track, The Pride. It has a line that I absolutely loved in which Ivan Moody bellows, “I’m not selling out/I’m buying in!” I feel that this line is such a perfect response to music elitists and snobs who shun music once it becomes popular.

Towards the end of the album, I realized that I was becoming weary of the constant swearing from Ivan Moody. While I am in no way offended by the words themselves, I feel that Moody can easily find a way to write lyrics that are just as direct and forceful while easing up a bit on the cursing.