FACT - FACT (2009)

I just found this band in Spotify's "Discover Weekly" recs. It recommended "A Fact Of Life" and I initially was like, "wtf is going on" but after like ten seconds I was absolutely hooked. I think what threw me off is that I originally thought the lead was singing the verses in Japanese. Turns out he's just singing fast and has an accent (the band is Japanese), and their stuff is mostly in English. Either way it's cool tho! 

Sorry for the shitty quality on the album cover, I'm surprised I was able to find anything on this band since their last release seems to be in 2013. They do have two albums out, FACT (2009) and Burundanga (2013). I haven't listened to the second one, but I'm making my way through FACT and while "A Fact Of Life" might be what initially drew me in and therefore a likely contender for my fave, "Paradox" is makin' a run for it right now. The band's sound seems to be mostly post-hardcore/metalcore, but I also get some electronic influence in the production details of several songs. 

Actually, scratch some of what I just said. I checked Wikipedia and apparently FACT is their second album, and they had an album titled "Never Turn Out the Light to Keep Myself" that released in 2006. It's just not on Spotify. They also apparently had an album that released in 2010 and then two after Burundanga that released in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and it looks like the band split up in 2015. :(

Here's the tracklist (and my rave reviews):

01 - Paradox

Love how the rhythm guitar and drums work together here. "Strike down this angry force, The sky turns a violent color" are some banger lyrics. The song ends with some of that electronic influence I was talking about, and it specifically gave me electropop right there. This song is a strong opener for this album.

02 - Los Angeles

Some of the riffs go hard on this one, and there's some great growly scream vocals. The chorus is pretty solid. Not my fave, but to be honest this album so far still feels like banger after banger to me.

03 - A Fact Of Life

God I love this song. I want to tattoo this into my brain. Is the lyric "thanks for the memory" a Fall Out Boy reference or am I delusional? The way the lead sings definitely makes it hard to understand what he's saying unless you're looking at the lyrics while the song plays. I genuinely thought the bits before "thanks for the memory" were sung in Japanese before I looked up the lyrics. Speaking of FOB, I'm a Fall Out Boy fan so not knowing wtf the lead is saying is pretty normal for me, not a problem lol. Anyway. The high energy and unique sound of this song have captivated me.

04 - Chain

This one is less my speed. The guitar feels very jarring to me and much heavier than their other songs, but it's only a 30 second interlude so it's cool. Not sure I'd vibe with it if it was a full song, but it's a fun lil' thing.

05 - Reborn

Definitely feels much more like some other post-hardcore/metalcore stuff from other bands. This song kind of reminded me of Bullets For My Valentine a little, specifically the album The Poison (2006). Definitely still FACT's sound, but I enjoyed the stereotypical metalcore-type riffs. I love the backup vocals on the "I know" parts especially, and the little solo at the end fucks. This one is going in the faves list.

06 - Purple Eyes

Also getting more metalcore riffs from this bad boy. I think. I probably don't even know what I'm talking about and if anyone saw this they'd just go "no, dumbass, that's clearly x". I think the issue is I can't always tell the difference between some post-hardcore and metalcore but I enjoy both, so. The chorus fucks hard and there's lots of fast guitar. It fades out at the end, which is very different from how most of their other songs end (not with a fade out). (at least I don't think)

07 - Lights of Vein

Getting the most "anime vibes" from this one. It's not the heaviest and I don't know enough about music but I saw something once about how a lot of modern Japanese music uses "circular patterns" or something like that. I'm just saying that this song feels like it draws on a lot of the same influences as popular J-Rock anime intros. Also a little bit of American post-hardcore? Pop Punk? I'm pretty sure post-hardcore has more of an almost melancholy sound, like the musical equivalent of trudging through mud and getting your socks a little damp. But like in a good way. Anyway, this song sounds to me like if a Boku No Hero Academia intro and the California album by blink-182 had a baby.  

08 - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

Obsessed with this one too. I thought it was another interlude because of how diff it sounds but it's like 3 minutes long, baby! There's some jazzy piano in this one, and also some fucking awesome guitar noises. I think I'm most interested in the vocal melodies because it scratches some deep-set itch in my brain. The screams also sound good to my ears. "If I awoke from a dream, I would wish it was all a lie" Brb, going insane over these lyrics. This song definitely is going in my faves and might even have to battle Paradox for the title of second favorite song from this album. I want this playing on a constant loop in my brain.

09 - CO3

You know that weird scary tractor thing that tries to kill Lightning McQueen and Mater in one of the Cars movies? Yeah this song gives me those exact vibes and I can't explain why. It's a banger though! No lyrics, just scary tractor vibes. 10/10 would recommend.

10 - Snow

This makes me feel like this album should be a winter album but they released this in the middle of April. Good for them. Another fun fact, the Spotify lyrics seem to have some sorta discrepancy with the song where there's like. a whole chorus section that the lyrics do not address. It definitely has the lyrics for the chorus, but it basically goes Verse > Chorus > Verse > [there's a chorus section here in the song but not in the lyrics] > Whatever Comes Next. It's a Pretty Song :)

11 - Stretch My Arms

Getting more inexplicable blink-182 vibes from this. I genuinely hope I'm not the only one who hears it. There's some super melodic parts in this one, very nice.

12 - 45 Days

Not as into this one. Where are the drums bro? 

(2:20 into the song, actually.) 

I definitely prefer the second half due to personal tastes, but the lyrics are good.

13 - Why...

This song feels like a question mark personified and I'm so into it. Spotify won't show me lyrics for this song, but from what I can hear I really vibe with them. Very nice lead up to the chorus and the pay off is delicious. Love this one so hard. Not on the same level as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence but it might be my third or fourth favorite. I appreciate that it leads into the next song, I thought that was so cool.

14 - 42006

The ominous thumping and electronic noises that happen in the beginning are great. I have no idea what's going on here. I feel like this would play in the background while I'm experiencing a fever dream. I also think the glitch effect really adds to it. It's two minutes but it feels a lot shorter than that. 10/10.

15 - Rise

This one's decent but I honestly don't feel like it's their strongest. I wouldn't end the album with this, but I guess it technically isn't the closing song if you include the remixes. Very much a post-hardcore chorus. The last chorus is actually pretty good, but the oomph it has from the end, it kind of feels like it lacks in the beginning. I do like that the instrumentals fade out but the vocals don't.

16 - A Fact of Life - Boom Boom Satellites Remix

I know this is a remix, but this one really feels like they took the acoustic for A Fact Of Life and made an electropop remix out of it. I actually really dig it, although I think I still like the original better. They do feel like very different songs.

17 - Los Angels (MSTRKRFT AI-P Remix)

Also an insane electronic remix. Not sure how I feel about all of this one. Might be because I wasn't too into the original in the first place? Hmmm. I do like that the title is different from the original (Los Angeles vs Los Angels) and I like the chorus.

18 - Snow - 29 Remix

This one's also a fever dream, but not my particular flavor. It feels like punk rap with a lo-fi jazz piano sample laid overtop. Definitely could see myself having an existential crisis to this. I actually just think it's funny that this remix is here compared to the rest of the album.

Even though this album feels like it should sound like every other post-hardcore/metalcore album from 2009, to me this album feels pretty standout and I'm pretty disappointed it didn't seem to get more recognition. It's pretty long for an album- it's got 18 tracks total, including 3 remixes. I'm definitely going to listen to their other stuff (we'll see about another review).