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“They wouldn’t listen, ‘cos all they want is American made, there’s something missing when all they do is laugh in my face”. Listen to any track on ‘A Deadset Endeavour’ and it’s hard not to imagine The Fallen State starting their journey on a US festival like Rocklahoma. Look at the line-up for the opening day of this very festival; Shinedown, Seether and Pop Evil amongst many others, the yanks would surely lap up The Fallen State? Throw in the British accents and the queues at the signing tent would be massive. For the sake of comparison, a good starting point would be US metallers Nothing More. Opening track ‘Statements’ is a roaster, a swirling, towering performance from vocalist Ben Stenning. The chorus simply soars and when Stenning spills his heart out; “I’ve been forgotten, I’ve been left out for dead, it’s all part of my plan, I’ll be damned by the liars, but not by my friends” then his pain is laid out for all to witness. The guitar interplay between Jon Price and Dan Oke is nailed on, and the backbone of the band, bassist Greg Butler and drummer Rich Walker, lay down some muscular work throughout. This continues into ‘For My Sorrow’ where both Butler and Walker really do go to war (Nothing More pun intentional). Coming in at ten tracks in length, ‘A Deadset Endeavour’ is a lesson in keeping an album lean. There is no fat at all on the album, instead, ten well-crafted tracks that improve with each listen. ‘Paradox’ has a fantastic ebb and flow to it and the vocals from Stenning hint at a sense of anguish and vulnerability. ‘Torn’ and ‘Attitude’ are a pair of monsters, ‘Can’t Fight The Feeling’ is the hit that got away, with the melodic strains of ‘Open Wounds’ not that far behind. ‘Lovers & Psychos’ twists and turns so much that there is no point in trying to guess where it ends up, just go with it. Ending on the majestic ‘Fragments’, ‘A Deadset Endeavour’ is an album that you will revisit on a regular basis. ‘A Deadset Endeavour’ is available now, more information can be found here. Guitarist Dan Oke has sadly been diagnosed with cancer, and recently underwent a major operation to remove a tumour from his lung. Everyone is thinking of Dan and his family at this difficult time, and hoping for a speedy recovery. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help him and his family out, check out the campaign here. Review – Dave]]>
